James Daly (English politician)

James Barry Daly (born 19 March 1980) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury North since the 2019 general election.

He is a member of the Conservative Party.

Daly studied at Edge Hill University and then the University of Leeds.

He practised criminal law as a defence solicitor in Greater Manchester for 16 years before becoming a MP.

He was a councillor for Bury Council's North Manor ward from 2012 to 2019 and leader for the Conservative councillors from 2017 to 2019.

Daly stood in neighbouring Bolton North East at the 2015 and 2017 general elections, coming second with 32.8% and 42.2% of the vote respectively.

He also stood at the 2015 Oldham West and Royton by-election, finishing third with 2,596 votes (9.4%).

At the 2019 general election, he stood for Bury North, where he won the seat from Labour incumbent James Frith with a majority of 0.2%, representing a swing of 4.7%.

With a majority of 105 votes, it is the most marginal seat in England.

He is an advocate of the Down Syndrome Bill, which would recognise people with Down syndrome as a specific minority group.

On 13 June 2022, Daly was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Work and Pensions ministerial team.

He resigned from his position on 6 July 2022 following the Chris Pincher scandal, amid the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.

In December 2023 he said that most struggling children in his constituency are the "products of crap parents".

He later defended his comments, saying that he wanted "to ensure those from most disadvantaged backgrounds have best chance to thrive and succeed".

In February 2024, Daly was appointed a deputy chair of Conservative Party.

This was following the resignations of Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith.