Andrew Lewin | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forWelwyn Hatfield | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Grant Shapps |
| Majority | 3,799 (7.8%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew Alan Lewin (1987-01-07)7 January 1987 (age 38) Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal Democrats (2003–2010) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | The Bishop's Stortford High School |
| Alma mater | University of York (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | andrewlewin |
Andrew Alan Lewin (born 7 January 1987) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forWelwyn Hatfield since the2024 general election.[1]
Lewin was born on 7 January 1987 at the originalQueen Elizabeth II Hospital inWelwyn Garden City,Hertfordshire.[2][3][4] He attendedThe Bishop's Stortford High School from 1998 to 2005 before graduating from theUniversity of York with aBA in Politics in 2008.[5][6][7]
Lewin joined theLiberal Democrats in 2003, while still at secondary school. He was selected as the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate forHertford and Stortford in October 2009.[8] In the2010 general election, 23-year-old Lewin, the youngest Lib Dem candidate in England, lost toMark Prisk of theConservative Party by a margin of 15,437 votes.[9] In November 2010, Lewin defected to theLabour Party, citing his dissatisfaction with the decisions of Liberal Democrat leaderNick Clegg and thecoalition government, specifically the trebling ofuniversity tuition fees, as his reason.[10][11]
In response to the2016 Brexit referendum, Lewin founded thepro-European group Remain Labour in 2017 and ran the group until its dissolution in 2021.[12] He endorsedJess Phillips in the2020 Labour leadership election.[13] Lewin was selected as the Labour Party parliamentary candidate forWelwyn Hatfield by members of theconstituency Labour Party in March 2023.[14] He won the constituency in the2024 general election, defeating the incumbent ConservativeGrant Shapps by a margin of 3,799 votes.[1] Lewin was sworn in bysolemn affirmation, rather than anoath, on 10 July.[15][16]
In November 2024, Lewin was elected Chair of theall-party parliamentary group onCricket.[17] The following month, he was elected Chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission and the all-party parliamentary group onNew Towns.[18][19][20][21] In April 2025, Lewin was elected to theHousing, Communities and Local Government Committee.[22][23] In September 2025, he announced his support forBridget Phillipson in theLabour Party deputy leadership election.[24]
Lewin has previously campaigned in favour of remaining in theEuropean Union (EU).[5] He cited his reasons for setting up Remain Labour as being due to his belief that "Brexit would hit hardest those who have least."[13] He also said it was the responsibility of the Labour party to stand against a project which he said would do "most damage" to the "poorest communities."[13]
Ahead of the2019 general election, Lewin called for a "Remain Alliance" consisting ofLabour, theLiberal Democrats and theGreens to be formed in opposition to Prime MinisterBoris Johnson.[25] He said that the prospect of ano-deal Brexit was "motivation enough" to form the alliance, and called on the parties to recognise that they had "more in common" instead of exaggerating their differences "for party gain".[25]
In an article Lewin wrote forLabourList in June 2022, he said that many wearily "read reports that prove beyond doubt that Brexit has set us back" and said that the impact was seen in communities; citing a 6% rise in food prices as being "directly attributed" to leaving the EU.[26] He called on Labour to make an "early manifesto pledge" to not rejoin the EU in its first term in power, saying that any proposal would "consume" a first-term Labour government and potentially "play into the hands of the Conservatives", and also stated that he thought it was "inconceivable" that all EU member states would welcome the UK back into the EU.[26] He also called on Labour to set out priority for cooperation with the EU regarding scientific research, climate change and energy security, and also to commit to a stronger trading relationship with the EU ahead of the next general election.[26]
Lewin voted to switch to thealternative vote in the2011 referendum. In January 2025, Lewin expressed support forproportional representation to be used for general elections, though he stated he believed the "vital link" between MPs and their constituencies should be preserved. He stated his support for a referendum in the next parliament to switch to a proportional system.[27]
Lewin supportedUkraine followingRussia's invasion in 2022, attending avigil in support of Ukraine in February 2023.[28] In February 2025, he criticisedU.S. presidentDonald Trump for openingpeace negotiations withRussia without the involvement of Ukraine, calling it "a dangerous moment" and stating that peace "should only come on terms agreed byPresident Zelenskyy".[29]
In February 2024, Lewin expressed support for atwo-state solution and a humanitarianceasefire in theGaza war.[30] Following theceasefire agreement in January 2025, he expressed his support forforeign secretaryDavid Lammy's statement, adding that there was "real hope that the cycle of violence and destruction will end".[31] In July 2025, following prime ministerKeir Starmer's commitment to recognisingPalestinian statehood at the September 2025 meeting of theUnited Nations General Assembly unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, Lewin stated "what is happening in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe and the actions ofNetanyahu’sgovernment are indefensible".[32]
Lewin lives inWelwyn Garden City with his wife and two sons.[3][33] He worked atClarion Housing Group from 2017 until his election toParliament in 2024. At Clarion, Lewin was initially the head of external communications until his promotion in 2021 to director of communications, a role he held until becoming an MP.[34]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Andrew Lewin | 19,877 | 41.0 | +9.3 | |
| Conservative | Grant Shapps | 16,078 | 33.2 | −19.4 | |
| Reform | Jack Aaron | 6,397 | 13.2 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Munro | 3,117 | 6.4 | −6.3 | |
| Green | Sarah Butcher | 2,986 | 6.2 | +3.1 | |
| Majority | 3,799 | 7.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 48,455 | 64.6 | −4.9 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | +14.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mark Prisk | 29,810 | 53.8 | +3.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Andrew Lewin | 14,373 | 26.0 | +7.5 | |
| Labour | Stephen Terry | 7,620 | 13.8 | –10.5 | |
| UKIP | David Sodey | 1,716 | 3.1 | +1.0 | |
| BNP | Roy Harris | 1,297 | 2.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Loucas Xenophontos | 325 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Independent | Martin Adams | 236 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 15,437 | 27.8 | +1.4 | ||
| Turnout | 55,377 | 70.6 | +4.1 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | –1.9 | |||
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWelwyn Hatfield 2024–present | Incumbent |