Matt Western | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forWarwick and Leamington | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Chris White |
| Majority | 12,412 (25.2%) |
| Member ofWarwickshire County Council forLeamington Willes | |
| In office 2 May 2013 – 13 March 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Tim Naylor |
| Succeeded by | Helen Adkins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Matthew Raymond Western (1962-11-07)7 November 1962 (age 63) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Rebecca Earle |
| Residence(s) | Leamington Spa,Warwickshire, England |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol (BSc) |
| Website | mattwestern |
Matthew Raymond Western (born 7 November 1962) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has served asMember of Parliament (MP) forWarwick & Leamington since 2017.
Matthew Raymond Western was educated inSt Albans, Hertfordshire and was privately educated atSt Albans School.[1][2] He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from theUniversity of Bristol in 1984.[1]
Prior to entering politics, Western worked in various senior management roles during a 24-year career withPeugeot both in the UK and Paris, France.[3] He specialised in Finance, Procurement and Marketing.[4]
Western entered politics relatively late in life, and was elected to the Leamington Willes ward ofWarwickshire County Council for the first time in 2013. Western was elected again in 2017 shortly before becoming an MP. He resigned as a Councillor in March 2018.[5][6] While a councillor, Western volunteered as a careers mentor atCampion School in Leamington Spa.[7]
Western was elected asMember of Parliament forWarwick and Leamington at the2017 general election.[8] He was re-elected at the2019 general election, and the2024 general election.[9]
As an MP Western has served on theInternational Trade Select Committee since September 2017 and on theHousing, Communities and Local Government Committee since February 2018.[10] Western is the Chair of the Parliamentary Campaign for Council Housing, which aims to increase the number of council houses being built and represent the interests of council tenants, and is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Students.[11][12]
In December 2017, Western criticised theWarwick District Council for a proposal to relocate the council's offices to a new site in Leamington.[13] Western objected to the plans, stating that the new development would consist of "100 per cent private housing, with no social, affordable or council housing on the site".[13] In response to the plans, Western started a petition in protest against the move.[14] As of 3 December 2019, the petition had gained over 8,000 signatures.[15] In September 2019, Warwick District Council leader Andrew Day asked Western to "stop playing political games with the regeneration of town" over Western's opposition to plans to relocate the council's headquarters.[16] However, as a result of Western's petition and a campaign by a local pressure group, the project was put on hold and the private equity backed partner company PSP was withdrawn. Western stated that the scrapped plans would result in Warwick District Council having to pay out £1.2 million in compensation to PSP, even though there was never an official tendering process.[17]
In February 2019, Western proposed a Bill that sought to limit the driving hours worked by bus drivers on local routes.[18] The bill, known as Rowan's Law, was introduced in response to a bus crash in 2005 inCoventry, which killed 76-year-old pedestrian Dora Hancox, and 7-year-old passenger Rowan Fitzgerald from Western's constituency. Driver exhaustion was said to have played a role in the crash, and Rowan's Law sought to prevent any similar future tragedies.[19][20]
In May 2019, theSun On Sunday described Western as a "cycling fanatic", reporting that he had claimed expenses for cycling to appointments around his constituency. Western asserted that he was simply "doing the right thing by cycling and not driving" in a town with issues with air quality.[21] Western went on to say that the expenses were "HMRC-approved" and "that cycle mileage claims are considerably less than car mileage claims".[21]
In June 2019, Western led a Parliamentary debate on social housing.[22] The Commons passed his motion calling on the Government to carry out a mass council housebuilding programme.[22]
In August 2019, Western was a signatory to a letter calling on the UN Secretary GeneralAntónio Guterres to intervene and prevent India's revocation of Article 370 regarding the province ofKashmir's self-autonomy.[23] The letter urged "the United Nations to do everything in its power to de-escalate" the situation.
In October 2019, Western was a signatory to a letter calling for the Labour Party to adopt plans to build 100,000 Council Homes, in line with the Labour Campaign for Council Housing's proposals.[24] The policy was later adopted by the Labour Party in its manifesto.[25]
In March 2021, Western was appointed Shadow Minister for Further Education and Universities[26] afterEmma Hardy stepped down.[27]
Matt Western stood as the Labour candidate for Warwick and Leamington in the 2024 general election.[28]
In December 2020, it emerged that Western had written a foreword to a report at the centre of a climate lobbying controversy. The report claimed that electric vehicles had a poorer carbon footprint than petrol ones. The report purported to be written by an independent organisation, but was in fact written by a PR firm owned by the spouse of a director ofAston Martin. After this emerged, Western said that he was "disappointed that the report has since been used to push an anti-electrification line in the media", and that he "was not aware of any link between the PR firm involved and Aston Martin".[29]
Western has spoken in favour of electric vehicles, and from July 2019, served as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electric Vehicles.[30][31] Western has described himself as "a big proponent for green energy",[32] but has criticized solar farms in his constituency, arguing that they are "not appropriate."[33]
Western is a signatory of theMPs Not Border Guards pledge, which vows to not report constituents to the Home Office for immigration enforcement.[34][35]
Western is married toRebecca Earle,[36] a history professor atWarwick University, and they live in Leamington.[4][37] He supportsArsenal FC in thePremier League.[36]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWarwick and Leamington 2017–present | Incumbent |
