Sarah Coombes is the Labour Party MP for West Bromwich, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Coombes won 16,872 votes, representing 46.2% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Will Goodhand, received 7,318 votes (20.1%), while the Reform UK candidate, Ray Nock, received 7,101 (19.5%). Coombes was duly elected with a majority of 9,554.

The West Bromwich constituency was newly created for the 2024 general election, formed from the former West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West constituencies.

Political Career

Coombes currently serves as an assistant government whip. She was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

Coombes served as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Home Office from September 2025 to July 2026. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs.

Coombes previously served as the PPS to Lucy Powell as leader of the House of Commons (2024-2025). Upon her appointment to this post, She stated: “I’m very proud to have been appointed PPS to our fantastic leader of the House!

“We have a transformative legislative agenda to deliver and I’m very excited to be part of Lucy’s team.”

In February 2025, Coombes introduced a bill under the 10-minute rule procedure calling for a crackdown on “ghost” number plates, which use reflective coatings to evade police cameras. Coombes argued that fines of up to £1,000 and six-point penalties should be imposed on drivers who use them.

She told the House: “It cannot be right that these drivers are not facing the consequences of their actions, and are creating so much danger for everyone else, so I urge the government to consider this bill in their road safety strategy. The drivers using ghost plates have gone under the radar for too long, but now they have been rumbled, and it is time to crack down on them.”

Coombes has served on the House of Commons modernisation committee (2024-2025).

Coombes delivered her maiden speech on 10 October 2024 during a debate on Team GB and Paralympics GB.

In it, she said: “In West Bromwich, we are rightly proud of our industrial history, and that legacy lives on today in the vibrant manufacturing businesses in the area, from the fourth-generation family steel press company, William King – which supplies one of our midlands greats, Jaguar Land Rover – to Robinson Brothers, a chemical company that manufactures the tasty aroma you can smell when you open a jar of coffee, as well as the less tasty but safety-critical smell when you turn on your gas hob.”

She added: “Let me end with one of my earliest memories: standing with my mum outside Safeway, handing out Labour stickers on the day of the 1997 general election. Thanks to my parents, even at the tender age of six I think I was aware that it was a moment of great national excitement and optimism about the future.

“Today our country faces huge challenges, but I am certain that just as the last Labour government changed Britain, this new one will bring growth and opportunity right across our nation.”

Before entering parliament, Coombes worked as head of policy and communications for Tom Watson during his tenure as deputy leader of the Labour Party. Watson previously represented the West Bromwich East seat (2001-2019).

Coombes also served as an advisor to the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Political views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Coombes was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was supported by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Factional identity and party tradition

SERA: Coombes has been listed as a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) – a socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. Founded in 1973, SERA is the party’s official environmental campaign group. The organisation campaigns on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, biodiversity, air quality and the transition to a green economy. SERA describes its member MPs as “champions for the environment”.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Coombes voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Coombes voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Coombes voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Born Sarah Rose Tattum Coombes, she attended Queens Park Community School in London.

She studied history and politics at Jesus College, Oxford, graduating in 2013.

Personal Life

Coombes lives in her West Bromwich constituency.

Trivia

Coombes worked for Tom Watson during his tenure as deputy leader of the Labour Party. Watson held this post from 2015 to 2019.