Jim Dobbin

James Jim Dobbin (born May 26, 1941) British politician and microbiologist. He is the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton.

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Education and career

Jim Dobbin was born in Kincardine on Forth, Fife, Scotland, the son of a coal miner, and educated at the catholic St Columba's High School, Cowdenbeath, and the catholic St Andrew's High School on Overton Road in Kirkcaldy. He later went to Napier College, Edinburgh where he studied Bacteriology and Virology.

He worked as a microbiologist within the NHS for 33 years until 1994, mainly at the Royal Oldham Hospital. He was elected chairman of the Rochdale Constituency Labour Party for a year in 1980.

Political career

In 1983 he was elected as a councillor in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, becoming the Labour group leader in 1994, and became the leader of the council in 1996. He stepped down from both the NHS and the council at Rochdale on his election to parliament. In 1992 he unsuccessfully contested the Bury North seat, coming second to the sitting Conservative MP Alistair Burt, some 4,764 votes behind.

Dobbin was elected to the House of Commons at the 1997 General Election for the safe Labour seat of Heywood and Middleton on the retirement of the veteran Labour MP Jim Callaghan. He held the seat comfortably with a majority of 17,542 and has been an MP there since. He made his maiden speech on July 30, 1997.[1]. He has been a member of the European Scrutiny Select Committee since 1998.

Personal life

Dobbin has chaired the all-party Pro Life Group and is a Roman Catholic^{[citation needed]}. He married Pat Russell in 1964, and they have two sons and two daughters. His wife is also his secretary.