Chris Hinchliff

MP for North East Hertfordshire

Labour

Chris Hinchliff was the Labour MP for North East Hertfordshire, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Hinchliff received 18,358 votes (35.0%). The Conservative candidate, Nikki da Costa, received 16,435 votes (31.3%), while the Reform UK candidate, Steven Adelantado, secured 8,462 votes (16.1%). Hinchliff was elected with a majority of 1,923 votes.

The North East Hertfordshire constituency is located in Hertfordshire, East of England. The seat, created in 1997, was held by the Conservatives until 2024.

Hinchliff’s immediate predecessor as the MP for North East Hertfordshire was Sir Oliver Heald of the Conservative Party. Heald represented the seat from 1997 to 2024.

Political Career

Hinchliff is a member of the House of Commons environmental audit (since October 2024) – the commons select committee that acts as parliament’s primary cross-departmental watchdog on environmental issues. The EAC has a wide-ranging remit to examine how the policies and programmes of all government departments and public bodies impact environmental protection and sustainable development.

In February 2026, Hinchliff was among the first Labour MPs to call for Keir Starmer to stand down as prime minister. His intervention came during the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal.

Hinchliff told the Bishop’s Stortford Independent: “It should have been absolutely clear from the get-go that a known associate of a convicted paedophile and sex trafficker was not an appropriate person to appoint as our ambassador to the United States.

“Nothing has come forward that explains why that decision was made or that can make that decision credible. So I’m afraid that I do now believe the prime minister should resign.”

In January 2026, Hinchliff 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.”

Hinchliff was one of four Labour MPs who had the party whip suspended in July 2025 after rebelling against the government, most notably on its flagship welfare bill. The group, which also included Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Rachael Maskell, were described as “persistent rebels” by party sources.

In a statement issued at the time, Hinchliff said: “I remain proud to have been elected as a Labour MP and I hope in time to return to the Labour benches.

“In the meantime I will continue to fight every day for the needs of my constituents and nothing will change in how I engage with and represent those I was elected to serve.”

Hincliffe’s suspension also came after he put forward a suite of amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, calling for greater environmental protections. The Labour MP condemned the “failures of the developer-led housing model” and accused the bill of ripping up “environmental protections”. Hincliffe’s amendments were ultimately voted down, however the government ultimately agreed to some concessions regarding environmental protections.

Hinchliff has been branded a “Nimby” by his opponents – a label that he rejects.

In July 2025, Keir Starmer, the prime minister, justified the suspension of Hinchliff by stating he was “determined” to change the country “for the better”.

Starmer said: “We had to deal with people who repeatedly break the whip. Because everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour government.

“This is about what we’re doing for the country and that’s why I’m so determined to press forward with the reforms and the change that we need to bring about.”

Following four months sitting as independent MPs, the group had the whip restored on 7 November 2025. This followed what were described as “constructive discussions” with the chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds.

Hinchliff serves as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for council and social housing (chair).

Hinchliff delivered his maiden speech on 5 September 2024 during a debate on the Great British Energy Bill.

In it, Hinchliff said that while canvassing during the general election, he encountered a seriously ill man sitting in a car, who told him about an incident involving “the construction of new housing in the meadow beyond his street.”

The man described how “agricultural sheds containing asbestos were demolished with almost incomprehensible recklessness in a single afternoon”, and that the workers had “virtually none of the necessary protective equipment.”

As a result, the man developed asbestosis, which “had ruined his health and left him barely able to travel from his front door to his car”, and asked Hinchcliff to raise the issue in parliament if elected.

Hinchcliff added: “I returned a few weeks later to speak to him about honouring his request and including this story in my maiden speech, I was told by his widow that he had recently passed away. The chance for any meaningful justice for this family has now gone with him.

“Meanwhile, developers have no doubt pocketed a return on investment that much fatter for having fatally cut corners at the expense of local residents.

“Whether it is profit-led developments, the cancellation of bus routes, or the closure of banks and village schools, the fundamental experience of towns and villages like those in North East Hertfordshire has too often been one of being done to and expected to endure, rather than one of being looked after, worked with and empowered to contribute.”

Before entering parliament, Hinchliff was elected as a Labour and Co-operative councillor on North Hertfordshire District Council in May 2022. He stepped down from this post in September 2024.

Political Views

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialism26: In May 2026, Hinchliff was a founding signatory of Socialism26, a political initiative and pressure group launched by a coalition of Labour MPs and general secretaries from several major affiliated trade unions, including Unison, Aslef, the CWU, the TSSA and the FBU. The group described itself as advocating a “programme for change” intended to facilitate a “progressive political reset” within the Labour Party. It called for a return to traditional socialist values and greater internal party democracy.

The initiative was built upon a set of policy demands, including urging the government to “recognise the genocide in Gaza”, deliver full compensation for the “Waspi” women affected by state pension age changes, protect civil liberties and embrace intervention to lower energy bills.

Socialism26 described this programme as “the bare minimum to ensure that the public can see and feel the difference a socialist government makes to their lives.”

Mainstream: Hinchliff is a member of Mainstream, a centre-left network within the Labour Party. The group was launched in September 2025 by the think tank Compass and the activist group Open Labour. It describes itself as a home for “Labour’s radical realists” and aims to influence the direction of the Labour government. It has called on the government to offer a “popular, principled and practical left politics for meaningful change.”

Compass has described the group as “an independent vehicle with the sole task of saving the Labour Party from its clear drift to the right and the unintended paving of the way to a Reform government.”

The group is backed by a number of senior Labour figures, including the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and includes MPs and peers from various traditions within the party – from the left, soft left and the more progressive elements of New Labour.

Labour ‘reset’: In March 2026, Hinchliff was among dozens of Labour parliamentarians to co-sign a statement calling for a “reset” in the party’s internal culture and political direction. The statement, supported by an alliance of MPs from both the Mainstream (“soft-left”) and Momentum (left) wings of the party, condemned what it saw as the “insular, centralising approach” of the leadership. It called on Labour to rebuild “basic democracy, pluralism and fair process within our party.”

The intervention followed a series of by-election results in Gorton and Denton, Runcorn and Helsby and Caerphilly.

The statement said: “We stand against the insular, centralising approach of the current leadership that refuses to draw on the energy, talent and ideas of our whole movement, the continued underfunding of public services and local government, and the pandering to the talking points of the far right.”

It added: “We, the undersigned members from every section of the Labour Party – parliamentarians, councillors, internal election candidates, members and trade unionists, pledge to reset the Labour Party.”

Electoral reform

Electoral reform amendment: In May 2026, Hinchliff was one of over 70 Labour MPs who signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

Proportional representation bill: In December 2024, Hinchliff voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Hinchliff 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.

In May 2025, Hinchliff had signed a letter warning the government that the cuts were “impossible to support” and calling for a change in direction.

The letter, signed by 42 Labour MPs, read: “The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over 3 million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.

“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”

Welfare vote (July 2025): Hinchliff went on to vote against 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.

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Hinchliff signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Assisted dying

Hinchliff voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at second reading (November 2024). However, he went on to vote against it at third reading (June 2025).

Hinchliff was one of 14 MPs to oppose the bill at third reading having supported it at second reading.

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Hinchliff 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 Christopher Volante Hinchliff in December 1993, he attended the Howard of Effingham School in Surrey. He studied history at King’s College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge University Labour Club.

Hinchliff later obtained a master’s degree in ecological economics from the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2016.

From 2019 to 2024, Hinchliff worked for the Campaign to Protect Rural England as a policy and campaign office, and then a campaigns manager.