Nadia Whittome is the Labour MP for Nottingham East, having first been elected to parliament at the 2019 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Whittome won 19,494 votes, representing 53.6% of the vote. The Green Party candidate, Rosemary Palmer, received 4,332 votes (11.9%), while the Conservative candidate, Johno Lee, secured 3,925 votes (10.8%). Whittome was duly elected with a majority of 15,162 votes.

The Nottingham East constituency is considered a safe Labour seat. Whittome succeeded Chris Leslie as the MP for the seat. Leslie left the Labour Party to form the Independent Group (later Change UK) in the 2017-2019 parliament.

Political Career

Whittome is a member of the House of Commons women and equalities select committee (since October 2025) – the committee responsible for holding the government to account on equality law and policy, including the Equality Act 2010, as well as cross government activity on equalities. It also scrutinises the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Whittome, a critic of Keir Starmer’s leadership, was the second Labour MP to call on him to resign as prime minister.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by former Labour candidate Ali Milani, Whittome called for a “new leader”.

She stated: “I mean, even if Keir Starmer had a radical change of direction, I don’t think people would believe him and I don’t think the people around him would allow that to happen. So I think there needs to be a change of leadership, a change of personnel of people in No 10 and a completely different direction for the party.”

In the 2022-2023 parliamentary session, Whittome introduced a private members’ bill (PMB), entitled the Climate Education Bill, calling for issues relating to climate change and sustainability to be integrated throughout the curriculum in primary and secondary schools and included in vocational training courses.

Whittome served as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Jonathan Ashworth as shadow health secretary in 2020. She was dismissed from this post after she, alongside 18 other Labour MPs, defied the Labour whip and voted against the Overseas Operations Bill.

At the time, Whittome said the proposed legislation was “anti-veteran, anti-human rights, and would effectively decriminalise torture”.

In March 2020, Whittome returned to work part-time as a carer during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Social care is in absolute crisis”, she said. “I’m worried it is going to mean that the social care system is going to fall apart at the seams – so I’m pitching in”

In May, Whittome claimed she had been “effectively sacked” after appearing on BBC Newsnight to discuss purported PPE shortages. The Labour MP said she was accused of “spreading misinformation”.

Whittome had told Newsnight: “We’re scared and we don’t feel as though our government is keeping us safe because there isn’t enough PPE.”

In October 2020, Whittome was one of the 34 Labour MPs to break the party whip by voting against the covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill at its commons third reading. The proposed legislation, often referred to as the “spycops bill”, was introduced by the Conservative government to authorise undercover agents and informants to commit crimes while on operations. The Labour Party had whipped its representatives to abstain on the bill on the basis that the legislation is “far from perfect” yet “necessary” due to “the need to provide a clear lawful framework for the use of human intelligence sources”.

In May 2021, Whittome announced that she would be taking a leave of absence from parliament after disclosing she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), returning in September 2021.

In a statement, Whittome said she has been battling “some persistent health issues”.

She stated: “I feel it is important for me to be honest that it is mental ill-health I am suffering from – specifically post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“Through being open about my own mental health struggle, I hope that others will also feel able to talk about theirs, and that I can play a small role in creating greater acceptance and facilitating healthier discussions around this issue.”

Whittome was aged 23 upon her election to parliament in 2019. This made her the youngest MP and the “baby of the House”. In December 2019, shortly after the general election of that year, Whittome said she would only accept £35,000 of her £79,000 MP salary, vowing to donate the rest to local charities.

Whittome has sat as a member of the House of Commons housing, communities and local government committee (2022-2024) and the environmental audit committee (2020-2022).

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

Whittome is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for global LGBT+ rights.

Whittome told Nottinghamshire Live at the time: “It’s not about philanthropy and it’s not that MPs don’t deserve that salary, it’s the fact our teaching assistants, nurses and firefighters do as well.”

Whittome delivered her maiden speech on 20 January 2020 during a debate on the economy and jobs.

In it, she said: “Nottingham is a city of firsts. We were the first city to recognise misogyny as a hate crime, thanks largely to the work of Nottingham Women’s Centre, and under our Labour council we are on track to be the first carbon-neutral city by 2028.”

She added: “I am also here to represent this burning planet, and the generation that will be left to foot the bill and save it from catastrophic climate change. We are a generation that is brave, collaborative and outward-looking. We are determined to fight for a future in which everyone can breathe clean air and live well.

