Simon Danczuk
Encyclopedia
Simon Christopher Danczuk (born 24 October 1966) is a British
Labour Party
politician
, who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Rochdale
since 2010.
. While working, he studied at night school and gained qualifications he had missed out at secondary school before gaining a place at Lancaster University
, studying economic sociology and politics as a mature student.
Danczuk is co-founder of and current director of Vision Twentyone, a research, public affairs and communications consultancy, and has also held research positions at The Big Issue in the North
, Opinion Research Corporation
, Bolton Bury TEC
and worked for academics at Lancaster University
. He has written widely on topics such as democracy, homelessness, regeneration, drugs, housing and employment. Danczuk was named one of the 42 under 42 up-and-coming stars of North West business by Business Insider magazine in 2001.
He founded The Necessary Group, a campaign group of businessmen and politicians, which campaigned prior to the expected referenda
for an elected Regional Assembly
for the North West of England
.
for many years having joined the Labour Party
through the GMB trade union in the late 1980s. At the age of 27, he was elected as a councillor to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, serving for 8 years with portfolios including economic development and then education.
Prior to his selection for Labour in Rochdale he was also campaign manager for Janet Anderson
for Rossendale and Darwen Labour Party during the 2005 General Election
– helping retain the seat for Labour with a reduced majority of 3,500. He was a campaign strategist for Labour Party
during the 2006 Local Elections
and sat on North West Labour’s Regional Board (the Party’s governing body for the region) for 13 years. He was Constituency Secretary for Rossendale and Darwen Labour Party from 1991 to 1994, when Anderson took the seat for Labour for the first time in 1992, from David Trippier
.
. The acrimonious selection process was delayed due to problems with postal voting and the local party passing a motion of no confidence in the selection process. Local members were concerned that the short-listing process was deliberately manipulated in order to exclude Afzal Khan
, a Manchester councillor, who had received the highest number of nominations. In August 2006, Tribune magazine revealed that Danczuk's company Vision 21 had sent questionnaires to Labour members in Rochdale on behalf of the regional party - giving him an alleged unfair advantage as he had access to members' views. Danczuk reported that he received death threats during the selection process, but the police were told not to take the investigation further. The postal ballot got a 78% turnout and Danczuk received almost twice as many votes as the second-placed candidate.
In the 2010 election, Danczuk won 16,699 votes, unseating incumbent Liberal Democrat
Paul Rowen
, who received 15,810 as Conservative
Mudasir Dean polled 8,305, despite concerns about the Prime Minister's “bigoted woman” remark incident occurring in Rochdale.
In May 2011 Danczuk made a complaint to the police about Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne
after it was alleged that Huhne had asked someone to take his penalty points for a speeding offence in 2003.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Rochdale
Rochdale (UK Parliament constituency)
Rochdale is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
since 2010.
Early life and career
Danczuk started working life at 16 in a factory making gas fires for Main Gas before moving to the chemical company ICIImperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
. While working, he studied at night school and gained qualifications he had missed out at secondary school before gaining a place at Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
, studying economic sociology and politics as a mature student.
Danczuk is co-founder of and current director of Vision Twentyone, a research, public affairs and communications consultancy, and has also held research positions at The Big Issue in the North
The Big Issue
The Big Issue is a street newspaper published in eight countries; it is written by professional journalists and sold by homeless individuals. It was founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991...
, Opinion Research Corporation
Opinion Research Corporation
Opinion Research Corporation, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is a demographic, health, and market research company. It was founded in 1938 by Claude Robinson and George Gallup, although Gallup quickly left the firm in 1939....
, Bolton Bury TEC
Training and Enterprise Council
The Training and Enterprise Councils or TECs were local bodies established in England and Wales in the early 1990s to administer publicly-funded training programmes, replacing the former Manpower Services Commission. The first group of 19 TECs were launched in 1990...
and worked for academics at Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
. He has written widely on topics such as democracy, homelessness, regeneration, drugs, housing and employment. Danczuk was named one of the 42 under 42 up-and-coming stars of North West business by Business Insider magazine in 2001.
