39 Facts About Ian Mikardo

Ian Mikardo, commonly known as Mik, was a British Labour Member of Parliament.

Ian Mikardo was a Fabian essayist, a staunch friend of Israel, as well as friend and mentor to many in the Labour movement, where he made a great impact.

Ian Mikardo's parents were Jewish refugees from the Tsarist Empire.

Ian Mikardo had two brothers, Sidney Mikardo and Norman Mikardo.

Ian Mikardo's niece Barbara Tayler was a publisher, writer and political activist.

Ian Mikardo became a surrogate father to her after her father died when she was two years old.

Ian Mikardo attended The Old Beneficiary School known as "The Old Benny", in Portsea, Portsmouth, and the Omega Street School in Portsmouth.

Concerned by injustice and inequality from boyhood, Mikardo was influenced by the works of R H Tawney and George Bernard Shaw in his teens.

Ian Mikardo attended political lectures at various clubs and societies in London in the 1920s, principally amongst the Jewish community.

Ian Mikardo joined both the Labour Party and Poale Zion, the Zionist workers' movement affiliated to the Labour Party.

Ian Mikardo was already a Zionist, and had given his first public speech at a meeting of the Portsmouth Zionist Society in 1922, aged 13.

Ian Mikardo died in Cheshire in 1994, a few months after him.

Ian Mikardo studied scientific management, but was sceptical and developed his own theories.

Ian Mikardo became a freelance management consultant and during the Second World War, worked on increasing efficiency in aircraft and armaments manufacturing, principally at Woodley Aerodrome in Reading.

Ian Mikardo was treasurer of the World Airways Joint Committee of National Air Communications.

Ian Mikardo's integrity was obvious and beguiling, quite rare amongst professional politicians.

Ian Mikardo was elected Member of Parliament for Reading constituency overturning a large Conservative majority.

Ian Mikardo held Reading, which became a highly marginal seat, until the 1959 general election when he was ousted by Peter Emery of the Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Technicians, later the Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs and Manufacturing Science and Finance trade union.

Ian Mikardo was a member of the left-wing of the Labour Party throughout his political career, writing for Tribune.

Ian Mikardo co-ordinated the 'Keep Left Group' and went on to become the secretary of the Tribune Group.

In February 1958 Ian Mikardo joined Stephen Swingler, Richardson, Harold Davies, Konni Zilliacus, Walter Monslow and Sydney Silverman, to form Victory for Socialism, which was co-ordinated by Richardson.

Ian Mikardo was defeated in his Reading seat in 1959 but won Poplar in the General Election of 1964, representing the area of London where his parents had first settled.

In February 1973 Ian Mikardo joined James Callaghan, Shadow Foreign Secretary, and Tom McNally, Secretary, International Department in an official Labour Party delegation visiting the Far East.

Ian Mikardo served on it, along with Andrew Cunningham, leader of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union in north-east England, John Hughes, of Ruskin College, Oxford, Jack Jones, later general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union then directly responsible for dockers, Michael Montague, later of the English Tourist Board, and Peter Shore MP.

Ian Mikardo outlined in the House of Commons attempts by some members of the Parliamentary Select Committee, of which he was a member, to find the truth about the sinking of General Belgrano during the Falklands War.

Ian Mikardo stated that he had spent months going through all the evidence, but still could not make up his mind about the truth.

Ian Mikardo complained that other members who had not looked at all the evidence could not be so sure and dogmatic.

Ian Mikardo complained that information was being withheld and this would devalue its work and its report.

Ian Mikardo accused the Government of lying to the House, to the Select Committee and to the country.

Ian Mikardo stated that a civil servant had advised Ministers to deceive the Select Committee by withholding information.

Ian Mikardo quoted one of the reasons given for withholding, namely that the rules of engagement would have to be paraphrased considerably or they would be almost incomprehensible to the layman.

Ian Mikardo stated that the rules had been given to the War Cabinet whose members were all laymen and the rules had been fully understood by them.

Ian Mikardo stated that a number of people had said that they could not understand why the Government had prosecuted Clive Ponting.

Ian Mikardo stated that the Government's lying to the House of Commons was in the national interest.

Ian Mikardo stated that they wanted to protect themselves against criticism from the Select Committee, and others, and to be able to say that, however reprehensible, it was done in the national interest.

Ian Mikardo stated that the acquittal of Ponting got rid of that.

Ian Mikardo worked with Mapam, the Israeli United Workers' Party, and abhorred gratuitous provocation of the Palestinian Arabs.

Ian Mikardo died, age 84, on 6 May 1993 from a stroke, whilst being treated for sarcoma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, Cheshire.

Ian Mikardo was survived by his wife Mary and daughters Ruth and Judy.