Kim Leadbeater

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Kim Leadbeater
MBE MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Spen Valley
Batley and Spen (2021–2024)
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2021
Preceded byTracy Brabin
Majority6,188 (15.1%)
Personal details
Born
Kim Michele Leadbeater

(1976-05-01) 1 May 1976 (age 48)
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England
Political partyLabour
Domestic partnerClaire
RelativesJo Cox (sister)
Alma mater

Kim Michele Leadbeater[1] MBE (/ˈlɛdbiːtə(r)/; born 1 May 1976)[2] is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Spen Valley, formerly Batley and Spen, since 2021.

Early life and career

Kim Leadbeater was born on 1 May 1976 in Dewsbury, to parents Jean and Gordon Leadbeater.[2] She is the younger sister of former MP Jo Cox (1974–2016). Leadbeater attended Heckmondwike Grammar School, and says that she has lived in "every little bit of" the local area.[3] She 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]

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

Parliamentary career

On 23 May 2021, Leadbeater was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Batley 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 following the 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 for Batley and Spen with 35.3% of the vote and a majority of 323.[8] Leadbeater made her maiden 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 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.[10]

In June 2023 she wrote a report, published by the Fabian Society: Healthy Britain: a new approach to health and wellbeing policy.[11]

In November 2022, she criticised the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which proposed the breakup of her Batley and Spen constituency.[12] She announced in May 2023 that she intended to stand for the new constituency of Spen Valley at the 2024 general election, following changes made by the Boundary Commission which would abolish the Batley and Spen and create Spen Valley and Dewsbury and Batley.[13][14]

As of June 2023 she was 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]

At the 2024 general election, Leadbeater was elected to Parliament as MP for Spen Valley with 39.2% of the vote and a majority of 6,188.[16][17]

In an interview on episode 109 of the podcast Leading, she told Rory Stewart and Alastair 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.[18]

In September 2024, Leadbeater was drawn first in the ballot for private members' bills.[19] She announced on 3 October 2024 that she would introduce a bill on assisted dying.[20][21] She introduced the Terminally 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".[22] Additionally, Starmer said they must invest in NHS care for all needs, "including end-of-life care."[23]

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 cited Rob 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 who are dying horrendous deaths", rather than debates about 'process'. [24]

Personal life

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

In 2020, she was appointed President of West Yorkshire Scouts.[25]

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 book Jo Cox: More in Common.[2][26][7]

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 sister's murder to continue Jo's work and ensure that Jo's determination to change the world has lived on."[27]

In the 2021 New Year Honours, Leadbeater was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "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".[28][29]

The Spectator named her as 2021's "Newcomer of the Year".[30]

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. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b 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. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Legacy of Jo Cox (2:02)". Hansard. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  10. ^ Wolfe-Robinson, Maya (9 January 2022). "MPs' safety not being taken seriously enough, says Kim Leadbeater". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Healthy Britain". Fabian Society. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  12. ^ Marlow, Abigail (10 November 2022). "Kim Leadbeater slams new Kirklees boundaries that will split up Batley". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 2 December 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. ^ "Spen Valley results". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Election results for Spen Valley". Kirklees Council. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  18. ^ "The Rest Is Politics | 109. Is it time to legalise assisted dying? (Kim Leadbeater)". therestispolitics.supportingcast.fm. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Conservatives lose out in lottery to bring in new laws". BBC News. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  20. ^ Leadbeater, Kim (3 October 2024). "Too many people have been condemned to die in misery and pain. My assisted dying bill can change that". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Labour MP in fresh bid to change law on assisted dying". BBC News. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Kim Leadbeater defends assisted dying Bill in face of efforts to stop it". Radio NewsHub. Radio NewsHub. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Kim Leadbeater defends assisted dying Bill in face of efforts to stop it". Radio NewHub. Radio News Hub. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Focus on families, says MP behind assisted dying bill". BBC News. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  25. ^ "New President and Vice Presidents Announced". wyscouts. West Yorkshire Scouts. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ "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.
  28. ^ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N20.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ "Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year 2021, in pictures". The Spectator. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2023. Newcomer of the year: Kim Leadbeater MP
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Spen Valley
2021–present 		Incumbent