User:Gavin Callaghan/sandbox

Gavin Callaghan (born 6 January 1989) is a British politician who served as the Leader of Basildon Borough Council from 2017 - 2021. He was elected as a borough Councillor three times from 2012 until 2021.

A member of the Labour Party, Gavin won election three times and is a strong supporter of the New Labour era.

Early Life
Callaghan was born in Harold Wood hospital in Havering and lived in Romford before moving to Chadwell Heath in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. When he was teenager his family moved to the Basildon Borough. He attended catholic schools of St Ursula's in Harold Hill and the Campion School in Hornchurch.

Aged 18 Gavin became the first man in his family to attend university when he read politics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He graduated in 2010.

Sports Journalist
Whilst at University, Callaghan presented the Sports show on the Student Radio service. During this time he worked as a volunteer and undertook work experience at BBC Newcastle, BBC 5 Live and Sky News.

After graduating, he moved to Manchester and provided in-store radio commentary for the bookmaker Betfred.

Political Adviser
In 2011 he began working in the House of Commons for the Labour MPs Dan Jarvis and Steve Rotheram where he worked closely on the campaign for justice for the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

In 2015 Callaghan worked for Andy Burnham on his unsuccessful leadership campaign. He was responsible for liaison between the campaign and the Parliamentary Labour Party. Despite losing the overall contest, Burnham won more support amongst the PLP than any other candidate.

Political Career
In 2012 Callaghan was selected by the Labour Party to stand in the ward of Pitsea North West in the local elections to Basildon Borough Council. Callaghan comfortably defeated the incumbent Conservative Cabinet Member Andrew Baggott and was elected to the Council.

In 2013 he was selected by local Labour Party members to stand in the 2015 General Election in the ultra-safe Conservative seat of Basildon and Billericay. During the election, despite an onslaught from UKIP, Callaghan achieved one of the best results for Labour in the Eastern region and increased Labour's share of the vote, finishing a strong second.

Following the 2015 General Election, the Labour Party elected Callaghan to serve as the Leader of the Labour Group on Basildon Council. He was re-elected in 2016 despite huge pressure from UKIP and in 2017, aged 28, Callaghan was elected as the Leader of Basildon Borough Council, making him the youngest Leader of a Council in the United Kingdom.

Callaghan served as Leader the Council and Labour Group until May 2021 where he steered the Council through the COVID19 pandemic, embarked on the biggest regeneration in the council's history and invested significantly in council house building and youth services. In June 2021 he stood down from the Council.

Charity Work
In 2015 Callaghan began working for the disability charity Papworth Trust in Cambridge. He led a number of initiatives including the largest survey of the nation's disabled people into the 2016 referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. He also worked to change the law around assessments for disabled people with life-long and terminal illnesses. In 2018 he joined the national disability charity Scope as the Public Affairs Manager.

International Development
Since 2021 Callaghan has been working with an international development agency to combat the issue of human trafficking and slavery in Sudan and North Africa. He regularly meets with community, voluntary, legal and health care groups on the ground in Sudan where he is exploring the ways in which a referral mechanism can be put in place to identify and support more victims of trafficking.

Personal Life
Callaghan is married and has a daughter. He met his wife whilst they both worked at Papworth Trust and they were married at Adare Manor in County Limerick on New Year's Eve 2021. Their first daughter was born in January 2023 in Basildon.

Gavin is a lifelong Sunderland supporter and season ticket holder.