Kim Leadbeater

Last updated

Kim Leadbeater
MBE MP
Official portrait of Kim Leadbeater MP.jpg
Official portrait, 2021
Member of Parliament
for Batley and Spen
Assumed office
1 July 2021

Kim Michele Leadbeater [1] MBE ( /ˈlɛdbiːtər/ ; born 1 May 1976) [2] is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen since 2021.

Contents

Early life and education

Leadbeater was born in 1976 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England, to parents Jean and Gordon. [2] She is the younger sister of former MP Jo Cox (1974–2016). Kim attended Heckmondwike Grammar School, and says that she has lived in "every little bit of" the local area. [3] Leadbeater went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in health-related exercise and fitness from Leeds Beckett University in 2005 and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from the University of Huddersfield in 2008. [3] [4]

Career

Before moving into politics, Leadbeater was a lecturer in physical health at Bradford College, and has worked as a personal trainer. [5]

Political career

On 23 May 2021, Leadbeater was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Batley and Spen by-election. Her older sister, Jo Cox, had served as the MP for the constituency from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016; Leadbeater contributed to the 2017 book Jo Cox: More in Common. [2] [6] [7] 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. [8] [7] She had previously been a member of the Labour Party but let this lapse following the murder of her sister when she helped found the Jo Cox Foundation on a non-party basis. She was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen on 1 July 2021, with a 323-vote majority. [9] Leadbeater made her maiden speech on 9 September 2021 during a debate on her sister's legacy. [10]

In her first six months in parliament, her two longest speeches were tributes to her sister and to David Amess, another MP who was 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. [11]

In 2023 she wrote a report, published by the Fabian Society: Healthy Britain: a new approach to health and wellbeing policy. [12]

She announced in May 2023 that she intends to stand for the new constituency of Spen Valley at the next general election, following changes made by the Boundary Commission which would abolish the Batley and Spen constituency and create Spen Valley and Dewsbury and Batley. [13] [14]

As of June 2023 she is chair of the all-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]

In 2023, she criticised the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which proposed the division of the Borough of Kirklees. [16] Leadbeater intends to contest Spen Valley instead of Dewsbury and Batley at the next general election. [17]

Political views

She visited Israel and the Occupied Territories in February 2023 [18] and has spoken out in favour of a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. [19] She is a member of both Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East [20] and Labour Friends of Israel. [21]

Personal life

Leadbeater lives in her constituency with her partner Clare. [5] Outside politics, her main interests are hockey and sport. [2]

In 2020, she was appointed President of West Yorkshire Scouts. [22]

Awards

In 2018, Leadbeater was awarded the UK's one thousandth Points of Light award by Prime Minister Theresa 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." [23]

In the 2021 New Year Honours, Leadbeater was appointed Member of the Order 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 in The London Gazette as "Ambassador, Jo Cox Foundation and Chair, More in Common Batley and Spen". [24] [25]

The Spectator named her as 2021's "Newcomer of the Year". [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batley</span> Town in West Yorkshire, England

Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the population was 48,730.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleckheaton</span> Town in West Yorkshire, England

Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It is at the centre of the Spen Valley and was the major town in the former borough of Spenborough. Cleckheaton has a history as a mill town and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirklees</span> Metropolitan borough in England

Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It is governed by Kirklees Council. Kirklees had a population of 422,500 in 2011; it is the third-largest metropolitan district in England by area, behind Doncaster and Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heckmondwike</span> Town in West Yorkshire, England

Heckmondwike is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen parliamentary constituency, and had an estimated population of 16,986 at the 2011 Census increasing to 18,149 at the 2021 Census. Heckmondwike forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom since 1868

Dewsbury is a constituency created in 1868. This seat is represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament since 2019 by Mark Eastwood of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batley and Spen (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Batley and Spen is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The current MP is Kim Leadbeater, a Labour politician, elected in a 2021 by-election by a 323-vote margin. The seat has returned Labour MPs since the 1997 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heckmondwike Grammar School</span> Academy in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England

Heckmondwike Grammar School (HGS) is an 11–18 mixed, grammar school and sixth form with academy status in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England.

Spen Valley was a parliamentary constituency in the valley of the River Spen in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Brabin</span> Mayor of West Yorkshire

Tracy Lynn Brabin is a British politician who has served as the Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 2021 under the Labour and Co-operative banner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Cox</span> British politician (1974–2016)

Helen Joanne Cox was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016. She was a member of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Sherriff</span> British politician

Paula Michelle Sherriff is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury from 2015 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Batley and Spen by-election</span> UK parliament by-election

On 20 October 2016, a by-election was held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Batley and Spen. It was triggered by the murder of the incumbent member of parliament (MP), Jo Cox, on 16 June 2016. The Labour candidate, Tracy Brabin, won with 85.8% of the vote. Four parties with parliamentary representation did not enter candidates, out of respect for Cox. Nine candidates contested against Labour, and none reached the 5% threshold to keep their deposit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Jo Cox</span> 2016 murder of a UK member of parliament

On 16 June 2016, Jo Cox, a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen, died after being shot and stabbed multiple times in Birstall, West Yorkshire. In November 2016, 53-year-old Thomas Alexander Mair was found guilty of her murder and other offences connected to the killing in an act of terrorism. The judge concluded that Mair wanted to advance white supremacy and exclusive nationalism most associated with Nazism and its modern forms. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Eastwood</span> British Conservative politician

Mark Simon Eastwood is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury in the 2019 general election.

