Sir Nic Dakin | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | |
| Assumed office 16 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Lilian Greenwood |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing | |
| In office 23 July 2024 – 7 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Gareth Bacon |
| Succeeded by | Jake Richards |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 10 July 2024 – 16 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Shadow Minister for Schools | |
| In office 18 September 2015 – 27 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Kevin Brennan |
| Succeeded by | Mike Kane |
| Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons | |
| In office 8 May 2015 – 18 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Harriet Harman (acting) |
| Preceded by | Thomas Docherty |
| Succeeded by | Melanie Onn |
| Member of Parliament forScunthorpe | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Holly Mumby-Croft |
| Majority | 3,542 (9.1%) |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Elliot Morley |
| Succeeded by | Holly Mumby-Croft |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nicholas Dakin (1955-07-10)10 July 1955 (age 70) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Audrey Balsom (m. 1979) |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Scunthorpe,Lincolnshire, England |
| Alma mater | University of Hull King's College London |
| Profession |
|
Sir Nicholas Dakin (born 10 July 1955) is a British politician who has served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forScunthorpe since 2024, having previously served from 2010 to 2019. A member of theLabour party, he has served asVice-Chamberlain of the Household since September 2025.[1] He was the Shadow Minister for Schools from 2015 to 2016, Shadow DeputyLeader of the House of Commons in 2015, an oppositionwhip from 2011 to 2015 and 2016 to 2019, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing from 2024 to 2025.[2]
Dakin grew up at 22 Main Street inCossington, where he went to Cossington C of E Primary School.[3] His parents were Roy Dakin and Elsie Lee. His mother was, originally, a nurse. In the early 1970s, his mother trained as a teacher at Leicester College of Education atScraptoft, now part ofDe Montfort University.[4] With his mother's elder sister Edith, his mother appeared as Florrie and Ada onRadio Leicester. His uncle wasJack Lee. Both Nic and his mother took part in productions by theSileby Methodist Players.[5] His mother taught from 1972 to 1980 at St Peter's and St Paul's Primary School atSyston, and part-time from 1980, working with special needs and remedial, teaching embroidery for her last six years, retiring in July 1988. His mother worked with theWomen's Institute.[citation needed]
He went to secondary school there, before studying at theUniversity of Hull and thenKing's College London, completing his undergraduate degree and then hisPGCE respectively.[6] He had previously trained as an accountant.[7]
He taught English inGävle, in eastern Sweden, and then atJohn Leggott College inScunthorpe, where he became principal.[8]
While teaching at John Leggott College, he was also a local councillor for Kingsway with Lincoln Gardens and then leader ofNorth Lincolnshire Council from 1997 to 2003. He was also the deputy chair ofYorkshire Forward from 2005 to 2007.[6]
In October 2009 he was selected to stand for Labour in the Scunthorpe constituency[8] and won the seat in May 2010 with a majority of 2,549.[9] Subsequently, he won in 2015 and 2017. In 2017 he won with a 52% share of the vote.[2]
Dakin has previously served on theEducation Select Committee and was a member of the House of Common'sProcedure Committee and the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art.[2]
In October 2011 Dakin was appointed anOpposition Whip underEd Miliband. In May 2015 he was given the additional role ofShadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. AfterJeremy Corbyn won the leadership of the Labour Party in September 2015, Dakin was made Shadow Minister for Schools.[10] In June 2016 Dakin resigned hisShadow Cabinet position, citing loss of confidence in the Labour leader.[11][12] He supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replaceJeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour leadership election.[13]
In October 2016 Dakin re-joined the Opposition Whips' office.[2]
Until his election defeat, Dakin was the chair of several All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) including: Steel and Metal Related Industries; Pancreatic Cancer; Education, Skills and Employment; and Bioethanol.[14]
In the2019 general election he lost his seat to theConservative formerNorth Lincolnshire Council CouncillorHolly Mumby-Croft.[15]
Dakin wasknighted in the2020 Birthday Honours for political service.[16] In December 2022 he was chosen to stand again as the Labourprospective parliamentary candidate for Scunthorpe in the2024 general election, which he won against Conservative MPHolly Mumby-Croft, regaining his seat as MP and assuming office on 4 July.
In November 2024, Dakin voted in favour of theTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legaliseassisted suicide.[17][non-primary source needed]
In 1979 Dakin married Audrey Balsom inLeicester; his wife was a midwife, and a representative of theNational Childbirth Trust, and theRoyal College of Midwives.[18][19] Dakin has two daughters and a son.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forScunthorpe 2010–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forScunthorpe 2024– | Incumbent |
