Jim McMahon (politician)

James Ignatius O'Rourke McMahon OBE FRSA (born 7 July 1980) is a British politician, who served as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2021 until 2023.[1] He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham West and Royton since 2015 under the Labour and Co-operative banner.[2]

Jim McMahon
OBE FRSA MP
Official portrait, 2017
Chair of the Co-operative Party
Assumed office
3 October 2020
Preceded byChris Herries
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In office
29 November 2021 – 4 September 2023
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byLuke Pollard
Succeeded bySteve Reed
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
In office
6 April 2020 – 29 November 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byAndy McDonald
Succeeded byLouise Haigh
Shadow Minister for Local Government
In office
10 October 2016 – 6 April 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded bySteve Reed
Succeeded byKate Hollern
Leader of Oldham Council
In office
5 May 2011 – 16 January 2016
DeputyJean Stretton
Preceded byHoward Sykes
Succeeded byJean Stretton
Member of Parliament
for Oldham West and Royton
Assumed office
3 December 2015
Preceded byMichael Meacher
Majority11,127 (25.0%)
Member of Oldham Council
for Failsworth East
In office
20 November 2003 – 16 February 2017
Preceded byCharles Glover
Succeeded byPaul Jean Jaques
Personal details
Born (1980-07-07) 7 July 1980
Miles Platting, Manchester, England
Political partyLabour and Co-operative
SpouseCharlene Duerden
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website

McMahon was a councillor from 2003 to 2017 and served as Leader of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council from 2011 to 2016.[3] He also sits on the National Executive Committee on behalf of the shadow frontbench.[4] McMahon became Chair of the Co-operative Party in October 2020. He was Shadow Secretary of State for Transport from 2020 to 2021.

Early life and education

McMahon was born in Miles Platting, Manchester, to William McMahon, a lorry driver and Alicia O'Rourke (Breffni).[5] The family moved from Cheetham Hill when he was a child to Middleton, where he attended secondary school.[6] He left school at the age of sixteen.[5]

Professional career

McMahon started work in 1997 as an apprentice technician at Manchester University, rising to become a senior technician before leaving in 2004. He then joined local government service as a regeneration officer and latterly as a town centre manager.[7][8]

Political career

Local government
McMahon in 2015

McMahon was first elected as a Member of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council for Failsworth East in a by-election on 20 November 2003. He held various posts on Oldham Council before becoming the council's Labour group leader in 2008 after the Liberal Democrats won control of the authority. At the 2011 local elections, Labour re-gained control of the council and McMahon became its leader.[9] As council leader McMahon sat as one of the 11 members of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority with responsibility for transport.[10]

McMahon was the inaugural chairman of the Co-operative Council Innovation Network and served as the Labour leader of the Local Government Association.[11] McMahon was named the 6th most influential person in local government by The Local Government Chronicle ahead of senior government ministers.[12]

In August 2014, McMahon was elected to represent Labour councillors on the party's National Executive Committee (NEC).[10][13]

In the 2015 Labour leadership election, McMahon was reported to have supported Liz Kendall's leadership bid. Kendall finished in last place out of the four candidates (Jeremy Corbyn won, followed next by Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper), receiving less than 5% of the vote.[14]

In 2016, McMahon stood down as council leader and was replaced by his Deputy, Jean Stretton.[15] He resigned his council seat in 2017, triggering a by-election on 16 February 2017.[16][17]

Parliament

McMahon won the selection to be Labour Party candidate at the 2015 Oldham West and Royton by-election following the death of incumbent Michael Meacher.[18] At the by-election held on 3 December 2015, McMahon was elected Member of Parliament for Oldham West and Royton, with 62% of the vote – an increase of seven percentage points since the 2015 general election.[19] At the by-election McMahon represented just the Labour Party rather than his later Labour and Co-operative Party affiliation.[20]

He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party[21] until being appointed to serve as Shadow Minister for Local Government and Devolution.[22] He supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.[23]

Following Keir Starmer's election as Leader of the Labour Party, McMahon was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. On 29 November 2021 he was reshuffled to the role of shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. He resigned his post on 4 September 2023 ahead of that day's shadow cabinet reshuffle, citing ill health.[24][25]

Votes at 16

On being selected to present a Private Members Bill, McMahon moved the Representation of the People (Young People's Enfranchisement and Education) Bill 2017–19,[26] which sought to extend the franchise across the United Kingdom to eligible voters aged 16 and 17. The Bill included measures to introduce citizenship and the constitution education in schools.

