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James Daly (English politician)

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James Daly
Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
6 February 2024 – 5 July 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Preceded byLee Anderson
Member of Parliament
for Bury North
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byJames Frith
Succeeded byJames Frith
Personal details
Born
James Barry Daly

(1980-03-19) 19 March 1980 (age 44)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Alma materEdge Hill University
University of Leeds

James Barry Daly[1] (born 19 March 1980)[2] is a British politician who has served as a Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party since 6 February 2024. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury North from 2019 to 2024.[3] He is a member of the Conservative Party.

Early life

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Daly studied at Edge Hill College and then the University of Leeds.[4] He practised criminal law as a defence solicitor in Greater Manchester for 16 years before becoming a MP.[5]

Political career

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James was a councillor for Bury Council's North Manor ward from 2012 to 2019, and served as leader of the Conservative group on the council from 2017 to 2019.[6] Daly stood in neighbouring Bolton North East at the 2015 and 2017 general elections, coming second with 32.8% and 42.2% of the vote respectively.[7] He also stood at the 2015 Oldham West and Royton by-election, finishing third with 2,596 votes (9.4%).[8]

At the 2019 general election, he stood in Bury North, where he won the seat from Labour incumbent James Frith with a majority of 0.2%, representing a swing of 4.7%. With a majority of 105 votes,[9] it was the most marginal seat in England at the time of the election.

He is an advocate of the Down Syndrome Bill, which would recognise people with Down syndrome as a specific minority group.[10]

In June 2022, Daly gave his full support to Boris Johnson during the Partygate scandal despite his constituents being "angry." He was further quoted: "As an MP I fully understand the strength of feeling [about Partygate revelations]. I'm not saying anybody's wrong, but I had to think about my role as MP for Bury North and what's going to benefit my constituents. I hope people will look at what we've delivered and say 'this is a government and these are Conservative MPs who’ve done what they said they would do'."[11]

On 13 June 2022, Daly was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Work and Pensions ministerial team.[12] He resigned from his position on 6 July 2022 following the Chris Pincher scandal, amid the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.[13]

In March 2022, WhatsApp messages revealed that Matt Hancock had backed a plan to threaten Daly into voting for key lockdown decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic in England.[14]

In September 2023, Daly wrote in the Bury Times that Labour's proposal to add VAT onto fee paying schools was "deeply depressing." In the article he praised the state education system but said that: "I was state-educated and will be forever grateful to my teachers for providing me with an enriching educational journey that I still benefit from today. The choices I make in my life today are directly linked to the aspiration and skills that my teachers and family taught me. One of those choices is to send my son to a fee-paying school."[15]

In December 2023 he said that most struggling children in his constituency are the "products of crap parents".[16] He later defended his comments, saying that he wanted "to ensure those from most disadvantaged backgrounds have best chance to thrive and succeed".[17]

In February 2024, Daly was appointed a deputy chair of Conservative Party.[18] This was following the resignations of Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ^ "Parliamentary career for James Daly". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ "James Daly MP - Who is he?". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ Fouzder, Monidipa (17 June 2020). "Conservative MP condemns low pay in criminal legal aid". Law Gazette. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. ^ Yates, Sarah (23 February 2017). "Bury Conservatives elect new leader". Bury Times. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  7. ^ George, Tom (27 November 2019). "Bury North constituency candidates for the General Election 2019". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Oldham West and Royton: Parliamentary By-Election Results". Oldham Council. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Bury North parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  10. ^ "James Daly MP supports the Down Syndrome Bill". James Daly. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  11. ^ Robson, Steve (6 June 2022). "My constituents are angry with Johnson but I'm still going to back him, says MP James Daly". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  12. ^ Heale, James [@JAHeale] (13 June 2022). "Some PPS changes for rising Tory stars: -Rob Butler to Liz Truss -Selaine Saxby to Simon Clarke -James Sunderland to George Eustice -Gagan Mohindra to Priti Patel -James Daly to DWP team" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 June 2022 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ @JamesDalyMP (6 July 2022). "I have tonight taken the decision to resign as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the DWP" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Hancock backed pressuring MP into voting for lockdown, messages reveal". BBC News. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  15. ^ "JAMES DALY: Labour's proposal to add VAT to school fees is deeply depressing". Bury Times. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  16. ^ Adu, Aletha (29 December 2023). "Tory MP says most struggling children in his area are 'products of crap parents'". The Guardian.
  17. ^ "Bury North MP James Daly defends remarks over poor parenting". BBC News. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Bury MP appointed to high role in Conservative Party". Bury Times. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  19. ^ Gee, Chris (6 February 2024). "Bury North MP James Daly appointed deputy chair of Conservative Party". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Bury North
2019–2024 		Succeeded by


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