“These are not the whims of youth, but a deadly serious response to an existential crisis and the moral bankruptcy of our economic system. It is possible only because of the generations of socialists on whose shoulders I am proud to stand.”

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Whittome was one of 24 Labour MPs who nominated Bell Ribeiro-Addy 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.

Ribeiro-Addy, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG), was seen as the candidate on the left of the party. She secured only 24 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), far short of the 80 required under rules introduced in 2021.

Labour leadership 2020: Whittome was one of four Labour MPs who nominated Clive Lewis 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. Lewis, the shadow minister for sustainable economics, withdrew from the contest shortly before the deadline, having fallen well short of the 22 nominations required to reach the next stage.

Whittome went on to support Emily Thornberry’s candidacy. Thornberry, then the shadow foreign secretary, was one of five candidates to reach the second stage of the contest. However, she was eliminated from the race on 15 February 2020 after failing to secure the required 33 nominations from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) or three affiliated groups. This left Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Lisa Nandy as the three candidates on the final membership ballot.

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialism26: In May 2026, Whittome was a signatory of Socialism26, a political initiative and pressure group launched by a coalition of Labour MPs and general secretaries from several major affiliated trade unions, including Unison, Aslef, the CWU, the TSSA and the FBU. The group described itself as advocating a “programme for change” intended to facilitate a “progressive political reset” within the Labour Party. It called for a return to traditional socialist values and greater internal party democracy.

The initiative was built upon a set of policy demands, including urging the government to “recognise the genocide in Gaza”, deliver full compensation for the “Waspi” women affected by state pension age changes, protect civil liberties and embrace intervention to lower energy bills.

Socialism26 described this programme as “the bare minimum to ensure that the public can see and feel the difference a socialist government makes to their lives.”

Socialist Campaign Group: Whittome has been listed as a member of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) – the standard-bearer of the left wing within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Founded in 1982 by followers of Tony Benn, the group has traditionally advocated policies such as widespread public ownership, wealth redistribution and strengthened trade union rights.

Labour ‘reset’: In March 2026, Whittome was among dozens of Labour parliamentarians to co-sign a statement calling for a “reset” in the party’s internal culture and political direction. The statement, supported by an alliance of MPs from both the Mainstream (“soft-left”) and Momentum (left) wings of the party, condemned what it saw as the “insular, centralising approach” of the leadership. It called on Labour to rebuild “basic democracy, pluralism and fair process within our party.”

The intervention followed a series of by-election results in Gorton and Denton, Runcorn and Helsby and Caerphilly.

The statement said: “We stand against the insular, centralising approach of the current leadership that refuses to draw on the energy, talent and ideas of our whole movement, the continued underfunding of public services and local government, and the pandering to the talking points of the far right.”

It added: “We, the undersigned members from every section of the Labour Party – parliamentarians, councillors, internal election candidates, members and trade unionists, pledge to reset the Labour Party.”

Corbyn suspension: In November 2020, Whittome was among the 32 SCG MPs to sign a statement declaring that they opposed the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn and calling for the disciplinary action to be “swiftly reversed”.

The statement read: “This decision and the division it causes severely undermines efforts to unite to defeat antisemitism and fully implement the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] recommendations and to challenge and defeat this disastrous Conservative government.”

Corbyn’s suspension came after he issued a response to the EHRC report, arguing “the scale of the [antisemitism] problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents”.

Momentum endorsement: Whittome was endorsed by the left-wing campaign group Momentum in the 2024 general election. Momentum was founded in 2015 to support the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and to campaign for socialist policies within the Labour party.

Trade Union Group: Whittome is a member of the Trade Union Group of Labour MPs. 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.

Green new deal champion: Whittome is listed as one of activist group Green New Deal Rising’s “cross-party green new deal champions”. GNDR is a progressive campaign organisation which promotes rapid decarbonisation and the transformation of the UK economy with a “Green New Deal” – a long-term plan to tackle climate change with large-scale public investment in renewable energy, green infrastructure and public services.

Brexit and Europe

Left-wing ‘people’s vote’: In March 2019, Whittome was among 20 signatories to a cross-party letter published in the Guardian that called for a second referendum and rubbished Brexit as a “massive assault” on working-class people.