The Bill was supported by MPs from all political parties represented in the House of Commons, with the exception of the DUP, with its supporters including then Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, then Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson, Conservative Party MP Peter Bottomley, then Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Jo Swinson, and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.[27]

The Bill received its Second Reading in November 2017, but did not progress any further.[28] It led to the establishment of the cross party All Party Parliamentary Group on Votes at 16.[29]

Personal life

McMahon lives with Charlene Duerden in Failsworth. They have two children.[30]

Honours and distinctions

In February 2014, McMahon was named "Council Leader of the Year" during the Councillor Achievement Awards hosted by the Local Government Information Unit.[10] He was credited with leading improvements in Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council having redesignated it as a Co-operative Council.[31] Also in 2014, University Centre Oldham conferred upon him Honorary Fellowship,[32] as well as being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).[33]

McMahon was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours for "services to the community in Oldham",[34][35] and was invested by Prince Charles, on 18 December 2015.[36]

In November 2017, he was named as the Youth Voice Champion by the British Youth Council following his work on the Votes at 16 campaign.[37]

References
  1. "Keir Starmer appoints Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  2. "MPS representing Oldham West and Royton (Constituency) - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  3. Mowat, Tom Parfitt and Laura (5 December 2015). "'Democracy is dead' say UKIP as Labour take 100% of postal votes surge in one area".
  4. "Who's on the NEC?". The Labour Party. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  5. Eaton, George (6 November 2015). "Why Labour's Oldham by-election candidate Jim McMahon is one to watch". New Statesman. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  6. "Cllr Jim McMahon, Biography" Archived 7 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, jimmcmahon.co.uk; accessed 30 November 2015.
  7. Official website, JimMcMahon.co.uk; retrieved 15 June 2014.
  8. "Jim set to steer town to prosperity", Manchester Evening News; retrieved 15 June 2014.
  9. "Jim'll fix it", Oldham Evening Chronicle, 6 May 2011; retrieved 17 June 2014.
  10. "Leader Jim McMahon OBE". Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  11. "What the locals really think of Oldham – Places". Lancashire Life. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  12. "McMahon one of most influential in local politics", Oldham Chronicle, 3 December 2014; retrieved 29 December 2014.
  13. "Labour Party NEC" Archived 15 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Labour Party, 6 May 2011; retrieved 27 January 2015.
  14. Eaton, George (6 November 2015). "Why Labour's Oldham by-election candidate Jim McMahon is one to watch". Newstatesman.com. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  15. "First woman leader for Oldham Council". BBC News. 9 August 2018.
  16. "MP steps down as councillor". www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  17. "Election results for Failsworth East, 16 February 2017". committees.oldham.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  18. Pidd, Helen (4 December 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn hails 'vote of confidence' after Labour win Oldham byelection". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  19. "Labour wins Oldham West by-election". BBC News. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  20. "Oldham West and Royton: Parliamentary By-Election Results". Oldham Council. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  21. "National Executive Committee Report – 26th January 2016". Labourlist. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  22. "The Greater Manchester MPs who quit Jeremy Corbyn's top team - but are now back". Manchester Evening News. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  23. "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  24. Filfield, Jack (4 September 2023). "Oldham MP Jim McMahon leaves shadow cabinet before reshuffle". The Oldham Times. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  25. Topping, Stephen (4 September 2023). "Oldham MP Jim McMahon steps down from Labour's shadow cabinet". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  26. "Representation of the People (Young People's Enfranchisement and Education) Bill 2017-19 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  27. "Jim McMahon: Give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to choose their government". Politics Home. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  28. "Labour MP Jim McMahon Hits Out At The Tories For Trying To Block Debate On Youth Votes". HuffPost UK. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  29. "All Party Parliamentary Group on Votes at 16". British Youth Council. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  30. "Oldham Council boss Jim McMahon quits day job". Manchester Evening News. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  31. "Jim is nations top council leader", Oldham Evening Chronicle, 26 February 2014; retrieved 17 June 2014.
  32. "Graduation at University Campus Oldham", University Centre Oldham, 16 July 2014; retrieved 25 July 2014.
  33. "Cllr Jim McMahon | Biography". Jimmcmahon.co.uk. 7 July 1980. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  34. United Kingdom: "No. 61256". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2015. p. B14.
  35. "Cllr Jim McMahon | Biography". Jimmcmahon.co.uk. 7 July 1980. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  36. "MP Jim McMahon says picking up OBE is 'amazing end to a busy year'". Manchester Evening News. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  37. Williams, Lucy (27 November 2017). "Championing young people and campaigning to lower the voting age earns Oldham MP Jim McMahon award". The Oldham Times. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
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