Dan Aldridge is the Labour Party MP for Weston-super-Mare, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 election for the Weston-super-Mare constituency, Aldridge won 16,310 votes, representing 38.5% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, John Penrose, received 11,901 votes (28.1%), while the Reform UK candidate, Richard Pearse, secured 7,735 votes (18.2%). Aldridge was duly elected with a majority of 4,409.  

The Weston-super-Mare constituency is located in the county of Somerset, within the South West England region. Created in 1918, the seat was predominantly held by the Conservative Party for most of its history. It was represented by the Liberal Party (1923-1924) and the Liberal Democrats (1997-2005).

Aldridge’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Weston-super-Mare was John Penrose of the Conservative Party, who had held the seat since 2005.

Political Career

Aldridge is a member of the House of Commons business and trade select committee (since October 2025). The committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Business and Trade.

In a May 2025 statement, Aldridge responded to the supreme court ruling concerning the definition of “woman” and “sex” under the Equality Act 2010. He stated his belief that “everyone deserves to live with dignity, safety, and respect” and expressed concern that “many trans, non-binary and intersex people are struggling” to do so in an “increasingly hostile and adversarial” political climate.

Drawing on his own experience of “Section 28 as a gay kid in an English school in the 90s”, he said he saw “so many parallels with what happened then to now”.

Aldridge added: “The supreme court’s recent ruling is significant, and we are all trying to make sense of it. Unlike some, I am not of the opinion that the judgement makes anything clearer and we are already seeing the real-life impact and unintended consequences of knee-jerk, uninformed actions by organisations which should absolutely know better.”

Aldridge was a member of the Northern Ireland affairs committee from October 2024 to December 2025.

Aldridge is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Alevis, cyber innovation, digital inclusion, ethnic minority business owners, hospitality and tourism and theatre.

Aldridge is a patron of LGBT+ Labour – a socialist society formally affiliated with the Labour Party.

Aldridge delivered his maiden speech on 16 October 2024 during a debate on the carer’s allowance.

In it, he said: “Under the last Labour government, I was the first in my family to pursue A-levels and go to university. It is because of those life-changing opportunities that I am here today.”

He added: “A constituent said to me recently, ‘Politics doesn’t make any difference’, but I could not disagree more. Yes, we have seen challenges, but for many of us, especially in my generation, the decisions of a Labour government gave us the chance to succeed in ways we never thought possible.

“I am determined to build on that legacy and ensure we continue to empower future generations.”

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Aldridge 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

Living Standards Coalition: Aldridge is a member of the living standards coalition. Established in July 2025, the group’s stated aim was to develop and promote policy ideas that directly reduce everyday costs for households, particularly in areas such as food, energy, housing and childcare. In an open letter published upon its founding, addressed to Keir Starmer, the MPs wrote: “Our constituents will ask one question at the next election: did this Labour government make me better off?”

They added: “To raise living standards, we support government interventions that will help to increase incomes and lower costs.”

Labour Growth Group: Aldridge has been listed as a member of the Labour Growth Group (LGG) – a vocal faction of backbenchers committed to ensuring economic growth remains the central mission of the government. The group, largely composed of MPs from the 2024 intake, positions itself as the voice of “the builders, not the blockers” and provides organised support for ministers taking on politically difficult decisions in the name of economic expansion.

In an open letter addressed to Keir Starmer, issued upon the group’s founding in July 2024, LGG MPs said it was imperative that “the government grasps the nettle and goes for growth”.

They added: “This absolutely has to start with the sweeping planning reforms to get Britain building again. Under the Tories, planning permissions for new homes hit record lows and housebuilding cratered. Indeed, not once in their 14 years in power did the Conservatives meet their housing targets.

“Energy and transport projects were promised but not built. That’s why we are writing to you to make clear that it’s in the national interest to start delivering on our manifesto promise, including 1.5 million more homes across this parliament at the earliest opportunity.

“A failure to act will not be forgiven by the public. Britain has a housing crisis and a huge infrastructure deficit – without strong and immediate action, this will only worsen.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Aldridge 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.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, Aldridge expressed opposition to the welfare bill.

In a March 2025 article for the Weston Mercury on the government’s welfare reform proposals, set out in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, Aldridge said that while he agreed with the need for change, he could not support the measures as they stood.

Aldridge said he fully supported the government in its aim to reform a system that was “not working” and trapping people in poverty, agreeing that “good, secure, well-paid work is the best way for people to build their future”.

However, he expressed “serious concerns” that the proposals would push large numbers of his constituents, particularly children and disabled people, “further into poverty”.

Aldridge cited the independent impact assessment that found the changes would push an extra 250,000 people into relative poverty, stating: “I did not come into politics to impose this on the most vulnerable in our society”.

Assisted dying

Aldridge 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).

In a statement setting out his position, issued ahead of the bill’s third reading debate, Aldridge said: “For terminally ill adults facing unbearable suffering, [the bill] will provide a compassionate choice to end life with dignity.

“Anyone who has nursed loved ones suffering agonising and brutally prolonged deaths knows that the status quo is intolerable and cruel. Sadly, even with the best palliative care, sometimes dignity at the end of life is impossible without the measures in this bill.”

He added: “This decision is ultimately about supporting a more compassionate, dignified end to life, and I hope and pray we will deliver this.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Aldridge 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, Aldridge 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 Daniel Colin Aldridge on 24 August 1984 in Stoke-on-Trent, he moved permanently to Weston-super-Mare with his family in 2001.

Aldridge attended Weston College. He then studied psychology at the University of Exeter and obtained a master’s degree from Northumbria University.  

Prior to his election, Aldridge worked as head of policy and public affairs at BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. He also worked as a policy officer at the Office for Students, at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and as policy and programmes manager at the charity Stonewall.

Personal Life

Aldridge’s sister works as a nurse in Weston-super-Mare.  

In a June 2025 statement, Aldridge publicly revealed for the first time that he was a survivor of grooming. He made the decision to speak out following the prime minister’s announcement of a statutory national inquiry into grooming gangs, an issue he said was “particularly personal” for him.

He stated that “no one should have to experience this” and welcomed the national inquiry as a “vital step forward”.

Aldridge added: “The inquiry will build on the work already initiated by the home secretary and will coordinate a series of targeted local investigations with full statutory powers.

“This has taken far too long, but it is right that we now move forward with honesty and determination. I welcome this moment and will continue to support efforts that put victims at the centre and ensure accountability at every level.”

In 2024, PinkNews listed Aldridge among a number of out LGBTQ+ parliamentarians.

Trivia

Aldridge’s family moved to Weston-super-Mare in 2001 after enjoying a caravan holiday there.

Aldridge is the first Labour MP to represent the Weston-super-Mare constituency.