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James Rowan Chatterton Dickson (born 16 January 1964) is a British Labour Co-op politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford since 2024. He was also Leader of Lambeth Council between 1994 and 2000.

Dickson has been a Herne Hill resident for 35 years and as a local councillor has successfully fought to keep local schools, children centers and Carnegie Library open for all local residents, helped create Station Square and the Sunday market and brought investment to Brockwell, Ruskin and Milkwood Parks.^[1]

Dickson has been a vocal environmental campaigner, leading supporting calls for the ULEZ expansion, in July 2022 he cited it as a "highly successful programme" in the transition to net zero, he's also called for similar schemes to go further in order to "phase out all diesel cars" with "new targeted charges."^[2]

At the 2024 general election, Dickson defeated Gareth Johnson of the Conservative Party in the traditionally bellwether seat, having previously campaigned for the Dartford Labour Party in recent years, and worked as a leading campaigner for the expansion of ULEZ.

Dickson was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read Social and Political Sciences.^[3] Whilst at Cambridge he was elected as Chair of the Cambridge University Labour Club.^{[citation needed]}

From 1989, Dickson worked for the London Housing Unit as a Senior Policy Officer for ten years.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998 he was a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster until 2000.^{[citation needed]}

Between 2000 and 2003 he worked as an Associate for Weber Shandwick.^{[citation needed]}

He previously worked for the consultancy firm Four Communications as Politics Director.^[4][5] He is a member of the Association of Professional Political Consultants.^[6]

Dickson was first elected as a Councillor for Herne Hill in the 1990 Lambeth London Borough Council election, and he became the Leader of Lambeth Council in 1994.^{[citation needed]}

At the 2001 General Election he was Labour's candidate^[7] in Old Bexley and Sidcup.

Dickson has held various cabinet positions on the Lambeth Borough Council (such as Voluntary and Community Sectors, Finance and Health and Social Care).^[4][8][9]

He was leading Lambeth's Labour Group when it was praised as being "more New Labour than New Labour" by former Prime Minister Tony Blair.^[10] He is a member of Progressive Britain.^[6]

At the 2024 General Election, Dickson was elected with a majority of 1,192 in the revised Dartford Constituency. Jim's campaign pledges included being "proud of Dartford" and offering support on the cost of living.