Bob Mitchell

Who was Bob Mitchell?

Richard Charles Mitchell, known as Bob Mitchell, was a Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. He represented Southampton Test for Labour from 1966 to 1970, and Southampton Itchen for Labour and then the Social Democratic Party from 1971 to 1983.

Mitchell was born in Southampton on 22 August 1927. He attended Taunton's Grammar School as a youth and graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in Economics. He taught mathematics and science at several schools before eventually finding a position as Senior Master and Head of the Mathematics and Science Department of Bartley County Secondary School, becoming Deputy Head in 1965. He also was an active member of the National Union of Teachers.

Mitchell also became active in Labour party politics, becoming a member of the Southampton borough council in 1955 and contested the safe Conservative seat of New Forest in the 1959 general election. In the 1964 general election, Mitchell contested Southampton Test, which he lost by a mere 348 votes. However, upon contesting the seat again in the 1966 general election, Mitchell won the seat by over 2,000 votes, propelled by the momentum of the Labour landslide in that election. However, his hold on Southampton Test would prove to be tenuous. In the Conservative victory in the 1970 general election, Mitchell lost his marginal seat.