He became an AEU shop steward at Balfour Darwin in 1967[1] and held a number of increasingly senior union positions in workplaces where he was employed, learning his politics in what described as "the socialist republic of South Yorkshire".
Simpson was the surprise winner of the June 2002 election for the position of Joint General Secretary of the AEEU Section of Amicus.
During this election campaign he appeared at fringe meetings of the Amicus MSF section conference in Blackpool, defying an instruction from Jackson not to attend.
He was still identified with the Unity Gazette and appeared at their national meetings until 2008, when he helped launch a rival "Workers Uniting Group".
[citation needed] Simpson has repeatedly denied press claims [2] that he was part of the "Awkward Squad" of trade union leaders opposed to New Labour policies, that they perceive to be against the interests of working people.
[1] He was involved in the negotiation that let to the 2004 Warwick Agreement, in which the Labour Party agreed to implement some of the trade unions' policies during their third term.