Jeff Smith is the Labour MP for Manchester Withington, having first been elected to parliament at the 2015 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Smith won 22,066 votes, representing 52.9% of the vote. The Green Party candidate, Sam Easterby-Smith, received 8,084 votes (19.4%), while the Liberal Democrat candidate, Richard Kilpatrick, secured 5,412 votes (13.0%). Smith was duly elected with a majority of 13,982 votes.

The Manchester Withington constituency covers southern parts of the city including Chorlton, Didsbury, and Withington. Historically held by Conservatives until 1987, it was won by the Liberal Democrats in 2005 before Labour gained it in 2015. It is now considered a safe Labour seat.

Political Career

Smith is a member of the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee (since October 2025). The committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Smith currently served as a government whip (lord commissioner of HM Treasury) from July 2024 to September 2025.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw Labour returned to power after 14 years in opposition, Smith served as an opposition whip (2023-2024 and 2015-2021).

Smith also held a series of shadow ministerial roles. He was shadow minister for clean power and consumers (September 2023 – May 2024), shadow minister for digital, culture, media and sport (December 2021 – September 2023), and shadow minister for housing, communities and local government (May – December 2021).

Smith, despite serving as a whip at the time, voted against the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill in February 2017. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading. In voting against the bill, Smith defied the Labour instruction to back the bill – one of 47 Labour MPs to do so.

Smith told the Manchester Evening News: “My constituents voted strongly for remain and I think it’s important to represent their view.

“I am not convinced that the government has a proper plan for negotiating a deal in the UK’s best interest, and I also think any deal should go back to the country.”

Smith was a member of the House of Commons environmental audit committee from July to October 2015.

Smith is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for the BBC and West Coast Main Line.

Smith delivered his maiden speech on 8 June 2015 during a debate on the Scotland Bill.

In it, he said: “I have always lived in Withington because it is the diverse, thriving, vibrant cultural heart of our city. It has areas of deprivation that have suffered badly under the austerity programme of the previous government, but it boasts successful high-tech industry such as Siemens in West Didsbury.

“It has great public services, such as world-class cancer treatment at the Christie hospital. It is home to students, graduates and academics from our superb Manchester universities.”

He added: “This is a time to work together to face the challenges of the 21st century, not a time for separation, either within the UK or from the rest of Europe. We build a better world together. A belief in collectivism and fairness is at the heart of Labour politics.”

Before entering parliament, Smith served as a Labour councillor on Manchester City Council from 1997 to 2015, representing Old Moat ward. He held several executive member positions, including for finance, education and housing and regeneration.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Smith 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.

Labour leadership 2020: Smith was one of 82 Labour MPs who nominated Keir Starmer for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Starmer’s 82 nominations were the highest of any candidate. The shadow Brexit secretary won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Labour leadership 2015: Smith was one of 68 Labour MPs who nominated Andy Burnham for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Burnham, the shadow health secretary, was initially considered the frontrunner. He secured 68 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. He ultimately finished second in the contest with 19% of the vote, losing to Jeremy Corbyn in the first round.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Smith was labelled as “neutral but not hostile” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty.

Labour leadership 2016: 2016 was one of 162 Labour MPs who nominated Owen Smith for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The election was triggered by a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn following the EU referendum, which led to a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs. Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, was ultimately defeated by Corbyn, who won with an increased mandate of 61.8% of the vote.

Factional identity and party tradition

Usdaw: Smith is a member of the Usdaw Union Parliamentary Group – a group of MPs who are members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and work generally to represent the union’s interests within parliament.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Smith supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with the vast majority of his constituents, 75.1% of whom also voted to Remain.

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, Smith was one of 193 Labour candidates to sign the anti-Brexit “Remain pledge”, drawn up by the campaign group Remain Labour.

It stated: “Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Smith 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

Smith 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): Smith 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.

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Smith voted against a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons. Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Smith voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Smith was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Palestine

LFPME: Smith has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Before Politics

Smith was born in Withington, Manchester in 1963.

Smith’s mother was born in Dublin, and his maternal grandfather was an Irish trade unionist. His Jewish great-grandmother came to Manchester from Poland in the 1880s.

He studied politics and economics at the University of Manchester.

Before becoming involved in politics full-time, he worked as an events manager and DJ, performing regularly at club nights and festivals like V Festival. Smith has said he saw “first-hand the important role music has played in Manchester’s history and culture.”

Personal Life

Smith is a trustee of the registered charity Drug Science – a group who promote research into psychedelics as mental health treatments.

Trivia

Smith is a lifelong Manchester City season ticket holder and a fan of Bruce Springsteen.