Nick was appointed Minister for the North East and Deputy Chief Whip in June 2007.
Nick was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 1983. He represented Newcastle-upon-Tyne East until 1997, when boundary changes saw him elected as MP for the new constituency of Newcastle East and Wallsend.
Previous to this, Nick served as the Government’s Chief Whip, Secretary of State for Agriculture and Minister for Work. In opposition, he held the posts of Deputy Chief Whip, Deputy to Margaret Beckett as Shadow Leader of the Commons and he was the frontbench spokesperson for Health, Legal and Treasury and Economic Affairs.