Leigh Ingham

MP for Stafford

Labour

Leigh Ingham is the Labour MP for Stafford, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Ingham received 18,531 votes (40.3%). The Conservative candidate, Theo Clarke, received 13,936 votes (30.3%), while the Reform UK candidate, Michael Riley, secured 8,612 votes (18.7%). Ingham was elected with a majority of 4,595 votes.

The Stafford constituency is located in Staffordshire, West Midlands. The constituency was held by Labour from 1997 to 2010, and then by the Conservative Party from 2010.

Ingham’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Stafford was Theo Clarke of the Conservative Party. Clarke represented the seat from 2019 to 2024.

Political Career

Ingham is a member of the House of Commons business and trade select committee (since April 2026). The committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Business and Trade.

Ingham is also a member of the House of Commons modernisation committee (since December 2025) – the committee that considers reforms to commons procedures, standards, and working practices.

Previously, Ingham served as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the leader of the House of Commons (2025-2026). A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. She was succeeded by Amanda Hack.

In April 2025, Ingham led a commons debate on access to sport and physical education for young people. She applied for the debate after a young constituent wrote to her highlighting how Covid-19 lockdowns had impacted his generation’s mental health and social skills.

Ingham argued that the curriculum review presented an opportunity to embed structured physical activity into the core education system.

She stated: “A diverse PE curriculum, including activities beyond traditional sports such as football and rugby – no shame; they are both great sports – can engage more students. Options such as martial arts, yoga and dance could be explored to ensure that PE appeals to all.”

She added: “I urge the government to take the issue seriously, to commit to sustainable funding and to ensure that every child, regardless of background, has the opportunity to thrive through sport.”

Ingham has sat as a member of the Northern Ireland affairs committee (2024-2025).

Ingham is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for theatre (chair).

Ingham delivered her maiden speech on 28 October 2024 during a debate on remembrance and veterans.

In it, she said: “I grew up in a working-class household, the daughter of a factory worker and a bricklayer, who I am so pleased are here today. I never imagined that I would be standing here today making my maiden speech as an MP.”

She added: “The people of Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages want a visible MP, who listens, who fights for them and who prioritises their collective interests over personal agendas – a politics that prioritises ‘we’, not ‘me’.

“That is the kind of politics that I wholeheartedly support.”

Before entering parliament, Ingham served as a Labour councillor on South Gloucestershire Council from 2023 to 2024. She served as deputy leader of the Labour group in this period.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Ingham 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: Ingham 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.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Ingham 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

Ingham 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 issued shortly after the bill’s second reading, Ingham said: “Voting on this bill was an important decision, and with strong views on both sides, it was not a responsibility I took lightly.”

She added: “Initially, I had concerns about the safeguards in place, and whether these mechanisms would be robust enough to protect vulnerable people from coercion or pressure.

“Having reviewed the full text of the bill and listened closely to the points raised by my parliamentary colleagues, constituents, and campaign groups, I believe the safeguards in the bill provide strong protections and provisions to protect vulnerable people.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Ingham 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

Ingham grew up in Staffordshire.

She studied politics at the University of Lincoln, graduating in 2006. She obtained master’s degrees from the University of Nottingham (2008) and the University of Leeds (2015).

Ingham worked as commissioning and development manager for Lincolnshire County Council (2008-2011) and later as a managing consultant for the recruitment firm Michael Page International for three years.

She subsequently served as Wales development manager for the charity Plan International UK and as a senior development consultant for the Education Development Trust from 2022 to 2024.