David was born in Leeds in 1963, the second of four children in a single-parent household. He enjoyed a free and enriched upbringing in the East End Park area of East Leeds. He was educated at All Saint Junior and Middle School and Crossgreen Comprehensive. He left school with few qualifications to start work at sixteen in the family roofing business and attended Leeds College of Building. He returned to academic study in 2010 and attained a BA (Hons) degree with the Open University six years later. He is married with four children and lives in East Leeds.