Ernest Fernyhough (24 December 1908 – 16 August 1993) was a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 32 years.

Political career

Fernyhough worked for the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers from 1936 to 1947. In 1947, Fernyhough was elected Member of Parliament for the Labour stronghold of Jarrow in a by-election caused by the death of Ellen Wilkinson - and held the seat until he retired in 1979. Fernyhough was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister Harold Wilson from 1964 and a junior minister for Employment and Productivity from 1967 to 1969. He was also a member of the Council of Europe from 1970 to 1973.

Personal life

In 1934, Fernyhough married Ethel Edwards, and the couple had two sons and a daughter. The oldest John Fernyhough died in June 2020 aged 82 and the youngest Margaret is still alive. Ernest had 2 older brothers and four sisters