The Heavy Woollen District Independents was a political party based in the Heavy Woollen District of West Yorkshire, England. The party was registered with the Electoral Commission on 13 September 2017. Its leader was Aleksandar Lukic-Scott, who was the chairman of UKIP's Dewsbury, Batley and Spen branch until 2017.

The Workers Party of Britain (WPB), also called the Workers Party of Great Britain (WPGB) or Workers Party GB, is a socialist and socially conservative political party in the United Kingdom, led by and identified with veteran politician George Galloway. The party, founded in 2019, secured a parliamentary seat when Galloway won the February 2024 Rochdale by-election.

A by-election was held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Batley and Spen on 1 July 2021, following the resignation of the previous Member of Parliament (MP) Tracy Brabin, who was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire on 10 May. Under the devolution agreement, the position holds the powers and responsibilities of a police and crime commissioner, meaning the occupant of the office cannot simultaneously sit as an MP. The by-election was the fourth of the 58th Parliament, elected in 2019.

Dewsbury and Batley is a proposed constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it will first be contested in the 2024 general election. The constituency will be located in the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United Kingdom general election in Yorkshire and the Humber</span>

The 2024 United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 4 July 2024. 54 seats will be up for election in Yorkshire and the Humber.

References

  1. ↑ "Election results for Batley and Spen". Kirklees Council. July 2021. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Leadbeater, Kim Michele". Who's Who & Who Was Who. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u296197. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 24 June 2022. Born Dewsbury 1 May 1976; d of Gordon and Jean Leadbeater ...
  3. 1 2 Hyde, Nathan (17 June 2021). "All you need to know about Batley and Spen by election candidate Kim Leadbeater". The Yorkshire Post . ISSN   0963-1496. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "New Year Honours for Leeds Beckett Graduates". www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Leeds Beckett University. 31 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  5. 1 2 Adams, Tim (17 June 2018). "Kim Leadbeater on her sister, Jo Cox: 'You can't give in to hatred'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Pidd, Helen (23 May 2021). "Jo Cox's sister selected as Labour candidate for Batley and Spen byelection". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  7. 1 2 Rodgers, Sienna (23 May 2021). "Jo Cox's sister Kim Leadbeater selected by Labour to contest Batley and Spen". LabourList. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Al-Othman, Hannah (6 June 2021). "Batley and Spen by-election: are Muslim voters the next brick to crumble in Labour's red wall?" . The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021. 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.
  9. ↑ Wolfe-Robinson, Maya; Stewart, Heather (2 July 2021). "Labour's Kim Leadbeater wins narrow victory in Batley and Spen byelection". The Guardian . ISSN   1756-3224. OCLC   60623878. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Legacy of Jo Cox (2:02)". Hansard. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  11. ↑ Wolfe-Robinson, Maya (9 January 2022). "MPs' safety not being taken seriously enough, says Kim Leadbeater". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "Healthy Britain". Fabian Society . Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "Batley and Spen MP ignores safe seat advice as constituency is split". BBC News. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  14. ↑ Marlow, Abigail (18 May 2023). "Kirklees MP makes tough decision over Batley and Spen boundary change". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Kim Leadbeater: APPG officer roles". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  16. ↑ Marlow, Abigail (10 November 2022). "Kim Leadbeater slams new Kirklees boundaries that will split up Batley". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Batley and Spen MP ignores safe seat advice as constituency is split". BBC News. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Caabu Parliamentary delegation to the occupied Palestinian territory, February 2023".
  19. ↑ Brooke, Sam (28 May 2021). "Batley and Spen candidate Kim Leadbeater speaks out on Palestine". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "About Kim".
  21. ↑ "LFI Parliamentary Supporters". Labour Friends of Israel. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "New President and Vice Presidents Announced". wyscouts. West Yorkshire Scouts. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  23. ↑ "UK's 1000th Point of Light – 1000. Kim Leadbeater". Prime Minister's Office. 2018. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  24. ↑ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N20.
  25. ↑ de la Mare, Tess; Teale, Connor (31 December 2020). "Sister of murdered Batley & Spen MP Jo Cox appointed MBE". YorkshireLive. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  26. ↑ "Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year 2021, in pictures". The Spectator. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2023. Newcomer of the year: Kim Leadbeater MP
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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for Batley and Spen
2021–present		Incumbent
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