He founded The Necessary Group, a campaign group of businessmen and politicians, which campaigned prior to the expected referenda
Northern England referendums, 2004
The Northern England devolution referendums were referendums starting with the North East region of England, in the United Kingdom, on 4 November 2004. Dubbed by the government the Great North Vote, the referendum proposed that the region should have an elected regional assembly...
for an elected Regional Assembly
Regional Assemblies in England
The Regional Assemblies of England were a group of indirectly elected regional bodies established originally under the name Regional Chambers by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. They were abolished on 31 March 2010 and replaced by Local Authority Leaders’ Boards...
for the North West of England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
.
Labour Party
He has been involved in the Labour movementLabour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
for many years having joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
through the GMB trade union in the late 1980s. At the age of 27, he was elected as a councillor to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, serving for 8 years with portfolios including economic development and then education.
Prior to his selection for Labour in Rochdale he was also campaign manager for Janet Anderson
Janet Anderson
Janet Anderson is an English Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen from 1992 until 2010.-Early life:...
for Rossendale and Darwen Labour Party during the 2005 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
– helping retain the seat for Labour with a reduced majority of 3,500. He was a campaign strategist for Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
during the 2006 Local Elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2006
Local government elections took place in England on Thursday 4 May 2006. Polling stations were open between 7:00 and 22:00.All London borough council seats were up for election, as well as a third of the seats on each of the metropolitan borough councils, and a third of some unitary authorities...
and sat on North West Labour’s Regional Board (the Party’s governing body for the region) for 13 years. He was Constituency Secretary for Rossendale and Darwen Labour Party from 1991 to 1994, when Anderson took the seat for Labour for the first time in 1992, from David Trippier
David Trippier
Sir David Austin Trippier is a British Conservative politician and old boy of Bury Grammar School.Trippier was Member of Parliament for Rossendale from 1979 to 1983, and for Rossendale and Darwen from 1983 until he lost his seat in 1992 by 120 votes to Labour's Janet Anderson...
.
Election as MP
Danczuk was selected in early 2007 to be Rochdale Labour Party's Prospective Parliamentary CandidateProspective parliamentary candidate
Prospective parliamentary candidate is a term used in British politics to refer to candidates selected by political parties to fight individual constituencies in advance of a general election. This terminology was motivated by the strict limits on the amount of expenses incurred by an actual...
. The acrimonious selection process was delayed due to problems with postal voting and the local party passing a motion of no confidence in the selection process. Local members were concerned that the short-listing process was deliberately manipulated in order to exclude Afzal Khan
M. Afzal Khan
M. Afzal Khan is a Labour Party politician in the City of Manchester. He is a councillor in the Cheetham ward.Councillor Khan was the youngest, and first Asian and Muslim, Lord Mayor of Manchester from 2005 to 2006....
, a Manchester councillor, who had received the highest number of nominations. In August 2006, Tribune magazine revealed that Danczuk's company Vision 21 had sent questionnaires to Labour members in Rochdale on behalf of the regional party - giving him an alleged unfair advantage as he had access to members' views. Danczuk reported that he received death threats during the selection process, but the police were told not to take the investigation further. The postal ballot got a 78% turnout and Danczuk received almost twice as many votes as the second-placed candidate.
In the 2010 election, Danczuk won 16,699 votes, unseating incumbent Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
Paul Rowen
Paul Rowen
Paul John Rowen is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Rochdale from 2005 until the 2010 general election, when he was defeated by Labour Party candidate Simon Danczuk.-Early life and career:...
, who received 15,810 as Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Mudasir Dean polled 8,305, despite concerns about the Prime Minister's “bigoted woman” remark incident occurring in Rochdale.
In May 2011 Danczuk made a complaint to the police about Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...
after it was alleged that Huhne had asked someone to take his penalty points for a speeding offence in 2003.