Jim Knight

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James Knight known as Jim Knight (born 6 March 1965, Bexley) is a British politician for the Labour Party who has been a Member of Parliament since 2001. As of May 2006 Knight holds the post of Minister of State for Schools in the Department for Education and Skills.

In his first Parliament, Jim Knight generally voted in line with party policy, including all major votes such as those on the Iraq war and top-up fees.

[edit] Election history

He first stood for Parliament in the 1997 general election as the Labour candidate for Dorset South, but lost. He was however elected on the same day to Mendip District Council, on which he served until 2001, including as Labour Group leader.

At the 2001 general election, he was elected the member of Parliament for Dorset South in, the only Labour gain from the Conservatives in that year. A high-profile anti-Conservative tactical voting campaign was conducted in Dorset, led by Billy Bragg, and Knight may have gained many votes from Liberal Democrats. It is rumoured, though not proven, that the Liberal Democrats agreed not to campaign there, on the condition that Labour did the same in other constituencies. Dorset South was the second most marginal seat in the 2001 elections, being only won by 153 votes. (Only Cheadle was more marginal.)

While he was generally expected to have a difficult election in the 2005 election, he won with a margin of 1,812 votes in an election in which Labour gained no seats and suffered a noticeable decline in the popular vote. This can perhaps in part be attributed to the Conservative candidate, Ed Matts, who achieved national fame after doctoring a photo in his campaign literature from a protest against the deportation of a family of asylum seekers into an anti-immigration photo. Knight also benefited from several high-profile ministerial visits during the election campaign.

He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2005-2006.

His Conservative Party opponent at the next election will be Richard Drax

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ian Bruce		 Member of Parliament for South Dorset
2001 – present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP		 Minister of State for Schools and 14 - 19 learners
May 2006 – present		 Incumbent
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