Jim Dowd

Biography:

Jim Dowd was elected MP for Lewisham West and Penge on May 7th 2015 with 24347 votes, taking 50-6% of the vote.

Jim Dowd was born in Bad Eilsen in Lower Saxony, Germany and grew up in Lewisham, London with an Irish father and German mother. He was educated at the Dalmain Infant and Junior Schools in Forest Hill; the Sedgehill Comprehensive School, Catford, and the London Nautical School, Lambeth. He began his career in telephone engineering as an apprentice in 1967 with the General Post Office (GPO). After his apprenticeship in 1972, he became a manager at a Heron petrol station for a year before joining Plessey as a telecommunications engineer in 1973, where he remained until his election to Parliament.

Dowd was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham in 1974, becoming its deputy leader in 1984 for two years. He was twice deputy mayor in 1987 and 1990, and was the Mayor of Lewisham in 1992. He stepped down from the council in 1997.

Dowd first stood for Parliament at the 1983 general election for the seat of Beckenham, finishing in third place behind the veteran Conservative MP Philip Goodhart by some 17,330 votes. At the 1987 general election he contested the marginal seat of Lewisham West, but was defeated by John Maples by 3,772 votes.

But, five years later at the 1992 general election, Dowd contested Lewisham West again, and this time defeated Maples by 1,809 votes. He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 10 June 1992.

Jim Dowd entered the new Tony Blair team as an opposition whip in 1994, before becoming the spokesman on Northern Ireland in 1995. Following the election of the Labour government at the 1997 General Election he was given a place in the Blair government as a whip. He was unexpectedly sacked after the 2001 general election, since when he has been a member of the Health Select Committee.

Constituency: Lewisham West and Penge

Constituency Address: 43 Sunderland Road
Forest Hill
London
SE23 2PS

Constituency Tel: 020 8699 2001

Date of Birth: 5 March 1951

Email: dowdj@parliament.uk

Party: Labour

Personal Website: http://www.jimdowd.org.uk/

Westminster Address: House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Westminster Tel: 020 7219 4617