Adam Thompson (politician)

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Adam Thompson
Member of Parliament
for Erewash
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byMaggie Throup
Majority5,859 (13.6%)
Personal details
Political partyLabour

Adam Thompson is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Erewash constituency in Derbyshire since the 2024 general election in the United Kingdom.[1]

He stood for the neighbouring Amber Valley constituency for the previous general election in 2019.[2]

Early life and education

Thompson attained a PhD in metrology from the University of Nottingham, following which he worked at the university as a research scientist in manufacturing engineering. He served as a union representative for research scientists at the institution as a member of the University and College Union. He is also a former teacher, and has cited his experience working in schools during Michael Gove's tenure as Education Secretary as a key influence on his decision to enter electoral politics.[3][4][5]

Political career

Thompson joined the Labour Party following the 2015 general election, inspired by a speech made by then-outgoing party leader Ed Miliband. Prior to his election as a Member of Parliament, he contested a number of local elections, including to Sandiacre Parish Council, Erewash Borough Council, and Derbyshire County Council.[5][6][7] In the 2019 borough council election, he fell eight votes short of winning one of the three council seats in Long Eaton Central ward.[8]

Shortly ahead of the 2019 general election, he was selected as the Labour Party candidate in the Amber Valley constituency, which neighbours Erewash. He finished second, defeated by sitting Conservative MP Nigel Mills; Mills won with a majority of 16,886 votes (37%), the largest margin for any winning party in the seat since its creation in 1983. Mills was subsequently defeated at the 2024 general election by Labour candidate Linsey Farnsworth.[2][9]

Thompson was serving as a Vice-Chair of Scientists for Labour in 2020 at the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In that role, he co-led a team which briefed the Shadow Cabinet during the crisis.[3][5]

Thompson was selected as Labour's parliamentary candidate for Erewash in July 2022. He was endorsed in this process by the CWU, regional branches of UNISON, the GMB, and Unite, as well as the East Midlands branch of the Co-operative Party. At the time, he was also serving as secretary and campaign coordinator in the Erewash Constituency Labour Party.[4]

He was the Labour Party candidate in Erewash at the 2024 general election, in which he defeated incumbent MP Maggie Throup. Thompson won by 5859 votes (13.6%), becoming the first Labour MP for Erewash since Liz Blackman; who had stood down 14 years earlier.[10]

Personal life

He has resided in Long Eaton since 2019, having previously lived in Sandiacre from 2015.[3][5]

References

  1. ^ "Erewash | General Election 2024 | Sky News". election.news.sky.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  2. ^ a b Grant, John (13 December 2019). "What happened on election night in Amber Valley?". Derbyshire Live. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Kartupelis, Jenny (2022-11-28). "On election standby: A conversation with Dr Adam Thompson". Central Bylines. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  4. ^ a b Neame, Katie (2022-08-01). "Three more Labour parliamentary candidates selected over the weekend". LabourList. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  5. ^ a b c d Erewash Community Television (2024-06-25). #news #politics 2024 Erewash Parliamentary Interview. Retrieved 2024-07-12 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Borough Council By Elections 2021". www.erewash.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  7. ^ "Derbyshire County Council 2021". www.erewash.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  8. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Long Eaton Central Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  9. ^ "Amber Valley - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  10. ^ "Erewash - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Erewash

2024–Present
Incumbent