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David Smith
David grew up and was educated in Scotland. After graduating from Glasgow University David moved to London where he held paid and voluntary roles for a number of pressure groups including the Anti-Apartheid Movement and Shelter the Campaign for the Homeless. In his late teens and early twenties he was the Vice Chair of the British Youth Council and a member of the Parliamentary Youth Affairs Lobby, before taking up a senior full time post at the National Youth Bureau in 1985. He moved to West Yorkshire in 1981 and has lived there ever since. He has a PhD from Lancaster University.
Between 1988 and 2009, David held a number of senior posts in local government, initially managing front line youth and community services, and culminating in a Chief Officer role establishing the local strategic partnership for Calderdale. His work there was recognised nationally when the LSP won the Local Government Chronicle Partnership of the Year Award. For the last 2 years of his local government career he was asked to take on an important role developing better co-operation between all five West Yorksire Metropolitan Councils, between them responsible for delivering services to over 2 million people.
Earlier this year, David moved back to the third sector, taking up the post of Director of Leeds Voice, the community empowerment network for the Leeds District. He is a member of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations. This also enabled to become politically active and has since attended the Lib Dem’s Bournemouth conference, where he made a 1 minute intervention, been selected as the party’s candidate for the council ward in which he lives, and become secretary to the Wakefield party’s executive.
David is active in the community in a variety of ways and has a long track record of championing the interests of disadvantaged white communities, Black and Asian communities and LGBT communities. He lives in Ossett in West Yorkshire with his partner Tony Sargeant.