John Whitby | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2024 | |
Member of Parliament for Derbyshire Dales | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Sarah Dines |
Majority | 350 (0.6%) |
Member of Derby City Council for Mackworth and New Zealand Mackworth (2010–2023) | |
Assumed office 5 May 2022 | |
Preceded by | Adrian Pegg |
In office 5 May 2010 –3 May 2018 | |
Preceded by | Raymond Baxter |
Succeeded by | Adrian Pegg |
Personal details | |
Born | John Michael Whitby Derbyshire,England |
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | Open University (BA) |
Musical career | |
Genres | Progressive metal Alternative metal |
Occupations | Singer |
Years active | 1988–1998 |
Formerly of | The Beyond |
John Michael Whitby is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Derbyshire Dales since 2024. [1] A former musician,he was the lead singer of The Beyond in the 1980s and 1990s.
Whitby was born in Derbyshire and educated at Woodlands Secondary Modern. [2] He received a Bachelor Arts degree in Social Science and Politics from the Open University. [3] At 21 he was living in Allestree,and was working on an Enterprise Allowance Scheme in Derby. [4]
Whitby was the lead singer in the Derby progressive rock band The Beyond. [5] [6] The band was described as a fusion of funk and metal. [7] He was recruited by the band's founders,guitarist Andy Gatford and drummer Neil Cooper,with whom he had been school friends. [7] After that band ended he,along with many of his band mates,formed the band Gorilla. [8] [9] In 2018,while Whitby was a mayor,the band played a reunion gig,raising thousands for charity. [10]
After music Whitby joined the civil service. [11] He became a councillor on Derby City Council in the early 2010s. In May 2017 he was made Mayor of Derby,a position which is held for a year,during which he raised £64,000 for charity. Despite it being noted that he was popular,even with opposition parties,he lost his seat just before the end of his term. [12] He regained a seat on Derby council in the 2022 elections. [13]
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election,he stood for the Derbyshire Dales constituency. He gained the seat from Sarah Dines,a member of the Conservative Party,with a majority of 350. [14] [15] [16] As an MP he supported calls for measures to restrict holiday lets in the constituency,to tackle the local housing crisis. [17]
He is a foster carer. [11]