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Simon Lightwood
MP
Simon Lightwood MP
	Official portrait, 2024
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 9 July 2024
Prime Minister	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Guy Opperman
Shadow Minister for Local Transport
	In office; 27 September 2022 – 4 July 2024
Leader	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Sam Tarry
Member of Parliament; for Wakefield and Rothwell; Wakefield (2022–2024)
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 23 June 2022
Preceded by	Imran Ahmad Khan
Majority	9,346 (23.1%)
Personal details
Born	Simon Robert Lightwood; 15 December 1980 (age 44); South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England
Political party	Labour and Co-operative
Residence(s)	Ossett, West Yorkshire, England
Alma mater	Bretton Hall College
Website	www.simonlightwood.org.uk

Simon Robert Lightwood (born 15 December 1980)^[2] is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield and Rothwell since 2024. From a 2022 by-election until 2024, he represented Wakefield.^[3]^[4] He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport since July 2024,^[5] having previously been Shadow Minister for Local Transport from 2022 until 2024.^[6]

Early life and education

Lightwood was born in 1980 and grew up in South Shields.^[7] After his family home was repossessed when he was aged 13, he family was forced to live with his grandmother.^[8] Lightwood has a degree in theatre acting from Bretton Hall College and bought his first house in Wakefield.^[7]

Early career

Lightwood was a case worker for the former Wakefield MP Mary Creagh, between 2005 and 2009. He later worked for the National Health Service,^[8]^[9] and has served on the Labour Party's National Policy Forum as a Yorkshire representative.^[10] At the time of running for parliament, he was Head of Communications for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.^[11]

Parliamentary career

On 3 May 2022, Imran Ahmad Khan resigned as MP for Wakefield after being convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage boy, thus forcing a by-election. At the by-election held on 23 June 2022, Lightwood was elected as MP with a 4,925 majority.^[12]

At the 2022 Labour Party Conference, Lightwood was appointed Shadow Minister for Local Transport.^[13]

In the 2024 general election,Lightwood was re-elected as the MP for the new parliamentary constituency of Wakefield and Rothwell with a majority of 9,346. ^[14]

Following the Labour Party victory in the 2024 general election, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Local Transport Minister). ^[15]

Personal life

Lightwood lives in Ossett, Wakefield, with his husband and children, having pledged to move from his previous home in Calderdale to Wakefield following his election.^[16]^[11]

Notes

^ Shadow Minister for Buses and Taxis (2022–23)

References

^ "Simon Lightwood". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^ "Simon Robert Lightwood". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^ "Wakefield by-election: Labour wins back Red Wall seat from Conservatives". Sky News. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "Imran Ahmad Khan: MP resigns after being found guilty of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy". Sky News. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
^ "Meet our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b Parsons, Rob (10 June 2022). "Wakefield by-election candidate says his family home was repossessed". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b Adu, Aletha (18 June 2022). "Labour's Wakefield candidate Simon Lightwood insists he's not an 'outsider'". The Mirror. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "Meet the Labour candidate who is competing to become Wakefield's next MP". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "Simon Lightwood / National Policy Forum / About Labour Policy Forum / Labour Policymaking". policyforum.labour.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Head of communications at NHS Trust chosen as Labour candidate in Wakefield by-election". Halifax Courier. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ Airey, Tom (24 June 2022). "Wakefield by-election result: Labour defeat Tories to retake seat". BBC News. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ Gardner, Tony (11 October 2022). "Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood joins Labour's shadow transport team just four months after by-election victory". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
^ "General election results 2024 - Wakefield Council". www.wakefield.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
^ "Simon Lightwood MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
^ "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). 25 May 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Imran Ahmad Khan	Member of Parliament for Wakefield 2022–2024	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Wakefield and Rothwell 2024–present	Incumbent