Martin Caton

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Martin Caton MP

Member of Parliament for Gower
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Gareth Wardell

Born	15 June 1951 (1951-06-15) (age 56) Bishop's Stortford
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour

Martin Philip Caton (born June 15, 1951) is a British politician. He has been the Labour Member of Parliament for Gower since 1997.

Martin Caton was born in Bishop's Stortford and educated at the Newport Free Grammar School near Saffron Walden, the Norfolk School of Agriculture, and the Aberystwyth College of Further Education. From 1974 he worked for 10 years as a research officer with the Welsh Plant Breeding Station at Aberystwyth before becoming a researcher for the member of the European Parliament David Morris. He was elected as a councillor of the Mumbles Community Council 1986-1990, and to the Swansea City Council from 1988 until his election to parliament.

He won the safe Labour seat of Gower at the 1997 general election on the retirement of Gareth Wardell. He was elected with a majority of 13,007 and made a very amusing maiden speech on June 4, 1997 [1], in which he defended the cockle industry in his constituency.

Martin Caton has been a little rebellious in parliament, having participated in the rebellion of Labour MPs voting against the government decision to invade Iraq in 2003, and also being one of the 88 Labour MPs to vote against replacing the Trident Nuclear Missile System, Caton having being a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament for years. Within Parliament, he has spent a long time on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee.

He married Bethan Evans in 1996 and they have two daughters.