Adam James Dance is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

since 2024. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he gained the seat from

Marcus Fysh Marcus John Hudson Fysh (born 8 November 1970) is a British politician and former investment manager who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Yeovil from 2015 until he lost the seat in 2024. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Stat ...

of the Conservative Party. Dance has been a member of

Somerset Council Somerset Council, known until 2023 as Somerset County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. Since 2023 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unita ...

since 2017 and

South Somerset District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

from 2015 to 2023.

Early life and education

Dance was born and raised in

. He attended Stanchester Academy, and studied construction and landscape gardening at Taunton College and Yeovil College before starting his own landscape-gardening business. He graduated from

Warwick Business School Warwick Business School (WBS) is the business school of the University of Warwick and an academic department within the Faculty of Social Sciences. It was established in 1967 as the School of Industrial and Business Studies. The business school ...

in 2023.

Political career

Dance first became involved with the Liberal Democrats while campaigning for

David Laws David Anthony Laws (born 30 November 1965) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Yeovil from 2001 to 2015. A member of the Liberal Democrats, in his third parliament he served at the outset as a Cabinet Minis ...

in the 2010 general election. In 2011, Dance became a member of the parish council of

South Petherton South Petherton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,737 in 2021 and includes the smaller village of Over Stratton and the hamlets of C ...

; he was the chairman of the parish council until 2023. In the

2015 election Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African g ...

, Dance became a member of

for the ward of South Petherton. After his re-election in 2019, he joined the cabinet of the council as the portfolio holder for licensing and environmental health. He sat on the district council until its abolition in 2023. Dance was elected to

Somerset County Council Somerset ( , ), archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to ...

in the 2017 election for the division of South Petherton and Islemoor, becoming the council's youngest member. He was re-elected in 2022 to the council, which was renamed Somerset Council on becoming a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

in 2023. Dance became the council's lead member for public health, equalities and diversity. He stepped down from the role upon his election to Parliament in 2024. Dance was selected as the Liberal Democrats'

prospective parliamentary candidate In British politics, a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) is a candidate selected by political parties to contest under individual Westminster constituencies in advance of a general election. The term originally came into use because of ...

for

in April 2023. In the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, he defeated the

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 ...

incumbent,

, with 48.5 per cent of the vote and a majority of 12,268. On 29 November 2024 during the Assisted Dying Bill, Dance voted in favour.

Personal life

Dance was diagnosed with severe

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

as a child. He stated in a 2023 interview that he has

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

(ADHD). He also identifies as a member of the

LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

. Dance cites

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internation ...

, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Yeovil, as his political inspiration.

Notes

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century English businesspeople Alumni of the University of Warwick British politicians with disabilities LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of Somerset County Council People from Yeovil People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Politicians with dyslexia UK councillors 2011–2015 UK councillors 2015–2019 UK councillors 2017–2021 UK councillors 2019–2023 UK councillors 2022–2026 UK MPs 2024–present {{England-UK-MP-stub