John Whitby is the Labour MP for Derbyshire Dales, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Whitby won 17,759 votes, representing 34.6% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Sarah Dines, received 17,409 votes (34.0%), while the Reform UK candidate Edward Oakenfull secured 7,728 votes (15.1%). Whitby was duly elected with a very narrow majority of 350.

The Derbyshire Dales constituency is located in the East Midlands. It was held by the Conservative Party from its creation in 2010 to 2024.

Political Career

Whitby 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 May 2026, Whitby was among the over 100 Labour MPs who signed a joint statement insisting it was “no time for a leadership contest.” The letter was an intervention in the political crisis engulfing Keir Starmer’s premiership, after Labour suffered heavy losses in the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru. It was organised as a counterweight to a mounting rebellion that had seen high-profile figures, including some ministers, call for Starmer’s resignation.

The statement read: “Last week we had a devastatingly tough set of election results. It shows we have a hard job ahead to win back trust from the electorate.

“That job needs to start today – with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs.

“We must focus on that. This is no time for a leadership contest.”

In January 2026, Whitby 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.”

Whitby is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for ClimateTech and net zero.

Whitby delivered his maiden speech on 8 October 2024 during a debate on farming and food security.

In it, he said: “I did not even bother to check with the Commons Library, but I am very sure that I am the first former singer of a progressive metal band to be elected to this House.

“Although my gigging days are behind me, I think, I am extremely pleased that the Labour government will seek a deal with the EU to help our touring acts, who suffer no end of red tape when trying to get to the continent to ply their trade.

“The UK music industry has been an enormous success story over many decades and we need to support all of it – not just the multimillion selling acts, but the ones playing to a couple of hundred people, who will hopefully be tomorrow’s multimillion selling acts.”

Before entering parliament, Whitby was elected as a Labour councillor on Derby City Council in 2010. He lost his seat in 2018 before regaining it in 2022. He served as mayor of Derby from 2017 to 2018.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Whitby 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

Labour Rural Research Group: Whitby has been listed as a member of the Labour Rural Research Group (LRRG) – a caucus made up of MPs representing Labour’s so-called “rural wall”. Launched in August 2025, the group’s primary aim is to ensure that policy is developed with a clear understanding of the distinct challenges and priorities of rural and semi-rural communities.

The LRRG, chaired by the Suffolk Coastal MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, conducts research and consultations to challenge what it sees as a “rural blind spot” in Whitehall. Its first report, “Understanding Rural Britain”, surveyed voters on issues from healthcare and the economy to housing and the environment, seeking to build an evidence-based policy platform. The survey found nearly three quarters (74.4%) of respondents believe rural communities had been overlooked over the past 15 years. On the back of the report, Riddell-Carpenter stated that using the labelling rural voters as Nimbys (not in my back yard) was “toxic” and maintained “many people rightly despise the term”.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Whitby 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

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

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Whitby 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, Whitby 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

Whitby was born in Derbyshire. He attended Woodlands Secondary Modern school.

Whitby obtained a social science and politics degree from the Open University.

Whitby was the lead singer of the Derby-based progressive rock band The Beyond in the 1980s and 1990s. After The Beyond ended, he and several bandmates formed the band Gorilla.

Following his music career, Whitby joined the civil service.

Personal Life

Whitby lives in his Derbyshire Dales constituency.

Trivia

While serving as mayor of Derby in 2018, Whitby joined forces with his former band, The Beyond, for a one-off fundraising concert.