Matt Rodda
{{Short description|British politician (born 1966)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Matt Rodda
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MP}}
| image = Official portrait of Matt Rodda MP crop 2, 2024.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Official portrait, 2024
| office1 = Shadow Minister for Pensions
| leader1 = Keir Starmer
| term_start1 = 7 January 2021
| term_end1 = 7 July 2024
| predecessor1 = Jack Dromey
| successor1 = Gill Furniss
| office2 = Shadow Minister for Buses
| leader2 = Jeremy Corbyn
Keir Starmer
| term_start2 = 12 January 2018
| term_end2 = 7 January 2021
| predecessor2 = Richard Burden
| successor2 = Sam Tarry
| office5 = Member of Parliament
for Reading Central
{{nobold|Reading East (2017–2024)}}
| parliament5 =
| predecessor5 = Rob Wilson
| successor5 =
| term_start5 = 8 June 2017{{Cite web|url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4654/contact|title = Contact information for Matt Rodda - MPS and Lords - UK Parliament}}
| term_end5 =
| majority5 = 12,637 (27.9%)
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1966|12|15}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Labour Party
| alma_mater = University of Sussex
| website = {{Official website|https://www.mattrodda.net/}}
| office = Shadow Minister for AI and Intellectual Property
| predecessor = Office established
| leader = Keir Starmer
| term_start = 5 September 2023
| term_end = 7 July 2024
}}
Matthew Richard Allen Rodda (born 28 December 1966) is a British Labour Party politician, former journalist, and civil servant who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading Central, previously Reading East, since 2017.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-05 |title=General Election 2024: Labour wins Reading Central with 12,000 vote majority |url=https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24432245.labour-wins-reading-central-12-000-vote-majority/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Reading Chronicle |language=en}}
Early life and career
Matthew Rodda was born on 28 December 1966, and raised in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England.{{Who's Who | title=Rodda, Mathew Richard Allen| id = U289530| volume = 2018 | edition = February 2018 online | access-date = 14 February 2018 }} He studied history at the University of Sussex, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1989.{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Stephanie |title=UK General Election sees two Sussex alumni join new Labour Cabinet and a further ten alumni elected to Parliament |url=https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/65031 |website=The University of Sussex |access-date=6 November 2024 |language=en |date=14 August 2024}} He then trained as a journalist with Thomson.
After graduating, he worked for the Coventry Telegraph and was a journalist for The Independent newspaper, specialising in education news. He later became a civil servant in the Department for Education and subsequently worked in the charity sector and for the Higher Education Academy.
In October 1999, he survived the Ladbroke Grove rail crash, an event to which he has attributed his desire to contribute to the community.{{cite web |title=South East 2014 European Elections Hustings |url=http://www.dialoguesociety.org/southampton-discussion-forums/1001-south-east-2014-european-elections-hustings.html |access-date=9 June 2017 |publisher=Dialogue Society}}{{cite news |date=1 April 2010 |title=An interview with Matt Rodda, Labour's candidate for East Surrey |url=https://www.caterham-independent.co.uk/latest-news/261-an-interview-with-matt-rodda-labours-candidate-for-east-surrey/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609134138/https://www.caterham-independent.co.uk/latest-news/261-an-interview-with-matt-rodda-labours-candidate-for-east-surrey/ |archive-date=9 June 2017 |publisher=The Caterham and District Independent}}
Parliamentary career
Rodda stood as the Labour candidate in East Surrey at the 2010 general election, coming third with 9% of the vote behind the Conservative candidate Sam Gyimah and the Liberal Democrat candidate.{{cite web |title=Election Data 2010 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2010.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726162034/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2010.txt |archive-date=26 July 2013 |access-date=17 October 2015 |publisher=Electoral Calculus}}
