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Kim Leadbeater

Summary

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.

Kim Leadbeater
MBE MP
Official portrait, 2021
Member of Parliament
for Batley and Spen
Assumed office
1 July 2021
Preceded byTracy Brabin
Majority323 (0.9%)
Personal details
Born
Kim Michele Leadbeater

(1976-05-01) 1 May 1976 (age 47)
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England
Political partyLabour
Domestic partnerClare
RelativesJo Cox (sister)
Alma mater

Early life and education edit

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 edit

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

Political career edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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]

References edit

  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. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ 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

External links edit

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Batley and Spen
2021–present 		Incumbent

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