Paul Dennett is a Labour Party politician who is the current elected Mayor of the City of Salford and the Deputy Mayor of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England.

Early life

Dennett was born in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

and grew up

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

. His father worked for a power station and was an active

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

and his mother was a housewife and house cleaner. His parents would later run The Engine Pub in

Prescot, Merseyside Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civ ...

. He attended Park Road Primary School and

Great Sankey High School Great Sankey High School (GSHS) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is a member of the Omega Multi-Academy Trust (OMAT). The school was first built in the 1970s a ...

, before working in customer services at a BT call centre. He received a BA in International Business from the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

, an MSc in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from the

Manchester Business School Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. One of the most prestigious business schools in the United Kingdom, it is also the second oldest in the UK, and pro ...

, and an

MRES A Master of Research (abbr. MRes, MARes, MScRes, or MScR) degree is an internationally recognised advanced postgraduate research degree. In most cases, the degree is designed to prepare students for doctoral research. Increasingly, the degree may ...

in Social Sciences from

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

. While at university, Dennett worked as an HR adviser and as a lecturer at

Manchester Metropolitan University Business School Manchester Metropolitan University Business School (MMUBS) is a triple-accredited business school of Manchester Metropolitan University. It traces its roots as a provider of business education back to 1889, and has a rich history of supporting in ...

Career

Dennett joined the Labour Party in 2007. He was elected the Mayor of Salford on 5 May 2016, succeeding Ian Stewart also of the Labour Party, and was re-elected in 2021. As the Mayor of Salford he is also a member of the

Greater Manchester Combined Authority The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members; 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...

, is the GMCA's portfolio lead for housing, homelessness and infrastructure, and, , is the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester. Dennett was formerly a local councillor for the Langworthy ward in Salford, and is a member of the

Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...

and UCU trade unions.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Gay politicians Labour Party (UK) mayors Living people LGBT mayors of places in the United Kingdom English LGBT politicians Mayors of Salford People from Warrington Members of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority {{England-mayor-stub