Dr John) Doug(las) NAYSMITH Labour & Co-op BRISTOL NORTH WEST '97- Majority: 11,382 (20.6%) over Tory 8-way Description: Altered seat made up seven-eighths of old marginal Bristol NW, one-eighth of Northavon wards; it has lost a vote-heavy ultra- Tory ward, Westbury-on-Trym, and gained three lightly populated Labour-leaning wards in Patchway; two-thirds are owner-occupiers, one- third council tenants; it still has Filton (British Aerospace aircraft and Rolls-Royce engines) and Bristol Port Company; it has long been considered a "barometer seat" (BRISTOL EVENING POST); Position: On Social Security Select Committee '99-, Deregulation Select Committee '98-; Delegate, to Council of Europe and WEU '97-; Vice Chairman, PLP Health Committee '97-; ex: Bristol City Councillor (Labour Group Whip '88- 97, Chairman Docks Committee '86-91) '81-98; National President, Socialist Health Association '90-97; Bristol Council Director on Board of Bristol Port Company '91-95; on NEC, Co-operative Party '93-97; Chairman, Bristol District Labour Party '78-81, President, Bristol AUT '85-87; Outlook: A mature low-profile Leftish newcomer, more active in seriously questioning those coming before his select committees; at 56 was one of the oldest of the '97 Labour intake; a "pragmatic Leftwinger with a strong commitment to the NHS" (NEW STATESMAN); a veteran Labour candidate who has struck it fourth- time lucky; an active AUT trade unionist and former CND supporter; a crusading President of the Socialist Health Association and a life-long supporter of the Co-operative movement into which he was born; supports Amnesty International, World Development Movement and Bristol and Bath Wildlife Trust; a Scot who, as a longtime Bristol University medical lecturer and local councillor is deeply rooted in local politics; History: His parents and most relatives were Labour Party members: initially his father paid his party subscriptions; he joined the Labour Party, paying his own subscriptions at 25, '66; a resident of Bristol since '72, was elected Chairman of the Bristol District Labour Party '78; contested Bristol in Euro- elections June '79; was selected for hopeless Cirencester and Tewkesbury '86; in reply to Nicholas Ridley, who claimed that Labour councils like Bristol were as repressive as East Germany and Poland, said: "people are fearful in [Cirencester], but the kinds of things they are frightened of are losing their jobs, not being able to get a house and, thanks to Mr Ridley, of finding their bus services disrupted by the Government" Nov '86; criticised inequality under the poll tax, claiming the rich - including Ridley - would save thousands a year at the expense of the poor May '87; came third in Cirencester and Tewkesbury behind Nicholas Ridley and the second-place Liberal, with only 8% of the vote, like his '83 predecessor, June '87; became Labour Whip on Bristol City Council '88; was selected for Bristol North West over ex-MP Terry Walker and Dr Sarah Palmer, daughter of a former Bristol MP; his candidacy was thought to be helped by his wife being a local GP in Southmead and his daughter Catherine in the sixth form at Henbury; said it would be a "tough fight" to overcome the 6,952 majority of the incumbent Tory MP, Michael Stern Jan '90; he missed taking the seat by 45 votes, after achieving a 6% swing Apr '92; was re-selected to contest Bristol North West '95; won the seat on a notional swing of 7.12%, ousting the incumbent Tory MP Michael Stern by a majority of 11,382 May '97; asked about benzodiazepine addiction July '97; asked about improved relations between the prison and probation services July '97; rebelled against lone-parent benefit cuts by abstaining Dec '97; in his belated Maiden welcomed the National Minimum Wage to "tackle the exploitation of the people with least bargaining power", "and to reduce the unacceptable gap between women's 1 Copyright © Parliamentary Profile Services Ltd. Dr John) Doug(las) NAYSMITH Labour & Co-op BRISTOL NORTH WEST '97- and men's pay" Dec '97; defended as an increase the education Standard Spending Assessment for the area covering the South Gloucestershire part of his constituency Jan '98; co- sponsored motion backing a major Goverment review of child sexual abuse Jan '98; urged the enlargement of the EU to include Bulgaria and Romania Oct '98; was named to Social Security Select Committee Jan '99; in the interest of local British Aerospace and Rolls Royce pressed Defence Secretary George Robertson on the MoD's proposed large aircraft project Feb '99; hoped South West Regional Development Agency would encourage canal and waterway use Mar '99; warmly backed the part-privatising of the Commonwealth Development Corporation May '99; urged the retention of railway land for railway development, in view of the growth of rail freight Oct '99; urged research into improved prostate screening tests Nov '99; won 14th place in ballot for Private Members' Bills Nov '99; announced his Newspaper and Magazine Recycling Bill Feb '00; Born: 1 April 1941 , Musselburgh, Midlothian Family: Son, of James Chalmers Naysmith, charge hand in Co-op grocery, and Wilhelmina (Vass), manageress of Co-op hardware department; m '66 Margaret Caroline (Hill), GP; 1s, Stephen '68; 1d Catherine '73; separated; Education: Musselburgh Burgh School; George Heriot's School; Edinburgh University (BSc, PhD); Yale University (Post-Doctoral Fellowship); FRSM, MI Biol, CR Biol, PR D; Occupation: Panellist: for Harris (£350), and MORI (£350), paid to Bristol NW Labour Party '97-; ex: Administrator, Registrar's Officer Bristol University '92-97; Lecturer in Immunology, Department of Pathology Bristol University Medical School (AUT - has been President, and Secretary and Treasurer of its Bristol branch) '81-92; Fellow '76-81, Research Associate '72-76 Bristol University; Open University Tutor '73-79; Medical Scientist with Beecham Research Laboratories '69-72; Medical Technician in Civil Service '58-61; Traits: Front-falling grey hair; grey beard; specs; active in the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society; enjoys films, swimming and watching football; Address: House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA; 2 St Mary's Road, Shirehampton, Bristol BS11 9RN; Telephone: 0171 219 4187 (H of C); 0117 938 0804 (home & Fax); 2 Copyright © Parliamentary Profile Services Ltd. .