Dennis Skinner

Dennis Skinner is a British Labour politician who represented Bolsover in Parliament from 1970 to 2019. Associated with trade unionism and the mining communities of Derbyshire, he became widely known as the Beast of Bolsover for his forceful parliamentary presence.

Skinner served on Labour’s National Executive Committee and chaired the party in 1988–89. His political life, from local government to national prominence, was explored in Daniel Draper’s 2017 documentary Nature of the Beast, which examines the convictions and experiences behind his public persona.