James Frith

Frith was born in London on 23 April 1977,[2][3] the son of Richard Frith, who formerly served as the Bishop of Hull and Hereford. Frith was educated at Monkton Combe School and Taunton School, and studied Politics and Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University.[4]

Frith was the lead singer in the rock band Finka, and later the Fusileers, performing nationwide at venues and festivals including Glastonbury.[5][6]

He has held a number of positions in both the public and private sectors.[4] During the 2005 General Election campaign, Frith worked as a Campaign and Communications Manager for the Labour Party and Ruth Kelly MP, the Secretary of State for Education.[4]

Prior his election to Parliament, Frith was the CEO and Founder of All Together, a social enterprise providing careers education and guidance services to young people to help them get into work.[5]

In the 2010 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council Election, Frith unsuccessfully stood as the Labour Party candidate for Elton Ward against incumbent Conservative Michael Hankey.[7] Frith successfully stood for the second time in Elton Ward in 2011, gaining the open seat from the Conservatives after disgraced incumbent Denise Bigg didn't seek re-election.[7][8] He became the first Labour councillor to represent the ward since 2002.[7]

Frith sat on the Licensing Committee during his four-year term as a Councillor,[4] and opted to run for Parliament rather than seek re-election.[9]

After being selected as the Labour Party candidate in Bury North for the 2015 General Election, Frith lost to incumbent Conservative David Nuttall by 378 votes. The constituency saw a 2.1% swing from Conservative to Labour and a 5.9% increase in Labour's vote share.[10]

He was profiled by the Young Fabians during the 2015 General Election campaign for a pamphlet on prospective parliamentary candidates named 'Fifteen for 2015'. In the pamphlet, Frith said "I think [Blair] did more for ordinary people and families than any government since", but added New Labour “should have gone further and faster”.[11]

Frith contributed to the Fabian Society's book 'Never Again: Lessons from Labour's Key Seats' after his election defeat, criticising the leadership's 'failure to build on Labour’s excellent record on enterprise and skills in government by engaging properly with the business community'.[12]

Frith was re-selected to stand as the Labour candidate for Bury North in the 2017 General Election, fending off a challenge from high-profile candidate Karen Danczuk.[13]

He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Bury North in 2017, defeating incumbent Conservative David Nuttall with a majority of 4,375. The constituency saw a 5% swing from Conservative to Labour and a 12.5% increase in Labour's vote share.[14] He made his maiden speech on 19 July 2017 during the debate on tuition fees.[15]

Frith was a member of the Education Select Committee from 2017 to 2019,[1] and chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group for Hospice and End of Life Care.[4] In May 2018, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Healey MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing.[16]

He edited a book entitled 'New Brooms', published by the Fabian Society in 2018, featuring a collection of essays on parliamentary reform written by several Labour MPs from the 2017 intake.[17]

In July 2019, Frith worked alongside UK Music to secure and lead a debate in Westminster Hall on the decline of music in education, during which he urged the government combat the crisis facing music in education.[6]

He lost his seat in the 2019 General Election to James Daly, Bury Council's Conservative Group Leader, by 105 votes and conceded after three recounts.[18] Bury North saw a 4.7% swing from Labour to Conservative and Labour's vote share declined by 7.6%.[19] Following his defeat, Frith described feeling a "a degree of release" from the weeks campaigning, but added he felt the impact of being "inches from winning".[18]

In an opinion piece for LabourList during the 2020 Labour Leadership Election, Frith invited all the candidates to visit his marginal constituency to better understand the seats they need to win. Also in the piece, he was critical of the party's 2019 General Election campaign for 'sending hundreds of activists to Tory seats that we had no hope of winning' and cautioned against creating a 'manifesto that nobody believes'.[20]

His father is Anglican Bishop Richard Frith, the former Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of Hull.[2]

Frith and his wife Nikki have been Bury residents since 2009, where they've raised their four children.[5] He has spoken about the challenges of balancing family life with being a Member of Parliament.[21]

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou