Gordon Birtwistle

Career

Birtwistle began work as a craft engineering apprentice in 1958, with Howard & Bullough, who were textile machinery manufacturers in Accrington. He studied engineering at Accrington College on one day release and two nights a week and achieved two higher nationals, one in mechanical engineering and one in production engineering.

At the age of 21, he became a jig and tool draftsman with the same company, and stayed there until 1968, when he moved to Lucas Aerospace in Burnley as a machine shop methods engineer. He stayed there until aged 30, when he became a technical representative for Osborne Mushet Tools in Sheffield, who were manufacturers of metal cutting tools.

After five years, he became a director of C&G Cutter Grinding Services in Blackburn, named after its two founders Thomas Chew and William Gradwell. The company was sold in the mid-1980s, to a large engineering PLC, whom he continued to work for. After four years, he set up P&J Engineering Supplies, buying and selling engineering tools. In the late 1990s, he bought Stewart Engineering (precision engineers) with a partner. This later folded, due to a bad debt in 2002. P&J is still in existence, however Birtwistle retired in 2008.

Politics

Birtwistle originally entered politics as a Labour Party councillor in the 1970s, representing Great Harwood on Lancashire County Council. In 1982, he defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and was elected to represent Deerplay ward on Burnley Borough Council the following year. In the late 1980s he led the council's SDP/Liberal Group, and from 2006 to 2010 was leader of the council itself. He was also Mayor of Burnley from 2002 to 2003. , he remains a Liberal Democrat councillor for the borough's Coal Clough with Deerplay ward. He was also a candidate in the 2014 Liberal Democrats deputy leadership election.

MP

Birtwistle took Burnley from Labour for the Liberal Democrats at the 2010 general election, with a 12% swing and 1,818 majority. He was the oldest new MP of the 2010 intake, aged 66. On election, his three main aims were returning the Accident and Emergency department to Burnley General Hospital; bringing new high-value jobs and firms to Burnley; and reinstating direct rail travel between Burnley and Manchester.

A few weeks after his election, he was offered the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary to Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury. In October, it was announced that with government investment through the Regional Growth Fund, the planned direct rail link between Manchester and Burnley would proceed.

The project included the reinstatement of the Todmorden Curve, a five hundred metre stretch of track unused since the 1960s, and an upgrade to Burnley Manchester Road railway station. Birtwistle's successor as Burnley Council leader, Charlie Briggs, was reported as saying "Gordon Birtwistle has been an important influence as he been very active in pressing the case for this and a number of other economic development priorities". Projects to construct a new business park called "Burnley Bridge" and create the Visions Learning Trust University Technical College had also recently received funding.

In February 2012, Birtwistle became chairman of a new all-party parliamentary group dedicated to the advancement of apprenticeships.

That October, he introduced a private members bill to the Commons demanding improved careers advice for 12 to 16-year-old students. Although the bill received cross-party support and was given an unopposed first reading, it did not progress further. In March 2013, he was appointed as Government Apprenticeship Ambassador to Business, a new role intended to raise the profile and prestige of apprenticeships.

He was one of only a few Liberal Democrat MPs to oppose allowing same sex couples to marry, rebelling against his party in a number of Commons votes on the issue in 2013–14. He has been quoted as saying "Civil partnerships are fine. Gay marriage is just not on". He also said "I have been against it right from the beginning because I believe that's the view of the vast majority of people in Burnley".

In 2014, Birtwistle called for fellow Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Maajid Nawaz to be de-selected and his party membership cancelled, after he posted a controversial cartoon of Jesus and Muhammad on Twitter.

At the 2015 general election, Birtwistle lost his seat to Labour's Julie Cooper, who had also stood in 2010. However, the 6.2% swing away from Birtwistle was less than half the 15.2% national swing against his party. Birtwistle stood again in 2017, but was unsuccessful, and fell behind the Conservatives, into third place. In 2019, Birtwistle contested Burnley again. He remained in third place, but the Liberal Democrat constituency vote share declined again, falling to its lowest level since the party's formation in 1988. In 2024, Birtwistle contested Burnley for the eighth time. He moved up to 2nd place, getting 23.1% of the vote, an increase from 9% last time. If Birtwistle had won, he would have been the second oldest MP in the Commons, being two weeks and two days younger than Roger Gale.

References

References

1. "Gordon Birtwistle MP". BBC.
2. "BIRTWISTLE, Gordon".
3. [http://www.blackburncitizen.co.uk/news/8159254.print/ Introducing East Lancashire's four new MPs (From Blackburn Citizen)] {{Webarchive. link. (23 July 2011 . ''Blackburncitizen.co.uk'' (11 May 2010). Retrieved on 4 February 2013.)
4. Anon. (17 November 2004). [https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/5808828.ex-mayor-in-bid-to-be-mp/ "Ex mayor in bid to be MP"]. ''Lancashire Telegraph''. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
5. Chris Adams (8 January 2014). [https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10922175.burnley-mp-gordon-birtwistle-puts-name-forward-commons/ "Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle puts his name forward for Commons"]. ''Lancashire Telegraph''. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
6. Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. [https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Burnley-1973-2012.pdf "Burnley Borough Council Election Results, 1973-2012"]. ''electionscentre.co.uk.'' p. 5.
7. (2021-03-13). "Councillor details – Councillor Gordon Birtwistle".
8. Maghill, Peter. (8 January 2014). "Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle puts his name forward for Commons". Lancashire Telegraph.
9. (8 March 2013). "Gordon Birtwistle: One man industrial revolution". PoliticsHome.
10. He hosted a manufacturing summit for the North West region in Burnley in June 2011, which was opened by [[Vince Cable]] with a speech at the new £80 million [[Burnley College]] and [[University of Central Lancashire]] campus.[http://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/business-news/business_secretary_vince_cable_outlines_key_to_burnley_s_future_1_3501894 Business Secretary Vince Cable outlines key to Burnley’s future – Business News] {{Webarchive. link. (4 July 2011 . ''Burnley Express'' (21 June 2011). Retrieved on 4 February 2013.)
11. Magill, Peter. (31 October 2011). "Major boost as £9million rail link cash announced for Burnley". Lancashire Telegraph.
12. (23 October 2012). "MP demands careers advice in schools from age 12". BBC.
13. (23 October 2012). "Careers Advice in Schools for 12-16 Year Olds Bill 2012-13". Services.parliament.uk.
14. [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-government-ambassadors-created-to-promote-apprenticeships New government ambassadors created to promote apprenticeships] {{Webarchive. link. (20 January 2015 Government Digital Service – Press release, 14 March 2013)
15. link. (7 February 2019 , Public Whip)
16. [http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/12/17/lib-dem-mp-gordon-birtwistle-gay-marriage-is-just-not-on/ Lib Dem MP Gordon Birtwistle: ‘Gay marriage is just not on’] {{Webarchive. link. (3 December 2013 , Pink News, 17 December 2012)
17. [http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/burnley/10441929._Most_people_in_the_borough_oppose_gay_marriage__says_Burnley_MP/ 'Most people in the borough oppose gay marriage' says Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle] {{Webarchive. link. (20 January 2015 , ''Lancashire Telegraph'', 24 May 2013)
18. [https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/11020652.burnley-mps-anger-at-jesus-muhammad-cartoon/ 'Burnley MP's anger at Jesus-Muhammad cartoon'] {{Webarchive. link. (16 October 2019 , ''Lancashire Telegraph'', 19 February 2014)
19. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001142], "Burnley Results 2024 from the BBC", 7 July 2024