Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover for 49 years, from 1970 to 2019.

[8] Skinner lost his seat to Mark Fletcher of the Conservative Party, and was succeeded as the Labour candidate for Bolsover by Natalie Fleet.

During his parliamentary career, Skinner was suspended from Parliament on at least ten occasions, usually for using unparliamentary language when attacking opponents.

He was also known for regularly heckling upon the arrival of Black Rod in the House of Commons chamber during the State Opening of Parliament.

His father Edward Skinner was a coal miner who was sacked after the 1926 general strike,[9] and his mother Lucy was a cleaner.

[10] In June 1942, at the age of 10, Skinner won a scholarship to attend Tupton Hall Grammar School after passing the eleven-plus a year early.

[13][19] As chairman of the Clay Cross Council, Skinner was noted for his decision not to wear the traditional council dress and gold chain: "My conscience would not permit me to wear it, because I believe... all the pomp and ceremony attached to local government [and] Parliament is outdated and a waste of time".

[18] Skinner recalls that he earned the nickname for his behaviour in a tribute debate in the Commons following the death of former Conservative Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden in 1977:[24] "They were making speeches about the wonder of Anthony Eden, so I got up and talked about miners and people seriously injured and dead in the pits and the £200 given to the widow.

[25] During most of his tenure in the Commons (in the years where the Labour Party were in opposition), Skinner would usually sit on the first seat of the front bench below the gangway in the Commons (known as the "Awkward Squad Bench" because it is where rebel Labour Party MPs have traditionally sat) in a tweed jacket (whilst most other MPs wear suits) and signature red tie.

On 15 November 1979, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher revealed Blunt's wartime role in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in reply to questions put to her by Ted Leadbitter, the MP for Hartlepool, and Skinner.

Thatcher made a full statement to the Commons on the matter the following week:Mr. Leadbitter and Mr. Skinner: asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on recent evidence concerning the actions of an individual, whose name has been supplied to her, in relation to the security of the United Kingdom.Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: The name which the hon.

Labour MPs complained at the time that Cameron's words amounted to "a gratuitous and entirely offensive insult to a greatly respected honourable Member, made entirely because of his age."

"[32] In July 2015, Cameron referenced the dinosaur remark in another jibe in which he said "It's always very good to see the Labour Party in full voice, cheering on 'Jurassic Park'.

Skinner, the oldest sitting MP since the death of Kaufman in 2017, stated that in any case he would not accept the honorific title.

When Skinner was first elected Bolsover was one of the safest Labour seats in the country, when the town still had a large mining community, but over the following half century with socioeconomic changes in the constituency Skinner's vote share dropped from 77% in 1970, still holding a high vote share of 65% in 2005, to only 36% in 2019, with the result that he lost the seat to the Conservatives by a margin of 11%.

Skinner was a strong supporter of the National Union of Mineworkers and their leader Arthur Scargill in the 1984–85 miners' strike.

[41] Conversely, despite his renowned left-wing views, Skinner for a long time had a positive relationship with Prime Minister Tony Blair, a leading figure on the right wing of the party, stemming from advice that Skinner gave Blair regarding public speaking.

[48] Skinner supported Corbyn, alongside the majority of Labour MPs, in voting against the extension of RAF airstrikes against ISIS in Syria in December 2015.

Notable infractions included: Known for his republican sentiments, Skinner regularly heckled during the annual Queen's Speech ceremony.

The documentary traces Skinner's rise to political icon status and covers his working-class upbringing, his family influences and his hobbies away from "The Palace of Varieties".

[112] Skinner sang to his late mother when she was diagnosed with the disease and was inspired by her ability to recall old songs.