Austin Mitchell

Born in Bradford, Mitchell was the elder son of Richard Vernon Mitchell and Ethel Mary Butterworth. He was educated at Woodbottom Council School in Baildon,Austin Mitchell, Reminiscing - [http://www.baildonwiki.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Austin_Mitchell WOODBOTTOM DAYS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104231156/http://www.baildonwiki.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Austin_Mitchell |date=4 January 2019 }} Bingley Grammar School, the University of Manchester, and Nuffield College, Oxford. His doctoral thesis, The Whigs in Opposition, 1815–1830, was published in 1963.‘MITCHELL, Austin Vernon’, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014

From 1959 to 1963, he lectured in history at the University of Otago in Dunedin. While lecturing in politics from 1963 to 1967 at the University of Canterbury, Mitchell wrote a popular book about New Zealand, The Half Gallon Quarter Acre Pavlova Paradise (1972). The book title became a phrase in the New Zealand English lexicon. In the 1960s and 70s New Zealand remained a milder version of the socialist laboratory it had been since 1935. In the 1980s and 90s the same socialist Labour party's government transformed it into an open market economy. These drastic changes provided ample subject matter for social analysis and 30 years later Mitchell wrote Pavlova Paradise Revisited (2002) as well as a video series accessible on NZ on Screen, after another New Zealand expedition. From 1967 to 1969 Mitchell was an Official Fellow at Nuffield College.{{cite news | url=http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/pavlova-paradise-revisited-2013/series | work=McDougall Craig North | location=New Zealand | title=Pavalova Paradise Revisted | first=Austin | last=Mitchell | date=2002 | access-date=12 January 2015 | archive-date=26 March 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326220258/http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/pavlova-paradise-revisited-2013/series | url-status=live }}

Mitchell joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 1961 and several months later he became chairman of the Dunedin Central branch.{{sfn|Jamieson|2009|p=257}} In 1963 Phil Connolly, the retiring MP for Dunedin Central, shoulder-tapped Mitchell to put his name forward to replace him in the seat. During their conversation Connolly was particularly concerned with what religion Mitchell was (assuming him to be a Catholic) and was relieved when Mitchell said he was an Anglican, which would be acceptable to a predominantly Presbyterian constituency. However, Mitchell ultimately did not put himself forward for the nomination, instead resolving to return to the UK.{{sfn|Jamieson|2009|p=266}}

Mitchell was a founding member of New Zealand's University of Canterbury Political Science Department in 1963, supporting it breaking away from the History Department. In 2015 he returned to the University of Canterbury as a Canterbury Visiting Fellow. Mitchell lectured on "Britain and New Zealand - The Great Unravelling", looking at the evolution of recent British politics, drawing analogies in each section with parallel developments and implications for New Zealand to examine all worldwide trends in the evolution of liberal English-speaking democracies.{{cite news | url=http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/erskine/docs/visitorsinfo_potential.pdf | work=The University of Canterbury | location=Christchurch New Zealand | title=Information for Potential Erskine Fellows | first=Erskine | last=Manager | date=1 March 2014 | access-date=12 January 2015 | archive-date=27 March 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327002826/http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/erskine/docs/visitorsinfo_potential.pdf | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=http://www.arts.canterbury.ac.nz/news/00169.shtml | work=The University of Canterbury | location=Christchurch New Zealand | title=Austin Mitchell is the Erskine Fellow for 2016 | first=Bronwyn | last=Haywood | date=1 January 2015 | access-date=12 January 2015 | archive-date=22 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122233156/http://www.arts.canterbury.ac.nz/news/00169.shtml | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/courseinfo/GetCourseDetails.aspx?course=POLS334&occurrence=16SU1%28C%29&year=2016 | work=The University of Canterbury | location=Christchurch New Zealand | title=Political Science Course 334 2016 Summer Course | first=Bronwyn | last=Haywood | date=1 January 2015 | access-date=12 January 2015 | archive-date=15 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915160050/http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/courseinfo/GetCourseDetails.aspx?course=POLS334&occurrence=16SU1(C)&year=2016 | url-status=live }}

