He left school at 16 to become an apprentice technician at Manchester University, switching to local government, first as a regeneration officer, then becoming a town centre manager.
Before becoming an MP, Jim was a Councillor in Oldham for 13 years and the Leader of the Council. He served on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority with responsibility for transport. 聽Jim was named Council Leader of the Year in 2014 by the Local Government Information Unit, and he was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to the community in Oldham.
As an MP, Jim has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to former Labour deputy leader, Tom Watson and was subsequently appointed as Shadow Minister for Local Government and Devolution in 2016.
In April 2020, Jim was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Transport Secretary and in November 2021, Jim was asked by Keir Starmer to serve as Shadow Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Secretary, a role which he currently holds.
He is the chair of Labour鈥檚 sister party the Co-operative Party, vice-chair of the Co-operative Parliamentary Group and a member of the Co-operative Party NEC. Jim is a longstanding campaigner for Votes at 16 which was recognised in 2017 when Jim was named National Youth Voice Champion by the British Youth Council.