Michael Wheeler is the Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Wheeler won 20,277 votes, representing 47.7% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Craig Birtwistle, received 9,186 votes (21.6%), while the Conservative candidate, Bradley Mitchel, secured 6,791 votes (16.0%). Wheeler was duly elected with a majority of 11,091.

The Worsley and Eccles constituency, located in Greater Manchester in the North West, was newly created ahead of the 2024 general election.

Political Career

Wheeler currently serves as an assistant government whip. He was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

In January 2026, Wheeler 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.”

In a September 2025 Politics.co.uk article, Wheeler argued that the Employment Rights Bill would “fundamentally improve work for the millions of workers stuck on exploitative short and zero-hours contracts.”

He wrote: “These new protections could transform the lives of millions of workers, providing them with a stable foundation on which to build their lives around. But there are two big hurdles still to overcome.

“First, when the Employment Rights Bill returns to the commons from the Lords today, we need to make sure the Conservative and Liberal Democrat amendments are voted down.

“In a move that will dismay working people, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have got the old coalition band back together, amending the bill in the House of Lords so that those on zero and short hours contracts now just have a ‘right to request’ guaranteed hours.”

Wheeler has sat as a member of the House of Commons procedure committee (2024-2026) and the standards and privileges committees (2025-2026).

Wheeler delivered his maiden speech on 10 October 2024 during a debate on Team GB and Paralympics GB.

In it, he said: “Like a number of my honorable friends, I have spent most of my working life fighting for working people as a trade unionist.

“I have worked for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers trade union, campaigning on behalf of some of the lowest paid and least secure in our economy, and that experience has left an indelible mark on me.

“I have come to this place excited to be part of the change that those workers and my constituents voted for at the election – change that will deliver much-needed improvements to their lives, whether that is the new deal for working people that has been published today, making work pay and promoting work-life balance; real support for parents and children through action to provide available, affordable and accessible childcare; or the plan to support our communities and high streets, tackling antisocial behaviour and making us all feel safer at home.”

Before entering parliament, Wheeler was a Labour councillor on Salford City Council from 2011 until 2021.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Wheeler 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.

Wheeler co-wrote an article endorsing Phillipson alongside colleagues Michael Payne, Antonia Bance, Jo White, Steve Race, Michelle Welsh, Tim Roca and Sureena Brackenridge.

The LabourList article stated: “Bridget is the right choice to be Labour’s next deputy leader. She embodies the best of our movement: authenticity, hard work, and a deep sense of service.

“From growing up in a single-parent family in Sunderland to serving as MP for Houghton and Sunderland South – a marginal constituency she has defended and won against the odds – Bridget has always fought and always won.”

It added: “Bridget brings the same strength. She delivers. She inspires. She wins. She will unite our party to take the fight to Reform. That’s why we’re backing her to be the next deputy leader of the Labour Party.”

Factional identity and party tradition

Usdaw: Wheeler is chair 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.

Trade Union Group: Wheeler is treasurer on the Trade Union Group of Labour MPs executive. This long-standing group, founded in 1926, serves as a link between the Labour party and the trade union movement, aiming to ensure that the voices of working people and their unions are represented in parliament.

Living Standards Coalition: Wheeler 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): Wheeler 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

Wheeler 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): Wheeler 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

Wheeler attended Clarendon Road Primary School, Wentworth High School and Eccles Sixth Form. He studied at Lancaster University.

Wheeler worked as a political officer for the Usdaw trade union, before entering frontline politics.

Personal Life

Wheeler lives in his Worsley and Eccles constituency.

Trivia

Wheeler chairs the Usdaw parliamentary group.