Tim Roca is the Labour MP for Macclesfield, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Roca won 24,672 votes, representing 46.7% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, David Rutley, received 15,552 votes (29.5%), while the Reform UK candidate, Stephen Broadhurst, secured 6,592 votes (12.5%). Roca was duly elected with a majority of 9,120 votes.

The Macclesfield constituency is located in Cheshire, North West England. The constituency, first established in its modern form in 1885, was represented by the Conservative Party from 1918 to 2024. Roca’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Macclesfield was David Rutley of the Conservative Party (2010-2024).

Political Career

Roca serves as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Department for Work and Pensions (since May 2026). A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. The role is widely regarded as the first step on the ministerial ladder. Although they cannot speak for the government in debates, a PPS is bound by collective responsibility and becomes part of the so-called “payroll vote”, expected to support the official line in all divisions.

Roca’s appointment to this PPS role was part of a targeted reshuffle designed to stabilise Keir Starmer’s position as prime minister after a series of resignations. At least four PPSs stepped down calling for Starmer to resign or set out a timetable for his departure. The move followed the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru. Conversely, Roca’s appointment signalled their support for the prime minister.

As such, Roca was among the over 100 Labour MPs who signed a joint statement in May 2026 insisting it was “no time for a leadership contest.”

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 June 2025, Roca 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.”

In March 2025, Roca participated in a Westminster Hall debate on a public petition calling for the United Kingdom to rejoin the European Union as a full member. The debate was triggered by an e-petition signed by over 128,000 people.

In the debate, Roca described arguments in favour of Brexit, set out in the 2016 referendum, as an “illusion” and “whatever fantasy people wanted it to be”. He said it was “dangerous to let that nationalist genie out of the bottle in the way that we did.”

He added: “Let us look at the youth mobility scheme, let us join the pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention and ease barriers to trade, and let us lay the groundwork for a proper debate on where the future of this country should be.”

Roca was appointed as a member of the United Kingdom delegation to the Nato parliamentary assembly (Nato PA) by the prime minister in November 2024. The delegation serves as a consultative link between the UK parliament and Nato. The assembly brings together legislators from all 32 member states to debate and provide oversight on security and defence policy. The party distribution of the delegation is intended to reflect the composition of the House of Commons.

Roca has sat as a member of the environment, food and rural affairs committee (2024-2026).

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

Roca delivered his maiden speech on 9 September 2024 during a debate on sanctions on Russia.

In it, he said: “At the election, it was a privilege to campaign and, importantly, listen to people’s concerns, aspirations and fears. Many spoke of the climate emergency and the need for greater action. Others insisted on the need for electoral reform – a view that I share.”

He added: “At home, confidence in our political system is at a record low, and according to the latest British social attitudes survey, as many as 58% of people say that they ‘almost never’ trust politicians to tell the truth…

“We must make this a place of public service, not self-service, and about the national interest, not self-interest, so that together, to borrow a phrase, we are a standing contradiction to people who wish to believe that only those with cold hearts and twisted tongues can succeed in the world of politics.”

Before entering parliament, Roca was elected as a Labour councillor on Westminster City Council in 2015. He served as deputy leader of the council from 2022 to 2024 and stood down as a councillor in 2024.

Roca previously stood as the Labour candidate for Macclesfield in the 2015 general election.

Political views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Roca 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.

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

Red Wall Caucus: Roca is a member of the Labour Red Wall Caucus, a parliamentary pressure group of Labour MPs representing constituencies in the Midlands and Northern England. Formed in November 2024 and led by Bassetlaw MP Jo White, the caucus serves as a voice for the so-called “red wall” seats that returned to Labour en masse at the 2024 general election.

In May 2025, following a series of disappointing local election results for the Labour Party, the caucus issued a statement calling for a shift in government strategy. The group argued that Keir Starmer’s “plan for change” messaging had “fallen on deaf ears”, inviting ministers to “visit our areas, listen and rebuild the social contract between government and the people.”

The statement added: “The demands raised by new MPs from post-industrial towns where infrastructure is poor with years of underinvestment must be taken off the too-difficult-to-do list.

“Breakaway from Treasury orthodoxy otherwise we will never get the investment we desperately need. The government needs to it improve messaging by telling our story and articulating our values in the language that resonates and is heard.”

In a subsequent letter to Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, on 27 August 2025, the MPs said they were elected “with commitments to destroy the criminal smuggling gang networks, ensure that our border is secure… and to quickly remove those who have no entitlement to be here.”

They went on to critique Farage’s deportations plan.

The MPs added: “We believe that migrants who pose a threat to public safety should be tagged, and that we should expand right-to-work checks to crack down on illegal working. We believe sex offenders should never get asylum in the UK. We believe that the criminal people smuggling gangs should be treated like terrorists.”

Usdaw: Roca 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.

Living Standards Coalition: Roca 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.”

SERA: Roca has been listed as a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) – a socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. Founded in 1973, SERA is the party’s official environmental campaign group. The organisation campaigns on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, biodiversity, air quality and the transition to a green economy. SERA describes its member MPs as “champions for the environment”.

Compass: Roca was endorsed by local groups of the cross-party organisation Compass during the 2024 general election. Compass is a thinktank and campaign group. As part of its “Win as One” campaign in the 2024 election, local Compass groups backed a slate of progressive candidates who had pledged their support for electoral reform. The central aim of the initiative was to elect a “caucus” of MPs who would champion the cause of replacing the first past the post electoral system.

Electoral reform

Fair elections APPG: Roca is listed as a supporter 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 voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

Proportional representation bill: In December 2024, Roca 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 vote (July 2025): Roca 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

Roca 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): Roca 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

IPAC: Roca is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – an international, cross-party network of legislators from democratic countries focused on relations with the People’s Republic of China. The alliance, established on 4 June 2020, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, was formed to unite “lawmakers worldwide, promoting democracy and addressing threats to the rules-based and human rights systems posed by the rise of China.”

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Roca 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

Juan Timothy Charles Roca was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, on 14 November 1985.

He grew up in Cheshire. He attended Disley Primary School and Poynton High School.

Roca studied history at Lancaster University. He served as president of Lancaster University Students’ Union from 2007 to 2008.

Roca went on to hold roles in the higher education sector.

Personal Life

Roca’s family has longstanding roots in Macclesfield.

In his 2024 maiden speech, Roca told the House: “Seventy-five years ago, my grandad crashed his car in Macclesfield, and while hospitalised, he fell in love with a young Irish nurse, my grandma Josephine, and my family’s story in Macclesfield began.”

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

Trivia

Roca is Macclesfield’s first ever Labour MP and its first non-Conservative MP since 1918.