Bob Cryer

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British politician (1934–1994)

title: "Bob Cryer" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1934-births", "1994-deaths", "alumni-of-the-university-of-hull", "labour-party-(uk)-mps-for-english-constituencies", "uk-mps-1974–1979", "uk-mps-1979–1983", "uk-mps-1987–1992", "uk-mps-1992–1997", "labour-party-(uk)-meps", "road-incident-deaths-in-england", "politicians-from-bradford", "meps-for-england-1984–1989", "british-people-associated-with-heritage-railways", "people-from-shipley,-west-yorkshire", "cryer–reeves-family", "governors-of-the-british-film-institute"] description: "British politician (1934–1994)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cryer" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British politician (1934–1994) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Bob Cryer
office	Under-Secretary of State for Industry
term_start	September 1976
term_end	20 November 1978
primeminister	James Callaghan
office1	Member of Parliament
term_start1	11 June 1987
term_end1	12 April 1994
constituency1	Bradford South
predecessor1	Thomas Torney
successor1	Gerry Sutcliffe
term_start2	28 February 1974
term_end2	13 May 1983
constituency2	Keighley
predecessor2	Joan Hall
successor2	Gary Waller
office3	Member of the European Parliament for Sheffield
term_start3	14 June 1984
term_end3	15 June 1989
predecessor3	Richard Caborn
successor3	Roger Barton
birth_name	George Robert Cryer
birth_date	3 December 1934
birth_place	Great Horton, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
death_date
death_place	Watford, Hertfordshire, England
party	Labour (1958–1994)
otherparty	European Socialists (1984–1989)
spouse
children	John
alma_mater	University of Hull
::

| birth_name = George Robert Cryer | birth_date = 3 December 1934 | birth_place = Great Horton, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | death_date = | death_place = Watford, Hertfordshire, England | death_cause = | resting_place = | party = Labour (1958–1994) | otherparty = European Socialists (1984–1989) | spouse = | children = John | parents = | education = | alma_mater = University of Hull George Robert Cryer (3 December 1934 – 12 April 1994) was an English Labour Party politician from Yorkshire. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Keighley from 1974 until his defeat in 1983. He then served as the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Sheffield from 1984 to 1989, and returned to the Commons as MP for Bradford South from 1987 until his death in 1994.

He was one of the founders of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

Early life

Born in Bradford, Cryer was educated at Salt High School, Shipley, and the University of Hull. He worked as a teacher and lecturer.

After British Railways closed the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway line in 1962, Cryer was one of a group of people who formed the KWVR Preservation Society, which bought the line and reopened it. As the society's first chairman, he helped to facilitate the shooting of the film The Railway Children on the line in the summer of 1970 and had a small part in it, as a guard.

Political career

Cryer first stood for Parliament at Darwen in 1964, but was defeated by the incumbent Conservative MP, Charles Fletcher-Cooke.

He was elected the Labour Member of Parliament for Keighley from 1974 to 1983 and represented Bradford South from 1987 until his death in a road traffic accident on 12 April 1994 when he was 59. He was the MEP for Sheffield from 1984 until 1989. In 1976, Cryer was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Industry by James Callaghan. In November 1978, Cryer resigned from his post in the Callaghan Labour government because he did not agree with the government's decision to cut off funding for the Kirkby Manufacturing and Engineering workers cooperative.

At the start of the Queen's Speech debate on 21 November 1989 – the first time the House of Commons was televised – Cryer raised a point of order on the subject of access to the House, thereby denying the Conservative MP Ian Gow, who was to move the Loyal Address to the Speech from the Throne, the accolade of being the first MP (other than the Speaker, Bernard Weatherill) to speak in the Commons on television.

Cryer served on the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute.

Death

Cryer died in a car accident on 12 April 1994 when the Rover he was driving to London overturned on the M1 motorway near Junction 5 at Watford. His wife Ann survived the crash.

Family

His wife Ann Cryer was MP for Keighley between 1997 and 2010, and their son John Cryer was the MP for Leyton and Wanstead.

Filmography

The Railway Children (1970) – Train Guard (uncredited)

References

"BOB CRYER, MP, KILLED TEN YEARS AGO". [[Parliament of the United Kingdom.
''Who's Who'', 1987
(11 September 1976). "Big surprises in Cabinet team shuffle". [[Express & Star.
P. Leone, Roberto. (2009). "Debunking Decision-Making: How Do Governments Decide When Ministers Must Resign?". [[McMaster University]].
(28 April 1993). "National Lottery Etc Bill - Report Stage".
Macintyre, Donald. (13 April 1994). "Bob Cryer, champion of Labour Left, dies in car crash". The Independent.
"MP For The Keighley Constituency Ann Cryer". Wharfedale Online Trust.

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