Jim Knight
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Jim Knight (born 6 March 1965) is a British politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 2001. As of 2005 Knight holds the post of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
In his first Parliament, Jim Knight generally voted in line with party policy, including all major votes such as those on the Iraq war and top-up fees.
Election history
He first stood for the British Parliament in the 1997 general election as the Labour candidate for Dorset South, but lost.
He became the member of Parliament for Dorset South in 2001, the only Labour gain from the Tories in the 2001 election. A high-profile anti-Conservative tactical voting campaign was conducted in Dorset, led by Billy Bragg, and Knight may have gained many votes from Liberal Democrats. Dorset South was the second most marginal seat in the 2001 elections, being only won by 153 votes. (Only Cheadle was more marginal.)
While he was generally expected to have a difficult election in the 2005 election, he won with a margin of 1,812 votes in an election in which Labour gained no seats and suffered a noticeable decline in the popular vote.
This can perhaps in part be attributed to the Conservative candidate, Ed Matts, who achieved national fame after doctoring a photo in his campaign literature from a protest against the deportation of a family of asylum seekers into an anti-immigration photo.
External links
- Jim Knight MP (http://www.jimknightmp.com/) official site
- Defra - Jim Knight MP (http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ministers/knight.htm) official profile
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Jim Knight MP (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-2955,00.html)
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Jim Knight MP (http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/jim_knight/south_dorset)
- BBC Article on Ed Matts (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4435895.stm) 13 April, 2005