James Philip Knight, Baron Knight of Weymouth, (born 6 March 1965) is a British politician who served as Minister for the South West and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party and

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party () is a centre-left List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. The party currently has an electoral pact with the Labour Party. E ...

, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for

South Dorset South Dorset is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2024 by Lloyd Hatton, of th ...

from

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. After losing his seat to Richard Drax of the Conservative Party, it was announced Knight would be made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in the 2010 Dissolution Honours. He is now chief education and external officer at TES Global Ltd, and a visiting professor at the London Knowledge Lab of the

Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...

in London.

Education

Knight was educated at Eltham College, an independent school in

Mottingham Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of the London Borough of Bromley, the London Borough of Lewisham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located southwest of Eltham, . It was historically wi ...

in south east London, followed by

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

, where he studied geography and social & political sciences from 1984 to 1987, gaining a BA Hons.

Early career

Knight was manager of Central Studio, the arts centre of Queen Mary's College, Basingstoke, from 1988 to 1990. From 1990 to 1991, he was director of West Wiltshire Arts Centre Ltd, then director of Dentons Directories Ltd in Westbury from 1991 to 2001.

Election history

Knight first stood for Parliament at the 1997 general election as the Labour Party candidate for

, but narrowly lost by just 77 votes. He was, however, elected on the same day to Mendip District Council, on which he served until 2001; including as Labour group leader. At the 2001 general election, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for South Dorset by 153 votes in the only Labour gain from the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

that year. At the 2005 general election, Knight increased his majority to 1,812 votes, but with a small decrease in his share of the vote. At the 2010 general election, Knight lost his seat to

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Richard Drax by 7,443 votes after an 11.4% drop in his share of the vote. Knight was the campaign co-ordinator for

Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls (born 25 February 1967) is a British former politician, broadcaster and economist. He served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to ...

's unsuccessful Labour Party leadership campaign in 2010.

Parliamentary career

Knight was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity in the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

from 2005 to 2006. He then moved to become

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for Schools in the Department for Education and Skills. On 28 June 2007, when

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

disbanded the department, Knight moved to the newly created

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was repl ...

, as the Minister for Schools and Learners. In October 2008 following the reshuffle, Knight became a member of the Privy Council. In 2009, when MPs expenses were revealed following a leak in the Daily Telegraph, Knight was ranked 171 out of 645 in the MPs' expenses list, claiming £155,987 in 2007/2008, compared with £137,970 in 2006/2007, of which £94,135 was for staff, £9,746 was for a communications allowance and £4,993 was for personal living expenses. In his first

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Jim Knight generally voted in line with party policy, including all major votes such as those on the

Iraq war The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and top-up fees. Jim Knight held the following positions: *2003–2004 – Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Rosie Winterton Rosalie Winterton, Baroness Winterton of Doncaster, (born 10 August 1958), is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster Central from 1997 to 2024. She served as a Deputy Speaker in the House of ...

then Minister of State at the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

*2004–2005 – Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministerial Team at the

*2005–2006 – Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs, the Landscape & Biodiversity *2006–2009 – Minister of State for Schools *2009–2010 – Minister of State for Employment *2009–2010 – Minister for the South West

After politics

Knight was created a

on 23 June 2010, taking the title Baron Knight of Weymouth, of Weymouth in the County of Dorset. In April 2014 he stepped down from the Labour front bench in the House of Lords to take up a full-time role as managing director, online learning at TES Global Ltd, building an online professional development and training service for teachers. Knight was subsequently appointed chief education and external officer at TES Global. In 2011, Knight was appointed as chair of digital and social inclusion charity Tinder Foundation (now Good Things Foundation). He stood down as chair in 2016 but remains a patron of the Technology, Pedagogy and Education professional association. He is now Chair Emeritus of the Digital Poverty Alliance and co-owner of XRapid, an app that diagnoses malaria and is a board member of Apps for Good. He is also the deputy chair of the Nominet Trust, and an honorary associate of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

References

External links

Jim Knight – Department for Children, Schools and Families

TheyWorkForYou.com – Jim Knight MP
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Jim 1965 births Living people Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Councillors in Somerset Labour Co-operative life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eltham College Politics of Dorset UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for South Dorset Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts