Ben was first elected to serve Park & Arbourthorne on Sheffield City Council in May 2016. He is a Labour & Co-operative Councillor and as a serving secondary school teacher, he is also a proud and active member of the National Education Union (NEU), where he is the Yorkshire & the Humber Convenor for the NEU’s Councillor Network. He told the Guardian back in 2013 that he ‘joined the profession and became a teacher to change the world’.

Ben was born and brought up in South Yorkshire & is the grandson of a miner at Maltby colliery in Rotherham. He was the first in his family to go into Higher Education, studying Politics & International Relations at Lancaster University, before completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) to become a teacher. As part of the Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT), Ben takes a leading role nationally, advocating for every young person to have a good quality Citizenship Education in our schools.

In the Town Hall Ben is an Executive Advisor for Health and Social Care. He also sits on the Economic & Environment Wellbeing Scrutiny & Policy Development Committee. Ben has a track record of standing up for human rights, working with the Hong Kong community in Sheffield to defend their rights, as well as highlighting the Uyghur genocide.

Ben is an a champion of residents in his ward. He plays an active part in the local community, advocating for the most vulnerable and bringing together agencies and organisations for the good of everyone in Arbourthorne, Norfolk Park, Heeley Green, Gleadless Common and Gleadless Townend. Ben holds regular advice surgeries in the ward, where residents can raise issues. He can also be contacted by email or phone.