1. Eric Varley was the Member of Parliament for Chesterfield from 1964 to 1984.
19 Facts About Eric Varley
1. 2.
Eric Graham Varley was born in Poolsbrook, Derbyshire, to Frank and Eva Varley.
3.
Eric Varley left school at the age of fourteen in 1946.
4.
Eric Varley's mother did not wish for him to follow his father's line of work, and he began an early career at the iron works before training as an engineer.
5.
Eric Varley was an accomplished football player as a young man who played semi-professionally.
6.
Eric Varley initially aspired to play professionally, and it was speculated that he could have done so.
7.
Eric Varley was narrowly selected in June 1963 and duly held the Chesterfield seat in the 1964 election.
8.
Eric Varley served briefly as a junior minister under Tony Benn at the Ministry of Technology from 1969.
9.
Eric Varley was appointed Secretary of State for Energy when Labour returned to power in 1974, and was the cabinet's youngest member.
10.
Eric Varley began the procedure to nationalise North Sea oil.
11.
In November 1976 Eric Varley suffered an embarrassing public defeat when he determined to shut down the loss-making Chrysler car factory: the Cabinet forced him to increase its subsidy to keep it open.
12.
Eric Varley continued the government's slow nationalisation programme by appointing Michael Edwardes to take over at British Leyland.
13.
When Labour went into opposition in 1979, Eric Varley was elected to the Shadow Cabinet in fifth place.
14.
Eric Varley led Denis Healey's campaign for the party leadership in 1980 and defeated the left-winger Norman Atkinson for the post of party Treasurer in 1981.
15.
Eric Varley served as opposition spokesman on employment, and resisted an attempt by Michael Foot to replace him with Neil Kinnock in 1982.
16.
Eric Varley served five years at Coalite, until the company was acquired in 1989, and subsequently held other directorships, including as a regional director for Lloyds Bank.
17.
In 1955, Eric Varley married Marjorie Turner, and they had one son.
18.
Eric Varley lived in Walton, Chesterfield, and was known for maintaining an elaborate garden at his home.
19.
Eric Varley died from cancer at his residence on 29 July 2008, at the age of 75.