Born and brought up in Bury, David is married with three children and has been the Labour Member of Parliament for Bury North since 1997.

He was educated at Bury East Ward Primary School, Bury Grammar School and the University of London.  Before his election to Parliament he was the Head of Continuing Education at the Manchester College of Arts and Technology and had previously worked in further education colleges, in Britain and in the USA.  In addition, he served for a number of years as a local councillor on Calderdale MBC.

His main political interests are in Education, the Environment, Transport and Foreign Affairs.  He currently serves on two parliamentary select committees: the Children Schools and Families Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee.

In Parliament he also serves as Secretary to the All Party Group for Global Security and Non-Proliferation, the All Party Group for Intelligent Energy, and GLOBE UK, the British branch of the leading international network of environmentalist parliamentarians.  He is the Vice-Chair of GLOBE EUROPE and the Chair of the Climate and Energy Network of the e-Parliament.

 David is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of UNITE, Green Alliance and ASPECT, the Association of Professionals in Education and Children’s Trusts.  

In the constituency he is a founder member of Forever Bury, an honorary member of the Bury Rotary Club, the President of Brooksbottom Cricket Club, the President of Bury Horticultural Society and an active supporter of many other local organisations and community groups.

In his spare time he enjoys long walks, tree planting, chainsawing, reading, opera, football, collecting junk, dry stone walling, and shopping on Bury Market.