Simon Lightwood, MP for Wakefield and Rothwell
Simon Lightwood has been an MP since 2022. Currently: Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Minister for Equalities); Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport).
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In government
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) (Minister for Equalities) (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) | 2026 to now | Now |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport) (Department for Transport) | 2024 to now | Now |
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Minister (Transport) (Department for Transport) | 2022 to 2024 |
Committees
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL] | 2025 | |
| Automated Vehicles Bill [HL] | 2024 | |
| Seafarers' Wages Bill [HL] | 2023 |
Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page
Declared interests
MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.
Simon Lightwood has 1 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | UNISON - £2,000.00 | 12 Dec 2025 |
Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page
Questions
MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.
Simon Lightwood has not asked any written questions in the last 12 months. Government ministers cannot ask them, so this can simply reflect an MP’s role.
Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026
Expenses
MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.
73 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.
Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data
Election result and area
Simon Lightwood represents Wakefield and Rothwell. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.
Labour
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
Simon Lightwood won with 44% of the votes, and David Dews (Reform UK) came second with 21%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Lightwood | Labour | 17,773 | 43.7% |
| David Dews | Reform UK | 8,427 | 20.7% |
| Arnold Cravan | Conservative | 7,322 | 18.0% |
| Stewart Golton | Liberal Democrat | 3,249 | 8.0% |
| Ash Routh | Green Party | 2,389 | 5.9% |
| Keith Mason | Workers Party of Britain | 705 | 1.7% |
| Brent Hawksley | The Yorkshire Party | 606 | 1.5% |
| Nicholas Sanders | Social Democratic Party | 185 | 0.5% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
How they vote
In the last 12 months Simon Lightwood took part in 172 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
Simon Lightwood voted the same way as their party in 170 of the 170 votes where parties gave instructions (100%), and went the other way in 0.
What does this mean?
Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it
Recent votes
| Date | Vote | They voted | Compared with party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep | End of life for terminally ill adults: the first main vote | For | Free vote |
| 11 Sep | A vote to end a debate | For | Free vote |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
See every vote on Parliament’s site
Has this changed over time?
View data table
| Month | This MP | Party average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Nov 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Dec 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Jan 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Feb 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Mar 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Apr 26 | 100% | 100% |
| May 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jun 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jul 26 | 100% | 99% |
| Sep 26 | 100% | 100% |
Source: Commons Votes API
This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this