Simon Lightwood

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Simon Lightwood

| honorific-suffix = MP

| image = Official portrait of Simon Lightwood MP crop 2, 2024.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2024

| office = Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport

| term_start = 9 July 2024

| term_end =

| office1 = Shadow Minister for Local Transport{{efn| Shadow Minister for Buses and Taxis (2022–23)}}

| term_start1 = 27 September 2022

| term_end1 = 4 July 2024

| predecessor1 = Sam Tarry

| office2 = Member of Parliament
for Wakefield and Rothwell
{{nobold|Wakefield (2022–2024)}}

| term_start2 = 23 June 2022

| term_end2 =

| predecessor2 = Imran Ahmad Khan

| successor =

| majority2 = 9,346 (23.1%)

| birth_name = Simon Robert Lightwood

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1980|12|15}}

| birth_place = South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| residence = Ossett, West Yorkshire, England

| party = Labour and Co-operative{{cite web|url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4943/contact|title=Simon Lightwood|website=UK Parliament|access-date=10 February 2023}}

| spouse =

| children =

| education =

| alma_mater = Bretton Hall College

| website = [http://www.simonlightwood.org.uk www.simonlightwood.org.uk]

| leader1 = Keir Starmer

| predecessor = Guy Opperman

| primeminister = Keir Starmer

| successor1 = Kieran Mullan

}}

Simon Robert Lightwood (born 15 December 1980){{cite web |title=Simon Robert Lightwood |url=https://api.parliament.uk/query/resource?uri=https://id.parliament.uk/NYPfEwlQ |website=api.parliament.uk |access-date=13 November 2022}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Wakefield by-election: Labour wins back Red Wall seat from Conservatives |url=https://news.sky.com/story/wakefield-by-election-labour-wins-back-red-wall-seat-from-conservatives-12639091 |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Sky News |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Imran Ahmad Khan: MP resigns after being found guilty of sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy |url=https://news.sky.com/story/imran-ahmad-khan-mp-resigns-after-being-found-guilty-of-sexually-assaulting-15-year-old-boy-12590192 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=Sky News}} He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport since July 2024,{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments: July 2024 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-july-2024 |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}} having previously been Shadow Minister for Local Transport from 2022 until 2024.{{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}}

Early life and education

Lightwood was born in 1980 and grew up in South Shields. After his family home was repossessed when he was aged 13, the family was forced to live with his grandmother.{{Cite web |last=Adu |first=Aletha |date=2022-06-18 |title=Labour's Wakefield candidate Simon Lightwood insists he's not an 'outsider' |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/wakefield-byelection-labour-simon-lightwood-27267018 |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=The Mirror |language=en}} Lightwood has a degree in theatre acting from Bretton Hall College and bought his first house in Wakefield.{{Cite web |last=Parsons |first=Rob |date=2022-06-10 |title=Wakefield by-election candidate says his family home was repossessed |url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/wakefield-election-candidate-reveals-how-24189490 |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=YorkshireLive |language=en}}

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,{{Cite web |title=Meet the Labour candidate who is competing to become Wakefield's next MP |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/meet-the-labour-candidate-competing-to-become-wakefields-next-mp-3701589 |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk |date=19 May 2022 |language=en}} and has served on the Labour Party's National Policy Forum as a Yorkshire representative.{{Cite web |title=Simon Lightwood / National Policy Forum / About Labour Policy Forum / Labour Policymaking |url=https://policyforum.labour.org.uk/about/npf/simon-lightwood?filter%5Btype%5D=only_regional&filter%5Bregion%5D=2 |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=policyforum.labour.org.uk}} At the time of running for parliament, he was Head of Communications for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

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.{{cite news|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61896693|title = Wakefield by-election result: Labour defeat Tories to retake seat|work = BBC News|last = Airey|first = Tom|date = 24 June 2022|accessdate = 24 June 2022}}

At the 2022 Labour Party Conference, Lightwood was appointed Shadow Minister for Local Transport.{{Cite news |url=https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/politics/wakefield-mp-simon-lightwood-joins-labours-shadow-transport-team-just-four-months-after-by-election-victory-3875974 |title=Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood joins Labour's shadow transport team just four months after by-election victory |first=Tony |last=Gardner |newspaper=Wakefield Express |date=2022-10-11 |access-date=2024-06-24}}

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. {{Cite web |title=General election results 2024 - Wakefield Council |url=https://www.wakefield.gov.uk/elections/election-results/general-election-results-2024/#2024WakefieldandRothwell |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=www.wakefield.gov.uk}}

Following the Labour Party victory in the 2024 general election, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Local Transport Minister). {{Cite web |title=Simon Lightwood MP |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/simon-lightwood |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |date=25 May 2022 |title=Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll |url=https://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Documents/elections/elections-2022/by-election-sopn.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525163623/https://www.wakefield.gov.uk/Documents/elections/elections-2022/by-election-sopn.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2022 |access-date=25 May 2022 |website=}}{{cite news |title=Head of communications at NHS Trust chosen as Labour candidate in Wakefield by-election |url=https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/politics/head-of-communications-at-nhs-trust-chosen-as-labour-candidate-in-wakefield-by-election-3701956 |access-date=24 June 2022 |work=Halifax Courier |date=20 May 2022 |language=en}}