He first became involved in television journalism while teaching history and politics in New Zealand in the 1960s. He fronted the current affairs show Compass and in 1965 conducted an interview series with leading politicians Men on the Hill in which he explored the balance of power among the institutions of modern government such as caucus, departments, cabinet, and parliament with an emphasis on the question of who governs?.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-men-on-the-hill-1965/series|title=The Men on the Hill | Series | Television | NZ on Screen|access-date=7 December 2021|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207210529/https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-men-on-the-hill-1965/series|url-status=live}} In 1966 he hosted a fortnightly television series Topic exploring an issue of the dayNew Zealand Listener, 20 May 1966 and also fronted one-off television programmes – for example The New Zealand woman – who is she.NZ Listener, 28 October 1966 On returning to the UK he used his New Zealand television experience to become a journalist at ITV company Yorkshire Television from 1969 to 1977, presenting their regional news programme Calendar, although he spent a short period at the BBC in 1972. During his period at Yorkshire, Mitchell chaired a tense live studio discussion involving Brian Clough and Don Revie, immediately following Clough's sacking by Leeds United in 1974.{{YouTube|iTiIdbDBmZc|Entire segment of Revie/Clough interview}} Broadcast on the documentary Yorkshire Gold, Yorkshire Television, ITV, 2004.

He was elected to the UK Parliament at a by-election in 1977, following the death of the previous MP, the Foreign Secretary Tony Crosland.{{cite web |title=1977 By Elections, Grimsby |url=http://by-elections.co.uk/77.html |access-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012020902/http://by-elections.co.uk/77.html |archive-date=12 October 2013 |date=28 April 1977}}{{cite news |last1=Parkhouse |first1=Geoffrey |title=Sensation at the polls |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19770429&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=19 August 2021 |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=29 April 1977 |page=1 |archive-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819050157/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19770429&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |url-status=live }} At the time Mitchell identified himself as a Gaitskellite.{{Cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/aug/18/austin-mitchell-obituary|title = Austin Mitchell obituary|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 18 August 2021|access-date = 22 August 2021|archive-date = 22 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210822133932/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/aug/18/austin-mitchell-obituary|url-status = live}}

Mitchell supported the introduction of television cameras to the House of Commons, raising it for discussion in 1983.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2988645.stm |work=BBC News |title=The rise and effect of MP TV |date=2 May 2003 |access-date=26 February 2010 |archive-date=12 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212171227/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2988645.stm |url-status=live }} The move opened the proceedings of the House to the wider public, who previously had only been able to follow via newspapers and, from 1978, radio. In 1986, following the John Stalker inquiry to alleged Royal Ulster Constabulary "shoot-to-kill" policies in Northern Ireland, a policeman Chief Inspector Brian Woollard claimed he had been removed from the inquiry by a group of Freemasons; Mitchell backed Woollard and argued that there should be a national register of all people in authority who are Freemasons.{{cite news |title= Power of the Masons - Myth of Menace? |date= 13 July 1986 |work= Sunday People}}

In 1980, Mitchell brought in a Bill that would have televised parliamentary proceedings. The vote to allow the Bill to be entered into the House which resulted in a tie vote. Then Deputy Speaker Bernard Weatherill broke to tie to allow the Bill to be debated in line with the Speaker Denison's rule.{{Cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1980-01-30/debates/7bc78f61-9381-4e5b-90b4-cdea9fc08a92/TelevisingOfParliament#contribution-227c65bc-212d-4268-ab34-6f077f4e8602|title=Televising Of Parliament - Hansard - UK Parliament}}

Beginning in the 1990s, Mitchell helped to highlight Jersey's role in facilitating tax evasion, drug trafficking, and money laundering, as well as the island's secretive partnership with accountancy firms Price Waterhouse and Ernst & Young to enact LLP legislation to minimise accountants' liabilities.{{cite journal |first1= Austin |last1= Mitchell |first2= Prem |last2= Sikka |author2-link= Prem Sikka, Baron Sikka |year= 1999 |title= Jersey: Auditors' Liabilities versus People's Rights |journal= The Political Quarterly |volume= 70 |issue= 1 |pages= 3–15 |doi= 10.1111/1467-923X.00199 }}{{Cite journal |first1= Austin |last1= Mitchell |first2= Prem |last2= Sikka |first3= Hugh |last3= Willmott |year= 2001 |title= Policing Knowledge by Invoking the Law: critical accounting and the politics of dissemination |url= http://scinet.dost.gov.ph/union/Downloads/sdarticle_176374.pdf |journal= Critical Perspectives on Accounting |volume= 12 |issue= 5 |pages= 527–555 |doi= 10.1006/cpac.2000.0452 |access-date= 19 July 2021 |archive-date= 19 July 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210719171223/http://scinet.dost.gov.ph/union/Downloads/sdarticle_176374.pdf |url-status= live }} In the 1997-2001 parliament, Mitchell was a member of the Agriculture Select Committee.{{Cite web |title=House of Commons - Agriculture - First Report |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmagric/94/9401.htm |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=publications.parliament.uk}}

In the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mitchell was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to New Zealand interests in the United Kingdom.{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2001 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2001 |date=4 June 2001 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=2 July 2020 |archive-date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009052715/https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2001 |url-status=live }}

In October 2002, he temporarily changed his name to Austin Haddock as haddock is a staple catch for his constituents that was suffering a decline and it was his wish to promote it.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2290283.stm |title=MP changes name to Haddock |date=1 October 2002 |work=BBC News |access-date=26 February 2010 |archive-date=24 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124182821/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2290283.stm |url-status=live }}

He was chair of the Parliamentary All-Party Photography Group and he regularly exhibited in the APPG's annual photography exhibition.APPG Exhibition. [https://archive.rps.org/archive/volume-145/753941-volume-145-page-78?q=Mitchell RPS Journal, April 2005, p. 141] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819074907/https://archive.rps.org/archive/volume-145/753941-volume-145-page-78?q=Mitchell |date=19 August 2021 }}. He campaigned for the recognition of photographers' rights after an over-zealous police officer deleted photographs, without his permission, from his camera's memory card at the 2005 Labour Conference in Brighton.{{cite news|url=http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/mitchell-37381|title='Isis' terror stop 'ridiculous', says Austin Mitchell|date=27 October 2014|work=Amateur Photographer|access-date=13 March 2017|archive-date=14 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314064530/http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/mitchell-37381|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7351252.stm|title=Innocent photographer or terrorist?|work=BBC News|access-date=13 March 2017|date=17 April 2008|archive-date=9 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109221123/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7351252.stm|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/photography-review-a-big-advance-says-austin-mitchell-mp-17994|title=Photography review 'a big advance', says Austin Mitchell MP - Amateur Photographer|date=2 February 2011|work=Amateur Photographer|access-date=13 March 2017|archive-date=14 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314064233/http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/photography-review-a-big-advance-says-austin-mitchell-mp-17994|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.photographyblog.com/articles/know_your_photography_rights/|title=Know Your Photography Rights {{!}} PhotographyBLOG|access-date=13 March 2017|archive-date=14 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314063337/http://www.photographyblog.com/articles/know_your_photography_rights/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4291424.stm|title= UK {{!}} UK Politics {{!}} MP's anger after camera is seized|website=BBC News|access-date=13 March 2017|date=28 September 2005|archive-date=23 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823184200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4291424.stm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.g7uk.com/photo-video-blog/20080405-mp-fights-for-photographers-rights.shtml|title=MP fights for photographers' rights {{!}} g7uk|website=www.g7uk.com|access-date=13 March 2017|date=5 April 2008|archive-date=14 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314062930/http://www.g7uk.com/photo-video-blog/20080405-mp-fights-for-photographers-rights.shtml|url-status=live}}

In 2007, Mitchell wrote a front-page article for The Independent newspaper in which he criticised the treatment of a family of asylum-seekers in his constituency. This article quoted him as saying that certain correspondents on the subject to the website of the local newspaper, the Grimsby Telegraph, were "lumpen lunatics."{{cite news|url=http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2204089.ece |work=The Independent |location=London |title=Austin Mitchell: Treatment of model family makes me ashamed to be a Labour MP |date=1 February 2007 |access-date=25 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725003623/http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2204089.ece |archive-date=25 July 2008}} The Grimsby Telegraph covered the response in which it stood by the MP but also reported that a number of readers had called for his resignation.Grimsby Telegraph, Friday, 2 February 2007, pp. 1, 4–5

He was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group – although this affiliation did not prevent him from nominating Gordon Brown (rather than John McDonnell) for the 2007 Labour Party leadership election. As a supporter of the Better Off Out campaign, Mitchell was a Eurosceptic and he opposed the Common Fisheries Policy. He supported Leave in the 2016 referendum on EU membership, and he commented that 'the EU is a racket run at Britain's expense, a system bonding national elites together to ignore the people'.{{cite web|last1=Mitchell|first1=Austin|title=Brexit has challenged the comfort and authority of the Establishment|url=https://brexitcentral.com/brexit-has-challenged-the-comfort-and-authority-of-the-establishment/|website=Brexit Central|access-date=18 August 2021|date=24 October 2019|archive-date=15 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615104228/https://brexitcentral.com/brexit-has-challenged-the-comfort-and-authority-of-the-establishment/|url-status=live}}

Mitchell was also a keen supporter of the Additional Member System, (the electoral system used in elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly), and called a Private Members' Debate on this issue on 1 December 2009.{{Cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2009-12-01/debates/09120132000002/details|title=Proportional Representation - Hansard - UK Parliament|access-date=22 August 2021|archive-date=22 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822134117/https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2009-12-01/debates/09120132000002/details|url-status=live}}

As part of an independent audit conducted after the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009, in which expense claims between 2004 and 2008 for second homes were examined, Mitchell was discovered to have wrongly claimed £10,549 for mortgage repayments. He explained that this was as a result of an oversight in 2006; in January 2010, he issued an apology and repaid the funds.{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/7077818/MPs-expenses-Austin-Mitchell-repays-10000.html | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=MPs' expenses: Austin Mitchell repays £10,000 | date=26 January 2010 | access-date=25 April 2010 | archive-date=29 January 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129175126/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/7077818/MPs-expenses-Austin-Mitchell-repays-10000.html | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8479926.stm | work=BBC News | title=Veteran Labour MP repays £10,500 | date=25 January 2010 | access-date=25 April 2010 | archive-date=12 December 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212171226/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8479926.stm | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mp-apologises-for-pound10000-expenses-error-1879580.html | work=The Independent | location=London | title=MP apologises for £10,000 expenses error | first=Daniel | last=Bentley | date=26 January 2010 | access-date=25 April 2010 | archive-date=29 January 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129170559/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mp-apologises-for-pound10000-expenses-error-1879580.html | url-status=live }}

During 2010, Mitchell participated in Tower Block of Commons, a Channel 4 documentary where MPs live in tower blocks and in with ordinary residents in deprived areas. Mitchell, who insisted on living in his own flat with his wife instead of living with the local residents,{{cite web |author=Robert Epstein |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/tower-block-of-commons-channel-4brtrue-stories-moving-to-mars-more4-1891489.html |title=Tower Block of Commons, Channel 4True Stories: Moving to Mars, More4 – Reviews – TV & Radio |work=The Independent |date=7 February 2010 |access-date=17 April 2014 |archive-date=17 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417061112/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/tower-block-of-commons-channel-4brtrue-stories-moving-to-mars-more4-1891489.html |url-status=live }} was criticised for his apparent lack of engagement in comparison to his Liberal Democrat and Conservative counterparts. He claimed the production company misled him.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/feb/17/fool-tower-block-of-commons-austin-mitchell |title=I was a fool to appear in Tower Block of Commons, says MP Austin Mitchell |first=Andrew |last=Sparrow |date=17 February 2010 |access-date=26 February 2010 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-date=17 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417092804/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/feb/17/fool-tower-block-of-commons-austin-mitchell |url-status=live }} Mitchell was the President of the Debating Group.{{cite web |url=http://debatinggroup.org.uk |title=The Debating Group |publisher=The Debating Group |date=24 March 2014 |access-date=17 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405041029/http://debatinggroup.org.uk/ |archive-date=5 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}

On 29 October 2012, Mitchell directed a tweet at former Conservative MP Louise Mensch, saying "A good wife doesn’t disagree with her master in public and a good little girl doesn’t lie about why she quit politics." He also referred to Mensch as "Menschkin." The comments were widely condemned as being sexist, with Mensch demanding an apology from both Mitchell and Ed Miliband. Mitchell responded that he was being "ironic".{{cite news|last=Quinn|first=Ben|title=Labour MP defends 'ironic' Louise Mensch tweet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/oct/30/louise-mensch-austin-mitchell-twitter|access-date=30 October 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=30 October 2012|archive-date=17 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417140425/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/oct/30/louise-mensch-austin-mitchell-twitter|url-status=live}}

In April 2014, Mitchell announced that he would not be standing in the next general election, which was held in May 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-27058854|title=Veteran Labour MP Austin Mitchell to step down|date=16 April 2014|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=16 April 2014|archive-date=18 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418062544/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-27058854|url-status=live}}

Austin married Dorothea Patricia Jackson in 1959: they had two daughters, Susan Ngaio and Nicola Rewa, but divorced in 1966. In 1976, he married New Zealand television producer and writer Linda McDougall: they had one son, Jonathan Vernon Mitchell, and one daughter, Hannah Kezia Mitchell. Amongst his personal interests were photography and he was a member of the Royal Photographic Society.RPS membership records. Information supplied by the RPS.