The letter read:“We are campaigning to transform society, not for the status quo. We are against Brexit because it is a massive assault on working-class people, on the environment, on migrants and on the communities that the left aims to represent.”

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, Whittome 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.”

Brexit trade deal: In December 2020, Whittome was among the 37 Labour MPs to rebel against the leadership’s position on the EU (Future Relationship) Bill – which enabled the government to implement and ratify its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. Keir Starmer, the newly elected Labour leader, argued that while the trade deal negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government was “thin” and flawed, the only alternative at that late stage was a “no-deal” exit. To enforce the leadership’s position, a three-line whip was imposed. Whittome abstained over the bill. One Labour MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, voted against the bill.

Electoral reform

Fair elections APPG: Whittome is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

Electoral reform amendment: In May 2026, Whittome was one of over 70 Labour MPs who signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

Proportional representation bill: In December 2024, Whittome voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Whittome was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

In May 2025, Whittome had signed a letter warning the government that the cuts were “impossible to support” and calling for a change in direction.

The letter, signed by 42 Labour MPs, read: “The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over 3 million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.

“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”

Welfare vote (July 2025): Whittome went on to vote against the 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.

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Whittome signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Assisted dying

Whittome 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): Whittome 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.

Trans rights: Whittome attended a rally organised by Labour for Trans Rights, a pressure group within the Labour party, during the party’s annual conference in September 2025. The event was described as a “Trans Solidarity Rally” and was intended to affirm the place of transgender people and their allies within the Labour movement.

X letter: In November 2025, Whittome was one of 34 cross-party MPs and peers who signed a letter to Ofcom demanding an investigation into the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The letter, led by Joani Reid, chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on antisemitism, called on the regulator to determine whether the platform was in breach of its legal duties under the Online Safety Act following a reported surge in antisemitic content and calls for violence against Jews on X.

Letter on treatment of LGBT+ citizens: In June 2025, Whittome was one of 16 Labour MPs to sign a letter to the foreign secretary, David Lammy, accusing the government of failing to protect the rights of LGBT+ citizens in the British Overseas Territories. The group argued that the absence of legal protections in jurisdictions such as the Turks and Caicos, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Montserrat constituted a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

According to a PoliticsHome report, the letter described the government’s “inaction on these injustices is not only a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights but, more importantly, a betrayal of the values Britain has long championed on the world stage.”

It added: “By failing to prevent differential treatment of LGBT+ persons in these jurisdictions, which naturally includes British citizens, the UK has allowed a two-tier system of British LGBT+ rights to emerge, in which the promise of equality and dignity extends only to some, not all, of its citizens and territories.”

Palestine

LFPME: Whittome 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.

Palestine Action vote: In July 2025, Whittome was one of 26 MPs to vote against the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. The ban, passed by 385 votes to 26, came after the Home Office accused the group of “aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public”. However, civil liberties organisations argued proscription represented an overreach of state power and a threat to the right to protest.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Whittome was among 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the King’s Speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza – defying the instruction set out by the party’s frontbench. Labour had tabled its own motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict and ordered its representatives to support that stance.

Civil liberties

Covid passes campaign (2021): Whittome was one of over 70 MPs and peers who launched a cross-party campaign against the “divisive and discriminatory use” of Covid passes in April 2021. The campaign was triggered by government reviews into “vaccine passports”, which signatories argued would create a two-tier society and infringe upon fundamental civil liberties.

Before Politics

Nadia Edith Whittome was born in Nottingham on 29 August 1996. Her father, a Punjabi Sikh, migrated from India, and her mother is an Anglo-Indian Catholic solicitor.

She attended private primary schools and later West Bridgford School and Bilborough Sixth Form College. She began a law degree at the University of Nottingham but did not complete it.

Before becoming an MP, she worked as a hate crime worker and as a carer.

She was a national committee member of the pro-Remain groups Another Europe Is Possible and Labour for a Socialist Europe.

She stood unsuccessfully as the Labour candidate for the West Bridgford West ward in the 2017 Nottinghamshire County Council election.

Personal Life

Whittome identifies as queer and bisexual.

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

She describes herself as a baptised Catholic who does not follow any religion.

She is vegan.

She speaks fluent French and German.

Trivia

Whittome was the youngest MP, and therefore “baby of the House”, from 2019 to 2023.