MP
Birtwistle took Burnley from Labour for the Liberal Democrats at the 2010 general election,with a 12% swing and 1,818 majority. [1] The first non-Labour MP in the Burnley constituency since 1935,he had previously contested the seat in 1992,1997 and 2005. [2] He was the oldest new MP of the 2010 intake,aged 66. [10] 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. [5]
A few weeks after his election,he was offered the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary to Danny Alexander,Chief Secretary to the Treasury. [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. [11] 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. [12]
In February 2012,Birtwistle became chairman of a new all-party parliamentary group dedicated to the advancement of apprenticeships. [10] In March,he wrote of his support for increasing the minimum wage and the introduction of the pupil premium,and argued for measures to tackle tax avoidance. [13]
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. [14] [15] In March 2013,he was appointed as Government Apprenticeship Ambassador to Business,a new role intended to raise the profile and prestige of apprenticeships. [3]
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. [16] 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". [17] [18]
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. [19]
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. [20] If Birtwistle had won,he would've been the second oldest MP in the Commons,being two weeks and two days younger than Roger Gale.