At the 2015 general election, Rodda stood in Reading East, coming second with 33.1% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Rob Wilson.{{cite web |url=http://beta.reading.gov.uk/parliamentaryresults |title=Parliamentary results 2015 |publisher=Reading Borough Council |access-date=9 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610110550/http://beta.reading.gov.uk/parliamentaryresults| archive-date=10 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Notice of Persons Nominated |url=http://beta.reading.gov.uk/media/3138/Notice-of-Persons-Nominated-Notice-of-Poll-and-Situation-of-Polling-Stations-Reading-East-and-Reading-West/pdf/Notice-of-Persons-Nominated-_Notice-of-Poll-and-Situation-of-Polling-Stations-_Reading-East-and-Read.pdf |publisher=Reading Borough Council}}
Rodda was elected to Parliament as MP for Reading East at the snap 2017 general election with 49% of the vote and a majority of 3,749.{{cite news |title=Reading East parliamentary constituency – Election 2017 – BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000889 |access-date=9 June 2017}}{{Cite web |title=Reading Borough Council – statement of persons nominated 2017 |url=http://www.reading.gov.uk/media/7173/Statement-of-persons-nominated-notice-of-poll-and-situation-of-polling-stations---Reading-East/pdf/Reading_East.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522044752/http://www.reading.gov.uk/media/7173/Statement-of-persons-nominated-notice-of-poll-and-situation-of-polling-stations---Reading-East/pdf/Reading_East.pdf |archive-date=22 May 2019 |access-date=13 May 2017}}{{Cite web |title=Reading Borough Council |url=http://www.reading.gov.uk/ge2017 |website=www.reading.gov.uk}}
In January 2018, Rodda was promoted to a frontbench position in a Shadow Cabinet mini-shuffle, becoming the Shadow Minister for Local Transport.{{Cite web |title=Jeremy Corbyn makes frontbench appointments |url=http://press.labour.org.uk/post/169625699984/jeremy-corbyn-makes-frontbench-appointments |access-date=13 January 2018 |website=Labour Press}}
At the 2019 general election, Rodda was re-elected as MP for Reading East with a decreased vote share of 48.5% and an increased majority of 5,924.{{cite news |title=Reading East parliamentary constituency – Election 201( – BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000889 |access-date=13 December 2019 |work=BBC News}}
Rodda nominated Emily Thornberry for the 2020 Labour leadership election.{{cite web |title=Rolling list: MP/MEP nominations for Labour leadership candidates |url=https://labourlist.org/2020/01/rolling-list-mp-mep-nominations-for-labour-leadership-candidates/ |website=Labour List |date=8 January 2020 |access-date=7 February 2020}}
In the first Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, Rodda was appointed Shadow Minister for Buses.{{Cite web|url=https://labour.org.uk/press/keir-starmer-appoints-labour-frontbench/|title=Keir Starmer appoints Labour frontbench|website=The Labour Party|access-date=2020-04-10}}
In January 2021, Rodda was appointed Shadow Minister for Pensions after Jack Dromey was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet Office after Helen Hayes resigned to abstain on the Brexit Bill. Rodda was replaced as Shadow Minister for Buses by Sam Tarry.{{Cite web|last=Rodgers|first=Sienna|title=New roles for Dromey, Anderson, Rodda and Tarry in Labour reshuffle|url=https://labourlist.org/2021/01/new-roles-for-dromey-anderson-rodda-and-tarry-in-labour-reshuffle/|access-date=2021-01-07|website=LabourList|date=7 January 2021 |language=en-GB}} In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Shadow Minister for AI and Intellectual Property.{{Cite web |title=Meet our Shadow Cabinet |url=https://labour.org.uk/people/shadow-cabinet/ |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=The Labour Party |language=en}}
Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Rodda's constituency of Reading East was abolished and replaced with Reading Central. At the 2024 general election, Rodda was elected to Parliament as MP for Reading Central with 47.7% of the vote and a majority of 12,637.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website}}{{UK MP links |parliament=matt-rodda/4654 |publicwhip=Matt_Rodda |theywork=matt_rodda}}
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170612140846/http://myparliament.info/Member/4654 Page on MyParliament website]}}
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{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Rob Wilson}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Reading East|years=2017–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}{{Labour Party UK MPs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodda, Matt}}
Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex
Category:English civil servants
Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors
Category:Councillors in Berkshire
Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Reading