1. Daniel Stephen Zeichner was born on 9 November 1956 and is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Cambridge since 2015.
21 Facts About Daniel Zeichner
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Daniel Zeichner has served as Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs since July 2024.
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Daniel Zeichner was born on 9 November 1956 in Beckenham.
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Daniel Zeichner's father was an Austrian political refugee whose family fled Vienna in 1938, and his mother was the descendant of agricultural workers from Cambridgeshire.
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Daniel Zeichner later worked in IT for a number of companies, including Norwich Union in Norfolk, Philips in East Chesterton and Perkins Engines in Peterborough.
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In 1992 Daniel Zeichner was hired by Norwich South MP John Garrett, working as press officer and parliamentary assistant for Garrett between 1992 and 1997.
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Daniel Zeichner subsequently worked for Garrett's successor, Charles Clarke, until 1999.
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In 2002 Daniel Zeichner began working for the public sector trade union UNISON as a political officer, a post he held until he was elected to Parliament.
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Daniel Zeichner has served several terms on Labour's National Policy Forum, the Labour Party's top policy-making body.
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Daniel Zeichner was first elected to represent the East of England on the body shortly after it was first established by Tony Blair as part of the "Partnership in Power" process.
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Daniel Zeichner was elected as a councillor in Burston, Norfolk, in 1995, a position in which he served until 2003.
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In 2006, Daniel Zeichner described his politics as "socialist in a modern context".
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Daniel Zeichner was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Transport in September 2015, responsible for buses, bikes and walking.
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In July 2016 Daniel Zeichner stated his opposition to the renewal of Trident.
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In June 2017 Daniel Zeichner resigned as a Shadow Transport Minister in order to vote in favour of an amendment to the government's 2017 Queen's Speech supporting the UK's membership of the single market, in defiance of the party whip.
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In January 2020, Daniel Zeichner was appointed as a Shadow Farming and Agriculture Minister in the Shadow Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs team.
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Daniel Zeichner supported Keir Starmer in the 2020 leadership election.
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Daniel Zeichner remained in the Shadow DEFRA team following Keir Starmer's first reshuffle as Labour leader, but gained the fisheries brief from Ruth Jones MP, as Shadow Food, Farming and Fisheries Minister.
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In June 2020, Parliament's Standards and Privileges Committee censured Daniel Zeichner for misusing public funds relating to stationery and pre-paid House of Commons envelopes during the 2019 general election campaign.
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On 30 August 2021, Keir Starmer announced that Daniel Zeichner would become acting Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in place of Luke Pollard until the 2021 Labour Party Conference to allow Pollard to spend more time with his community after the Plymouth shooting.
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Daniel Zeichner met Barbara "Budge" Ziolkowska, his partner, when he was a student at King's College, Cambridge, in 1976.