Kim Leadbeater | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forSpen Valley Batley and Spen (2021–2024) | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Tracy Brabin |
| Majority | 6,188 (15.1%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kim Michele Leadbeater (1976-05-01)1 May 1976 (age 49) Dewsbury,West Yorkshire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Domestic partner | Claire |
| Relatives | Jo Cox (sister) |
| Alma mater | |
Kim Michele Leadbeater[1]MBE (/ˈlɛdbiːtə(r)/; born 1 May 1976)[2] is a BritishLabour Party politician who has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forSpen Valley, formerlyBatley and Spen, since2021.
Kim Leadbeater was born on 1 May 1976 inDewsbury, to parents Jean and Gordon Leadbeater.[2] She is the younger sister of the lateJo Cox MP (1974–2016). Leadbeater attendedHeckmondwike Grammar School, and says that she has lived in "every little bit of" the local area.[3] She went on to graduate with aBachelor of Science (BSc) degree in health-related exercise and fitness fromLeeds Beckett University in 2005 and aPostgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from theUniversity of Huddersfield in 2008.[3][4]
Before moving into politics, Leadbeater was alecturer in physical health atBradford College, and has worked as apersonal trainer.[5]
On 23 May 2021, Leadbeater was selected as theLabour Party candidate for theBatley and Spen by-election. Upon her selection, Leadbeater declared that she was "the candidate the Tories fear". Her selection proved controversial, as Leadbeater had been selected despite only joining the party in recent weeks; the rule requiring that candidates should be a member of the party for a year before being nominated was waived.[6][7] She had previously been a member of the Labour Party but let this lapse followingthe murder of her sister when she helped found the Jo Cox Foundation on a non-party basis.
At the by-election, Leadbeater was elected to Parliament as MP forBatley and Spen with 35.3% of the vote and a majority of 323.[8] Leadbeater made hermaiden speech on 9 September 2021 during a debate on her sister's legacy.[9]
In her first six months in parliament, her two longest speeches were tributes to her sister and toDavid Amess, another MP whowas murdered in October 2021. She argued that the safety of MPs was not being taken seriously enough, and she called for anonymity on social media to become an exception to combat a culture of abuse.[10]
In November 2022, she criticised the2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which proposed the breakup of her Batley and Spen constituency.[11] She announced in May 2023 that she intended to stand for the new constituency ofSpen Valley at the2024 general election, following changes made by theBoundary Commission which would abolish the Batley and Spen and create Spen Valley andDewsbury and Batley.[12][13]
In June 2023, she wrote a report, published by theFabian Society:Healthy Britain: a new approach to health and wellbeing policy.[14]
As of June 2023[update], she was chair of theall-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) on Sport and Tidy Britain, co-chair of the groups on Political Literacy and on Tackling Loneliness and Connected Communities, and vice-chair or officer of several others.[15]
At the2024 general election, Leadbeater was elected to Parliament as MP forSpen Valley with 39.2% of the vote and a majority of 6,188.[16][17] She is abackbencher MP.[18]
In an interview on episode 109 of the podcastLeading, she toldRory Stewart andAlastair Campbell that she finds being an MP "frustrating" and that she "doesn't particularly enjoy being an MP", before noting that it was a privileged and important role in public life.[19]
In September 2024, Leadbeater was drawn first in the ballot forprivate members' bills.[20] She announced on 3 October 2024 that she would introduce a bill onassisted dying.[21][22] She introduced theTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in October. During November 2024, the prime minister,Keir Starmer, said the vote on Leadbeater's bill was "very important".[23] Additionally, Starmer said they must invest inNHS care for all needs, "including end-of-life care."[24]
In response to MPs putting forward an amendment aimed at preventing the Bill being debated, Leadbeater noted how society's attitudes towards dying changed over the past decade. Leadbeater citedRob Marris's Assisted Dying Bill of 2015, which was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs. In the last few days of debate, Leadbeater urged attention to be drawn towards the "families [of those] who are dying horrendous deaths", rather than debates about 'process'.[25]
Leadbeater lives in her constituency with her partner Claire.[5] Outside politics, her main interests are hockey and other sports.[2]
In 2020, she was appointed President of West YorkshireScouts.[26]
Her older sister, Jo Cox, had served as the MP for Batley and Spen from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016; Leadbeater contributed to the 2017 bookJo Cox: More in Common.[2][27][7]
In 2018, Leadbeater was awarded the UK's one thousandthPoints of Light award by Prime MinisterTheresa May for having "rejected the hate that marked [her] sister's murder to continue Jo's work and ensure that Jo's determination to change the world has lived on."[28]
In the2021 New Year Honours, Leadbeater was appointed Member of theOrder of the British Empire (MBE) "[f]or services to Social Cohesion, to the community in Batley, West Yorkshire and to Combatting Loneliness during Covid-19", when she was described inThe London Gazette as "Ambassador, Jo Cox Foundation and Chair, More in Common Batley and Spen".[29][30]
The Spectator named her as 2021's "Newcomer of the Year".[31]
Born Dewsbury 1 May 1976; d of Gordon and Jean Leadbeater ...
The party waived its membership rules to allow Leadbeater to stand and two local councillors who applied, both from the south Asian community, did not make the shortlist.
Newcomer of the year: Kim Leadbeater MP
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSpen Valley 2021–present | Incumbent |