Josh Simons (born 24 July 1993)[1][2] is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament for Makerfield since 2024.
Josh Simons | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Makerfield | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Yvonne Fovargue |
| Majority | 5,399 (13.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 July 1993 |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge (BA) Harvard University (PhD) |
Early life and education
editSimons was born to a Jewish father from Bury, Greater Manchester.[2] He was educated at The Perse School in Cambridge.[3]
Simons was an undergraduate at St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Political Sciences. Supervised by Helen Thompson, he graduated at the top of his year in 2015 with a starred double first.[4] He was an editor of the student newspapers Varsity and The Tab.
Early career and academia
editSimons worked at Cambridge University as a research assistant to Amartya Sen from 2014 until 2015, when he moved to the Institute of Public Policy Research.
He became a policy adviser to the Leader of the Opposition in 2015, following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour Leader. Simons moved from the Leader's Office to London Labour in 2016, and returned to Cambridge as a research assistant to Helen Thompson later in the year.
Simons has cited "persistent failure" to tackle antisemitism for his resignation from Corbyn's office.[4][5] He later contributed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's investigation into Labour antisemitism.
Simons studied for a doctorate in Government, Political Theory and Political Science from Harvard University from 2016 to 2021. His doctorate was supervised by academics including Michael Sandel and Richard Tuck, and adapted into his book Algorithms for the People: Democracy in the Age of AI.[6][7] Simons continued at Harvard as a postdoctorate fellow.
He was a visiting research scientist at Facebook from 2018 to 2022, developing the company's ethics strategy for artificial intelligence. He co-founded the Civic Power Fund in 2019, which fundraises to provide grants for community organisations.
Simons has been a fellow at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, the Institute for the Future of Work, and New America. He has also been a trustee of the New Economics Foundation and Engage Britain, and a governor of the NHS Northern Care Alliance.
Simons stood as a Labour and Co-operative candidate in the 2021 Bury Council election, finishing second-place to the Conservative candidate in Church ward.[8]
Simons was director of the think tank Labour Together from 2022 until his Parliamentary selection in 2024.[9]
Parliamentary career
editSimons was elected as MP for Makerfield at the 2024 general election.[10] He was selected by Labour's National Executive Committee several weeks before the election, after Yvonne Fovargue announced that she wouldn't seek re-election.[11]
Personal life
editSimons is married with two children, and met his wife at Harvard University.[3]
References
edit- ^ "The prosecutor becomes the defendant". POLITICO. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ a b Jackson, Nick (19 June 2024). "Meet Labour's new contender for Wigan's Makerfield seat". Wigan Today.
- ^ a b "Who Is 'Starmtrooper' Josh Simons?". Novara Media. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ a b Eaton, George (20 May 2024). "What does Labour Together want?". New Statesman. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "Why Jews in Labour place little trust in Jeremy Corbyn". The Observer. 10 September 2016. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "Joshua Simons". scholar.harvard.edu. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Josh Simons". Bennett Institute. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Election results". Bury Council. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "Think-tank director selected as Labour's candidate for Makerfield in upcoming general election". Wigan Today. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Makerfield - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Belger, Daniel Green, Tom (29 May 2024). "Selections drama as Waugh and Starmer allies Akehurst and Simons picked but Russell-Moyle out and Shaheen 'at risk'". LabourList. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
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