Neil Duncan-Jordan is the Labour MP for Poole, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Duncan-Jordan won 14,168 votes, representing 31.84% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Robert Syms, received 14,150 votes (31.80%), while the Reform UK candidate, Andrei Dragotoniu, secured 7,429 votes (16.7%). Duncan-Jordan was duly elected with a majority of just 18 votes.

The Poole constituency is located in the county of Dorset in South West England. The seat had been held by the Conservative Party since its creation in 1950 until the 2024 election.

Duncan-Jordan’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Poole was Robert Syms of the Conservative Party. Syms represented the seat from 1997 to 2024.

Political Career

In February 2026, Duncan-Jordan called for the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to resign. It came as Starmer faced questions over the Peter Mandelson vetting debacle.

At the time, he stated: “We can’t just keep going on like this – lurching from one crisis to the next. One of the best ways of resetting is to have a renewal of the Labour Party, to restart our offer to the British public, and that means changing who’s in charge.”

In January 2026, Duncan-Jordan was listed as a supporter of an amendment to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, often referred to as the “Hillsborough Law”, that would extend the proposed criminal offence of misleading the public to include MPs and peers. Luke Myer, the Labour MP behind the proposal, argued that his amendment would mean “no-one in parliament would be above the law”, adding: “If politicians deliberately lie to the public, there should be consequences.”

Myer stated: “This amendment is a proportionate, carefully safeguarded response to a real democratic risk. It is not about stifling debate or political disagreement, it is about ensuring that those who seek or hold public office cannot deliberately and knowingly mislead the public without consequence.

“The polling shows that voters across the political spectrum expect parliament to act.”

Myer’s amendment won the support of 30 cross-party MPs.

Duncan-Jordan was one of four Labour MPs who had the party whip suspended in July 2025 after rebelling against the government, most notably on its flagship welfare bill. The group, which also included Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Rachael Maskell, were described as “persistent rebels” by party sources.

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, justified the suspensions by stating he was “determined” to change the country “for the better”.

Starmer said: “We had to deal with people who repeatedly break the whip. Because everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour government.

“This is about what we’re doing for the country and that’s why I’m so determined to press forward with the reforms and the change that we need to bring about.”

In a statement at the time, Duncan-Jordan said: “Since being elected I have consistently spoken up for my constituents on a range of issues, including most recently on cuts to disability benefits. I understood this could come at a cost, but I couldn’t support making disabled people poorer.

“Although I’ve been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party today, I’ve been part of the Labour and trade union movement for 40 years and remain as committed as ever to its values.

“To my constituents: it’s business as usual. I remain your hardworking local MP, I will continue to take up your concerns and speak up for Poole.”

Following four months sitting as independent MPs, the group had the whip restored on 7 November 2025. This followed what were described as “constructive discussions” with the chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds.

Duncan-Jordan is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for chess (chair), intergenerational inquiry, phasing out animal experiments in medical research and South Western Railway.

Duncan-Jordan delivered his maiden speech on 25 July 2024 in a debate on the code of conduct and modernisation committee.

In it, he said: “As a former full-time trade union official used to negotiating with employers and representing members, I am well aware of the need to reset the balance in the workplace to enable working people to organise as a way of improving their terms and conditions, as well as making the improvements needed to address low pay and inequality in the workplace.”

He added: “That is why I welcome the king’s speech and the commitment to make work pay, as set out in the employment rights bill…

“Banning zero-hour contracts, ending fire and rehire, and giving day-one rights on parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal will be significant achievements of this government and will bring about lasting change that will benefit millions of working people, including those in my constituency.”

Political views

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialism26: In May 2026, Duncan-Jordan was a founding signatory of Socialism26, a political initiative and pressure group launched by a coalition of Labour MPs and general secretaries from several major affiliated trade unions, including Unison, Aslef, the CWU, the TSSA and the FBU. The group described itself as advocating a “programme for change” intended to facilitate a “progressive political reset” within the Labour Party. It called for a return to traditional socialist values and greater internal party democracy.

The initiative was built upon a set of policy demands, including urging the government to “recognise the genocide in Gaza”, deliver full compensation for the “Waspi” women affected by state pension age changes, protect civil liberties and embrace intervention to lower energy bills.

Socialism26 described this programme as “the bare minimum to ensure that the public can see and feel the difference a socialist government makes to their lives.”

Labour ‘reset’: In March 2026, Duncan-Jordan was among dozens of Labour parliamentarians to co-sign a statement calling for a “reset” in the party’s internal culture and political direction. The statement, supported by an alliance of MPs from both the Mainstream (“soft-left”) and Momentum (left) wings of the party, condemned what it saw as the “insular, centralising approach” of the leadership. It called on Labour to rebuild “basic democracy, pluralism and fair process within our party.”

The intervention followed a series of by-election results in Gorton and Denton, Runcorn and Helsby and Caerphilly.

The statement said: “We stand against the insular, centralising approach of the current leadership that refuses to draw on the energy, talent and ideas of our whole movement, the continued underfunding of public services and local government, and the pandering to the talking points of the far right.”

It added: “We, the undersigned members from every section of the Labour Party – parliamentarians, councillors, internal election candidates, members and trade unionists, pledge to reset the Labour Party.”

Momentum endorsement: Duncan-Jordan was endorsed by the left-wing campaign group Momentum in the 2024 general election. Momentum was founded in 2015 to support the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and to campaign for socialist policies within the Labour party.

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Duncan-Jordan was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

At the time, Duncan-Jordan said the government “should be asking the wealthiest to pay their share – not targeting the poorest.”

In May 2025, Duncan-Jordan signed a letter warning the government that the cuts were “impossible to support” and calling for a change in direction.

The letter, signed by 42 Labour MPs, read: “The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over 3 million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.

“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”

Welfare vote (July 2025): Duncan-Jordan went on to vote against the bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Duncan-Jordan signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Assisted dying

Duncan-Jordan voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Duncan-Jordan voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs

Before Politics

Born in the late 1960s in Elm Park, East London, Duncan-Jordan studied journalism at the University of Bournemouth as a mature student. He was the first person in his extended family to graduate from university.

Before entering parliament, Duncan-Jordan worked as a regional officer for the trade union Unison. Before that, he worked for the National Pensioners Convention.

Personal Life

Duncan-Jordan is married.

Trivia

Duncan-Jordan is the first Labour MP to represent the constituency of Poole in parliament.