Background
Simon Henig was born in June 1969, the son of the former Labour Member of Parliament and Lancaster council leader Stanley Henig, and the historian Ruth Henig.
Simon Henig was born in June 1969, the son of the former Labour Member of Parliament and Lancaster council leader Stanley Henig, and the historian Ruth Henig.
He was educated at Moorside Primary School, Lancaster, Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford.
He is a lecturer in politics at the University of Sunderland. Simon"s grandfather, Sir Mark Henig, served as Lord Mayor of Leicester and led the English Tourist Board. Politics
In 1999, Henig was first elected as a councillor in the County Durham town of Chester-le-Street.
From 2001 to 2008, Henig was the agent for North Durham CLP, and chair of the North East Regional Board.
In 2007, Henig was runner-up to replace Tony Blair as Labour Member of Parliament in Sedgefield. Since May 2008, Henig has been Leader of Durham County Council.
In 2013, Henig led his local Labour Party to a substantially increased majority and a council group of 94, the largest in the United Kingdom. He is the chair of the Association of Labour Councillors. Henig was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2016 New Year Honours.
Academia
Henig is a lecturer in politics at the University of Sunderland, specialising in psephology, the branch of political science which deals with the study and scientific analysis of elections.
She was first elected in 2013, when she took the ward of Chester-le-Street South from the Liberal Democrats.
Henig is chair of the Company Durham Partnership Board, a member of Labour"s National Policy Forum and Chair of the Regional Board.