He joined the staff of Durham University as a temporary organic chemistry lecturer in 1964 before becoming a demonstrator in organic chemistry in 1965. In 1966, he became an organic chemistry lecturer at the University of Salford until he became a senior lecturer at the university in 1978. In 1986, he became a reader and left the university on his election to the House of Commons in 1997.
From 1976 until 1998 he served on the Bolton Borough Council. He was first returned to Parliament in the 1997 election as the MP for Bolton South East following the retirement of David Young. He served as MP until he stood down at the 2010 general election. He served on the Environmental Audit United Kingdom from 1997 until 2001, was a member of the science and technology committee 2000–07 and a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills committee since 2007. He also known as a campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis. In October 2006, he announced that he would be standing down at the next general election.[1]
He married Merrilyn Muncaster in 1965 in Leeds and they had two daughters before they divorced in 1989, in 1995 he later married Eileen Harrison, and they have two step sons.
In 2009, Iddon was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in recognition of his long-standing support of the chemistry using industries.
Radiation Chemistry of Aqueous Solutions of Indole and its Derivatives by B Iddon, GO Phillips, KE Robbins, JV Davies (University of Salford, 1971)
Radiation Sterilization of Pharmaceuticals and Biomedical Products by R Blackburn, B Iddon, JS Moore, GO Phillips, DM Power, TW Woodward (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1975)
Bromine Compounds: Chemistry and Applications Edited by D.Price, B. Iddon and B.J. Wakefield (Elsevier, 1998) ISBN0-444-42982-4
What Is Science Education For? By David Perks, R Sykes, M Reiss, S Singh, Mary Warnock. A Hunt, E Forster, B Iddon, H Teare, G Lawless and Tony Gilland (Academy of Ideas Ltd, 2006) ISBN1-904025-05-6
