David Anderson

Biography

Dave Anderson was successfully re-elected as MP for Blaydon in May 2010 with a majority of 9,117 votes.

His early years were spent in Sunderland. His father was a coal miner who had moved in and out of work for a number of years. When he was 10 we moved to a very small village in South West Wales, where his father returned to mining

Over the next few years he moved 3 times and ended up in South Yorkshire. He left school at 15 and started work as an apprentice fitter with the National Coal Board. Within 2 years the family had moved back to the North East and he settled in Hetton - le - Hole, where he married his wife Eva in 1973.

Dave worked as a fitter on coal faces at Eppleton Colliery, but, probably, the biggest change to his life started when he became active in my trade union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), first as youth rep and then as branch delegate.

He attended a 5 week course in 1983 at the Higher Trade Union School in Moscow. On his return the dispute over pit closures was just starting.

He was heavily involved in trying to win the fight to prevent devastation of the mining industry, but did not prevail.

Following the dispute the mine closed and he was transferred to another colliery. Three years later he was made redundant and started work as a social care worker in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Within a year he was involved in another dispute as the Council tried to outsource elderly care. This led to him being seconded as a trade union officer within the City Council.

He stayed in that role until March 2005, but also progressed into regional positions, including being Regional Chairman and then to being a member of the NEC of UNISON, the public service union. In 2000 he was elected to the General Council of the TUC and in 2003 he became National President of UNISON.

Throughout these years he had close involvement in the Labour Party, including a short spell as a local councillor and a number of years on Labour's Policy Forum.

In 2004 he was selected as the Labour Candidate for Blaydon and in May 2005 had the privilege of being elected as MP for his constituency.

Constituency

Blaydon

Constituency Address

St Cuthbert's Church Hall Shibdon Road, Blaydon, NE21 5PT.

Constituency Tel

0191 414 2488

Date of Birth

02.12.1953

Email

Party

Labour

Personal Website

http://www.daveanderson.org.uk/

Westminster Address

House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Westminster Tel

020 7219 4348