In July 2013, Mitchell underwent heart surgery at King's College Hospital, London, to repair a leaking valve.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23425116|title=Austin Mitchell, Grimsby Labour MP, has heart surgery|date=23 July 2013|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=23 July 2013|archive-date=28 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728024354/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23425116|url-status=live}} He died at the coronary care unit at Leeds General Infirmary on 18 August 2021, a month before his 87th birthday.{{cite news|date=18 August 2021|title=Former Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell dies aged 86|work=GrimsbyLive|url=https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/former-grimsby-mp-austin-mitchell-5801589|access-date=18 August 2021|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818120125/https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/former-grimsby-mp-austin-mitchell-5801589|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=18 August 2021|title=Austin Mitchell: Former Great Grimsby MP dies aged 86|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-58257189|access-date=18 August 2021|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818162709/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-58257189|url-status=live}} Speaking after his death, former Labour leader Tony Blair said, "Austin was a larger than life figure – immense fun, a jovial manner often concealing an acute mind, a challenging colleague at times for sure but always warm-hearted and decent, and above all totally committed to Grimsby! I never had a conversation with him without coming away with a new insight or perspective which is why even when disagreeing, I had to listen."{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2021-08-18/tributes-pour-in-for-former-grimsby-mp-and-broadcaster-austin-mitchell|title=Tributes pour in for former Grimsby MP and broadcaster Austin Mitchell|date=18 August 2021|website=ITV News|access-date=22 August 2021|archive-date=22 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822114021/https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2021-08-18/tributes-pour-in-for-former-grimsby-mp-and-broadcaster-austin-mitchell|url-status=live}}

Mitchell was portrayed in the 2009 film The Damned United, in a scene recreating his interview with Brian Clough and Don Revie. He was played by Mark Bazeley.{{cite news |title=Brian Clough and Don Revie: Remembering Austin Mitchell - the man who chaired their explosive interview |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/brian-clough-and-don-revie-remembering-austin-mitchell-the-man-who-chaired-their-explosive-interview-3351350 |work=Yorkshire Post |access-date=26 August 2021 |archive-date=26 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826170554/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/brian-clough-and-don-revie-remembering-austin-mitchell-the-man-who-chaired-their-explosive-interview-3351350 |url-status=live }}

• The Half-gallon Quarter-acre Pavlova Paradise, 1972, Whitcombe and Tombs
• ''Westminster Man', 1982, Methuen, {{ISBN|0-423-00380-1}}
• Election '45, 1995, Fabian Society
• Pavlova Paradise Revisited: a guide to the strange but endearing land where Kiwis live, 2002, Penguin Books
• Confessions of a Political Maverick, 2018, Biteback Publishing

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |first = Rosemary |last = Jamieson |title = In Command: Minesweeper Captain and Labour Parliamentarian |edition = 1st |place = Wellington, N.Z. |publisher = Steele Roberts |year = 2009}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090206024939/http://www.austinmitchell.co.uk/ Austin Mitchell MP] official site
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100930153854/http://www.austinmitchell.org/ Austin Mitchell's Weblog]
• {{Hansard-contribs | mr-austin-mitchell | Austin Mitchell }}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060302121651/http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/Austin+Mitchell/ ePolitix – Austin Mitchell MP]}}
• [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-3663,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Austin Mitchell MP]
• [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/austin_mitchell/great_grimsby TheyWorkForYou.com – Austin Mitchell MP]
• [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Austin_Mitchell&mpc=Great_Grimsby&house=commons The Public Whip – Austin Mitchell MP] voting record
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/281.stm BBC News – Austin Mitchell]{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} profile 10 February 2005
• [http://www.electionsuk.org/austinmitchell.htm ElectionsUK article]
• {{NPG name|id=90930}}

• [http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/95579/ "hit the ground reviewing"]

• {{YouTube|W5NJdNfDB2A|Starting Radio Hallam in 1974}}
• {{YouTube|iTiIdbDBmZc|Brian Clough meets Don Revie in that 1974 ITV Calendar interview - ITV News}}

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{{s-bef|before=Anthony Crosland}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Great Grimsby|years=1977–2015}}

{{s-aft|after=Melanie Onn}}

{{s-ppo}}

{{succession box|title=Chair of the Fabian Society|years=1986–1987|before=Andrew McIntosh|after=Nick Butler}}

{{s-end}}

{{Fabian Society}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Austin}}

Category:1934 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:20th-century British journalists

Category:Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford

Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester

Category:British Eurosceptics

Category:British broadcaster-politicians

Category:Chairs of the Fabian Society

Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies

Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Great Grimsby

Category:New Zealand Labour Party politicians

Category:Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Category:People educated at Bingley Grammar School

Category:People from Baildon

Category:UK MPs 1974–1979

Category:UK MPs 1979–1983

Category:UK MPs 1983–1987

Category:UK MPs 1987–1992

Category:UK MPs 1992–1997

Category:UK MPs 1997–2001

Category:UK MPs 2001–2005

Category:UK MPs 2005–2010

Category:UK MPs 2010–2015

Category:Academic staff of the University of Canterbury

Category:Academic staff of the University of Otago