Daniel Zeichner
Daniel Zeichner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shadow Minister for Transport | |
| Assumed office 18 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | John Woodcock |
| Member of Parliament for Cambridge | |
| Assumed office 8 May 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Julian Huppert |
| Majority | 599 (1.2%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 November 1956 Beckenham, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
| Domestic partner | Barbara |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
Daniel Zeichner (born 9 November 1956) is a British Labour Party politician. He was elected in the 2015 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cambridge, replacing the Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert. Before entering Parliament, Zeichner was a councillor for eight years.[1]
Early life
Daniel Zeichner was born in Beckenham in 1956. His father was an Austrian immigrant and his mother was the descendant of agricultural workers from Cambridgeshire. As a teenager, Zeichner was a middle-distance runner.[2] He attended Trinity School of John Whitgift, a former grammar school, turned public school.
In 1976, Zeichner came to Cambridge University to read history at King's College. At King's, Zeichner met Barbara 'Budge' Ziolkowska who would become his life partner. They lived in Comberton, a village 6 miles (10 km) south-west of the city of Cambridge and joined the Labour Party in 1979.[2]
Zeichner’s first job after graduation was as a trainee computer programmer, working for Cambridgeshire County Council at the registry office next to Shire Hall on Castle Hill in Cambridge. He would later work in IT for a number of companies, including Philips in East Chesterton and at Perkins Engines in Peterborough.[2]
In 1992, Zeichner was hired to work for Norwich South MP John Garrett, working for Garrett and his successor Charles Clarke until 1999.[2] In 2002, Zeichner began working for UNISON, the public sector trade union where he served as a political officer until his election as Member of Parliament for Cambridge in 2015.
Political career
Zeichner has served several terms on Labour's National Policy Forum, the Labour Party’s top policy-making body. He was first elected to represent the East of England on the body shortly after it was first established by Tony Blair as part of the 'Partnership in Power' process.[2]
Zeichner was elected as a councillor in Burston, Norfolk in 1995, a position in which he would serve until 2003. During this time, Zeichner became leader of the Labour group on South Norfolk District Council.
Zeichner stood unsuccessfully for Parliament four times. He contested Mid Norfolk first in 1997, losing by fewer than 1,400 votes. He stood again in 2001 and 2005, being defeated by larger margins. In 2006, he was selected as the candidate for the Cambridge constituency which had been lost by Labour to the Liberal Democrats the previous year.
At the election in 2010, Zeichner came third in Cambridge, polling 24% of the vote. He caused controversy during the election campaign after he criticised the Conservative Party for allying with 'fascists' in the European Parliament. Referring to the Polish Law and Justice Party which sits with the Conservatives in the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists, Zeichner performed a Nazi salute during a debate at the Cambridge Union Society. The incident received national press coverage. Local rabbi Reuven Leigh said at the time, "To make light of the Nazi salute and to accuse these parties, who are not anti-Semitic is absolutely disgusting."[3]
He contested the seat five years later, and increased his vote by more than 11 percentage points, defeating incumbent MP Julian Huppert by 599 votes.[4] He was appointed as a Shadow Transport Minister (with responsibility for buses, bikes and walking) on 18 September 2015.[5]
Political positions
Zeichner describes his politics as 'socialist in a modern context'.[6] He supported Tony Benn in the 1981 deputy leadership election.[2] In the 2010 Labour leadership election, Zeichner supported Ed Miliband. In the 2015 Labour leadership election he supported Yvette Cooper. Zeichner supported Owen Smith in the September 2016 Labour Party leadership elections. Zeichner opposes Trident renewal.[7]
References
- ^ "Cambridge general election 2015 results: Daniel Zeichner wins the seat from Julian Huppert". Cambridge News. 8 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Johnson, Richard; Walsh, Ashley (2012). Camaraderie: One hundred years of the Cambridge Labour Party, 1912-2012. Cambridge: Cambridge Labour Party. pp. 240–3. ISBN 978-0-86117-498-0.
- ^ Emily Andrews (24 April 2010). "Labour candidate under fire for performing Nazi salute at Cambridge University debate". Daily Mail. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ http://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=149&RPID=42999381&_ga=1.178079975.358059386.1431123725
- ^ http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cycling-public-transport-priority-Cambridge-MP/story-27825444-detail/story.html
- ^ Capel, Grace (27 October 2006). "The lighter touch of Cantab politics". Varsity.
- ^ "Labour Party Conference Briefing 2015 - Changing Labour: Time to scrap Trident". CND. 1 September 2015.