Dan Aldridge

Dan Aldridge
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Weston-super-Mare
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byJohn Penrose
Majority4,409 (10.4%)
Personal details
Born1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)
Political partyLabour
EducationWeston College
University of Exeter
Northumbria University (MSc)

Daniel Colin Aldridge[1] (born 1984 or 1985)[2] is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he is the first from his party to represent the constituency.

Early life and education

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Aldridge is originally from Stoke-on-Trent.[2] His sister is a nurse in Weston who worked through the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Aldridge studied for his A-levels at Weston College, before studying psychology at the University of Exeter and obtaining a MSc from Northumbria University.[2]

Career

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Prior to the 2024 general election, Aldridge was the Head of Policy at the British Computer Society.[4] He previously worked for the Office for Students, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the charity Stonewall.[4]

Political career

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On 13 March 2024, Aldridge was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the constituency of Weston-super-Mare for the 2024 general election by local party members at a hustings event at The Royal Hotel.[2] He was selected from a short-list of three, which included former MEP Alex Mayer.[2]

He won 16,310 votes in the election with a majority of 4,409 votes, defeating the incumbent MP John Penrose.[5][6] He became the first Labour MP to represent the constituency.[7]

In November 2024, Aldridge voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise assisted suicide.[8]

Personal life

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Aldridge permanently moved to Weston in 2001 with his parents and siblings, having been there on a caravan holiday the previous year.[9]

In 2024, PinkNews listed Aldridge among a number of out LGBTQ+ parliamentarians.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Members Sworn". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 10 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "'I know Weston and our people': Labour Party names new candidate". Weston Mercury. 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  3. ^ Hobbs, Phoebe (2024-04-06). "Meet the man campaigning to become Weston's first Labour MP". Somerset Live. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  4. ^ a b "Daniel Aldridge | Software Sustainability Institute". www.software.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  5. ^ "Weston-super-Mare | General Election 2024 | Sky News". election.news.sky.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  6. ^ "UK general election results live: Keir Starmer says 'time for us to deliver' as Nigel Farage becomes MP". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  7. ^ "New MP's mother: 'I'm so proud of you'". BBC News. 2024-07-05. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  8. ^ "Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading". UK Parliament. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  9. ^ "About | Daniel Aldridge for Weston-super-Mare". Dan Aldridge for Weston-super-Mare | Making Westminster work for Weston. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  10. ^ "Number of out LGBTQ+ MPS falls following election".
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