Andrew Stuart MacKinlay (born 24 April 1949) is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Thurrock from 1992 until he stepped down at the 2010 general election.
[1] In parliament MacKinlay built a reputation as a hard-working constituency MP, gaining respect from all sides[2] and as a stalwart of Gibraltar.
He worked from 1965 as a committee clerk with Surrey County Council until 1975, when he served as a union official with the National and Local Government Officers' Association (NALGO).
[8] He unsuccessfully vied for his local seat of Surbiton in both of the 1974 general elections, keeping his deposit in what was then demonstrably a three-party contest.
[10] This campaign eventually succeeded with the Armed Forces Act 2006, where section 359 pardoned 306 British Empire soldiers.
The committee was investigating issues around the British government's dossier on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
[29] He is a keen researcher on World War I history, travelling, and is an honorary patron of Tilbury Football Club.
[34][35] In December 2018, he allowed his Labour Party membership to lapse and, in May 2019, he joined the Liberal Democrats.
[36] In the Chessington South by-election to Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council held on 6 May 2021, he was elected for the Liberal Democrats.