Austin Mitchell has been the Labour MP for Grimsby since 1977.

Austin started out on the right of the Labour Party, but in recent years it has moved so far right behind him that he is now the extreme left. Considered a dangerous revolutionary because of his belief in equality, public spending and state intervention in the economy and in markets and in full employment, which is basic to socialism. Not Old Labour- positively geriatric! He lives in Grimsby, though most of his time is spent driving between Grimsby- London - Halifax.

A former Parliamentary Private Secretary, Opposition Whip, Member of the Treasury, Civil Service Select Committee and Front Bench Spokesperson on Trade and Industry, he currently sits on the Public Accounts Committee. His interests include housing; the economy; fisheries policy and New Zealand. Austin is also a keen photographer and, as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Photography, organises the annual Jessops Parliamentary Photography Exhibition.

Austin is a member of many All-Party Parliamentary Groups, as well as being the chair of the Council Housing Group of MPs. Previously he was an academic (Nuffield College Oxford and New Zealand Universities) and a television journalist (BBC and Yorkshire Television). He presented 'Target' with Norman Tebbit on SKY from 1989 to 1998. He writes for The House Magazine, Accountancy Age and is the author of various books, some of which are collaborations with the late, great Richard Whiteley.