Jonathan Brash is the Labour Party MP for Hartlepool, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Brash won 16,414 votes, representing 46.2% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Amanda Napper, received 8,716 votes (24.5%), while the Conservative candidate, Jill Mortimer (the incumbent MP), secured 7,767 votes (21.9%). Brash was duly elected with a majority of 7,698.

The Hartlepool constituency is located in County Durham, North East England. The seat was held by Labour from its creation in 1974 until a 2021 by-election when it was won by the Conservatives.

Brash’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Hartlepool was Jill Mortimer of the Conservative Party. Mortimer won the 2021 Hartlepool by-election, which was triggered by the resignation of the incumbent Labour MP, Mike Hill.

This 2021 defeat was seen as a symbolic nadir for the party under Keir Starmer’s leadership. Starmer reportedly considered quitting in the wake of the by-election.

Political Career

In April 2026, Brash called on Starmer to resign as prime minister over the Peter Mandelson affair. Mandelson represented Hartlepool as a Labour MP from 1992 to 2004.

He told GB News: “I’ve got to be clear, I am completely fed up to the back teeth of this psychodrama in Westminster, the own goals that are coming from the heart of this government.

“Meanwhile, we’ve got fantastic Labour councillors, canvassers, activists up and down the country, working hard and delivering for their constituencies, like mine in Hartlepool, facing local elections in the shadow of this absolute mess. They just need to get a grip.”

Brash was asked why Starmer should step down.

He responded: “Why? Because ultimately, we’ve become completely consumed by this turmoil at a time when that is not what the British public are focused on…

“The reality is we have to focus on what the British people care about, and we’re being consumed by the psychodrama.”

In January 2026, Brash was one of over 60 Labour MPs to sign a letter to the prime minister calling for the introduction of an Australia-style ban on social media access for children under the age of 16. Organised by Plymouth Moor View MP Fred Thomas, the initiative brought together a cross-factional coalition of backbenchers – spanning the Socialist Campaign Group, Tribune Group and Blue Labour – to demand action.

The letter called on Keir Starmer to “show leadership” by introducing a minimum age for social media access “to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms”.

It stated: “We are all strong supporters of technology, and of this Labour government’s ambition to use tech to improve lives. But successive governments have done far too little to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms.”

Also in January 2026, Brash was listed as a supporter of an amendment to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, often referred to as the “Hillsborough Law”, that would extend the proposed criminal offence of misleading the public to include MPs and peers. Luke Myer, the Labour MP behind the proposal, argued that his amendment would mean “no-one in parliament would be above the law”, adding: “If politicians deliberately lie to the public, there should be consequences.”

Myer stated: “This amendment is a proportionate, carefully safeguarded response to a real democratic risk. It is not about stifling debate or political disagreement, it is about ensuring that those who seek or hold public office cannot deliberately and knowingly mislead the public without consequence.

“The polling shows that voters across the political spectrum expect parliament to act.”

Myer’s amendment won the support of 30 cross-party MPs.

Brash is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for council tax reform (chair), further education and lifelong learning (chair), and swimming (chair).

Brash delivered his maiden speech on 22 July 2024 in a debate on economy, welfare and public services.

In it, he said: “Right now, in 2024, in one of the richest countries in the world, nearly 20% of Hartlepool’s children live in absolute poverty. Nothing could better symbolise the spectre of opportunity denied – the opportunity for a safe and secure upbringing, to fulfil their boundless potential, to get a good job and raise their own family in security and prosperity.

“So I welcome the announcement by my right honourable friends the secretaries of state for education and for work and pensions on developing an ambitious child poverty strategy, because as members know, the record is clear: when Labour is in government, child poverty falls.”

He added: “To represent the place where I grew up, where I met my wife Pamela and where we are raising our young family holds a special kind of responsibility for me. The challenges that Hartlepool people face are personal, because they are challenges that I share.

“When one of our local businesses closes due to spiralling costs, there is a good chance that I have visited it in better times. When a local play area is the victim of arson, my children are among those devastated at the loss of a place they enjoyed, and when someone tells me that they are living in pain because they cannot see an NHS dentist in a town that has been described as a dental desert, I know how they feel, because I cannot get one either.”

Before entering parliament, Brash served as a councillor on Hartlepool Borough Council from 2006 to 2016 and 2021 to 2024.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Brash was one of 175 Labour MPs who nominated Bridget Phillipson 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.

Phillipson, the serving education secretary, was widely viewed as the candidate favoured by Downing Street and the party leadership. She secured 175 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 80 required to reach the final ballot. She was ultimately defeated by Lucy Powell.

Factional identity and party tradition

Blue Labour: Brash is a member of the Blue Labour group in parliament. Founded by Labour peer Lord Glasman in 2009, the Blue Labour creed champions what it terms the politics of “faith, family and flag”, embracing a form of social conservatism with a progressive or left-wing economic policy.

Blue Labour articulates a critique of both New Labour’s social liberalism and free-market globalisation.

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Brash voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Brash was one of three Labour MPs to vote against the bill.

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Brash was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

Welfare vote (July 2025): Brash went on to abstain over the 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

Brash 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): Brash 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.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Brash was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Before Politics

Born Jonathan James Frederick Brash, he worked as a teacher before entering parliament. He was head of psychology at Yarm School, an independent school in North Yorkshire.

He was head of psychology and politics at Newcastle School for Boys.

Personal Life

Brash is married to Pamela and they live in Hartlepool with their family. His father was a local GP for over 30 years.

Trivia

Brash was the first MP to call for Starmer to resign specifically over the Mandelson vetting scandal.