Personal Information

 I am married and have two children, Oscar and Aaron, and I live in Corsham. I moved to the town when I married my wife, Carole, as she was born here, and has lived here most of her life. We were married in St Bartholemew’s in Corham, and had our reception in Corsham Town Hall. I also have four step children living in the area, and three grandchildren.

Both my parents left school at 14, and they met while they were in the Army. They worked hard and gave me, my sister and my two brothers a loving upbringing. My father was employed in the motor trade, as manager of the parts department at a British Leyland distributor.

I was educated at King Edwards School in Bath until I was 16, and then went to Bath Technical College. After that I did a number of jobs, as a hospital porter at the Royal United in Bath, as a ferryman with the Bristol Ferryboat Company, and for several years as a clerk with the Halifax Building Society in Bristol.

In 1989 I did an access course to return to education, and then studied engineering at the University of the West of England, where I achieved a first class honours degree. Soome years later, while working I studied part time at Oxford University (Kellogg College), and gained an MSc. I am a Chartered Engineer, and member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

For some years I worked in a team developing new gas analysis instruments and systems for ambient Air Quality Monitoring, and for Continuous Emissions Monitoring. I designed and project managed the development of software for data capture, and automation of data QA/QC to produce reports to demonstrate regulatory compliance.. I worked with energy companies to capture their requirements to demonstrate compliance to emissions legislation for the Environment Agency, particularly with the deployment of new gas fired power stations.

I then worked for Motorola, where I worked as part of an internal consultancy group that provided expert support on the design and implementation of TETRA radio systems, and I have expertise in demonstrating regulatory compliance, for both standards and environmental legislation. During my employment with Motorola, I acted as a consultant to the Hong Kong Police, to the Danish Ministry of the Interior, the Norwegian Ministry of the Interior, and to the Czech police force

I have also acted as technical consultant to the GMB trade union for policy development on automation, and on energy policy.

I am an active trade unionist, and I am branch secretary of the GMB in Wiltshire, representing thousands of union members across the county, including several hundred in schools, factories, NHS and other employers in Chippenham, Melksham, Corsham, Bradford on Avon and the surrounding area.

picture copyright, Pete Dewhirst.

Published and promoted by Chippenham Labour Party on behalf of Andy Newman, both of 5 Elm Hayes, Corsham, SN13 9JW