Jim Dickson (politician)

Jim Dickson
MP
Jim Dickson MP
	Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament ; for Dartford
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 4 July 2024
Preceded by	Gareth Johnson
Leader of Lambeth Council
	In office; September 1994 – March 2000
Preceded by	Mike Tuffrey
Succeeded by	Tom Franklin
Personal details
Born	James Rowan Chatterton Dickson; 16 January 1964 (age 60)
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour Co-op
Spouse	Nicola Dickson
Alma mater	Jesus College, Cambridge

James Rowan Chatterton Dickson (born 16 January 1964) is a British Labour Co-op politician who has served as the local Councillor for Herne Hill & Loughborough Junction for over 20 years, and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford since 2024. He was also Leader of Lambeth Council between 1994 and 2000.

At the 2024 general election, Dickson defeated Gareth Johnson of the Conservative Party in the traditionally bellwether seat, having worked and campaigned in the area over the previous two decades.^{[citation needed]}

Early life and career

Dickson was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read Social and Political Sciences.^[1] Whilst at Cambridge he was elected as Chair of the Cambridge University Labour Club.^{[citation needed]}

From 1989, Dickson worked for the London Housing Unit as a Senior Policy Officer for ten years.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998 he was a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster until 2000.^{[citation needed]}

Between 2000 and 2003 he worked as an Associate for Weber Shandwick.^{[citation needed]}

He previously worked for the consultancy firm Four Communications as Politics Director.^[2]^[3] He is a member of the Association of Professional Political Consultants.^[4]

Political career

Dickson was first elected as a Councillor for Herne Hill in the 1990 Lambeth London Borough Council election, and he became the Leader of Lambeth Council in 1994.^{[citation needed]}

At the 2001 General Election he was Labour's candidate^[5] in Old Bexley and Sidcup.

Dickson has held various cabinet positions on the Lambeth Borough Council (such as Voluntary and Community Sectors, Finance and Health and Social Care).^[2]^[6]^[7]

He was leading Lambeth's Labour Group when it was praised as being "more New Labour than New Labour" by former Prime Minister Tony Blair.^[8] He is a member of Progressive Britain.^[4]

At the 2024 General Election, Dickson was elected as the MP for Dartford and has since been campaigning for the construction of a new Lower Thames Crossing in order to ease the gridlock issue Dartford suffers from as a result of M25 traffic passing through the Dartford Crossing. His policies also included 'Taking Pride in Dartford', an initiative to revitalise Dartford's high streets and cultural scene.

Jim Dickson is one of two Lambeth Councillors to have gone on to become Labour MP for Dartford, the first being his predecessor Jennie Adamson in 1938 - who had previously served on the London County Council for Lambeth North.