Thomas Anthony Gordon is a British
Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the
Member of Parliament for
Harrogate and Knaresborough since 2024.
Early life and career
Thomas Anthony Gordon was born and raised in
Knottingley.
He received a
Bachelor of Science degree in
biochemistry at
Newcastle University
Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
. He went on to study for a
master's degree in
public health (MPH) also at Newcastle, which he completed part-time due to his mother's battle with breast cancer, which he says inspired his entry into politics.
His mother, Adele Hayes, is a councillor for
Knottingley on
Wakefield Council.
Before entering Parliament, Gordon worked in the scientific recruitment and health services research sector,
as well as policy roles in the charitable sector, including for the
Carers Trust
The Carers Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom which supports carers. It works with a network of partner organisations to help carers with the challenges of their caring roles.
History
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers was created on the ...
, and as a researcher for a
member of the European Parliament.
Political career
While at university, he was elected as a councillor for Manor Park on
Newcastle City Council in 2018, serving for one year. Afterwards, he returned to Knottingley after taking a job at the
University of York
, mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £8.0 million
, budget = £403.6 million
, chancellor = Heather Melville
, vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery
, students ...
and stood for election in
Knottingley on
Wakefield Council, achieving a 54.2-per-cent swing from
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
and becoming the first Liberal Democrat elected to Wakefield Council since 2011. Subsequently, he became one of Yorkshire's youngest council group leaders.
He was chosen as the Liberal Democrats' candidate for the
2021 Batley and Spen by-election
A by-election was held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Batley and Spen on 1 July 2021, following the resignation of the previous Member of Parliament (MP) Tracy Brabin, who was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire on 10 May. Under the devolu ...
, after the initial candidate Jo Conchie withdrew due to health reasons. He had previously stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for
Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford at the
2019 United Kingdom general election
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party receiving a Landslide victory, landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 4 ...
. Gordon was chosen as the party's candidate for the constituency of
Harrogate and Knaresborough, which he won with 23,976 votes (46.1 per cent) at the
2024 general election.
Personal life
Gordon is
gay. He is also a keen badminton player and runner, regularly participating in
Parkrun events,
and had completed more than a dozen long distance charity runs , including marathons in Paris and Berlin, to raise money for charity.
References
External links
*
Living people
Alumni of Newcastle University
Charity fundraisers (people)
Councillors in Newcastle upon Tyne
Councillors in Wakefield
English gay politicians
LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
LGBT people from Yorkshire
Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors
Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People associated with the University of York
People from Knottingley
Politicians from Yorkshire
UK MPs 2024–present
Year of birth missing (living people)
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