At a glanceHilary Benn is a Labour MP for Leeds South, and has represented the seat for 27 years, 1 month. They have cast 422 votes in Commons divisions (73% attendance), tabled 1,470 written questions and registered 2 financial interests.
Attendance is votes cast as a share of the 575 Commons divisions since the 2024 election; Hilary Benn did not vote in 153. A rebellion is a vote against the way most of their own party voted; free votes, where no party line applies, are left out.
Party-loyalty figures are our own analysis of the official voting records (recorded votes only; they do not describe the formal whip). How we work this out.
Biography
He currently holds the Government post of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Current roles
- Leeds South Representation · Elected 1 time since 4 Jul 2024
- Labour Party since 10 Jun 1999
Voting record
Voting alignment
Votes most like
-
Rachel Hopkins
Labour
100.0% · 414 of 414 shared votes
-
Paul Davies
Labour
100.0% · 414 of 414 shared votes
-
Steve Yemm
Labour
100.0% · 406 of 406 shared votes
-
Josh Dean
Labour
100.0% · 403 of 403 shared votes
-
Sir Mark Tami
Labour
100.0% · 403 of 403 shared votes
Votes least like
-
Sir Roger Gale
Conservative
0.4% · 1 of 254 shared votes
-
Alex Burghart
Conservative
0.7% · 2 of 298 shared votes
-
Mrs Kemi Badenoch
Conservative
0.8% · 1 of 120 shared votes
-
George Freeman
Conservative
0.9% · 2 of 234 shared votes
-
Mr Mark Francois
Conservative
0.9% · 2 of 231 shared votes
Alignment figures are our own analysis of the official voting records (recorded votes only; they do not describe the formal whip). How we work this out.
Register of financial interests
From the official Register; shown as registered.
Land and property (within or outside the UK)1
- Other in Essex
Family members employed1
- Sally Clark employed
Written questions
Omagh Bombing Inquiry
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to ensure legal representation is made available to police veterans called to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
Answer · 14 May 2024
Policing in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter but we understand PSNI will be providing legal support to retired police officers called to give evidence to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
Omagh Bombing Inquiry
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to ensure mental health support is available to police veterans in relation to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
Answer · 13 May 2024
The Government has the deepest sympathy for all of those affected by the Omagh bomb in August 1998, including those members from the uniformed services who were present on the day.I met with representatives of the Military and Police Support of West Tyron...
Operation Kenova
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with Iain Livingstone on the publication timetable for the final report from Operation Kenova.
Answer · 25 Mar 2024
I met with Sir Iain Livingstone on 6 March 2024 and updated him on the Government’s plans to make transitional provision to clarify that final administrative tasks related to a criminal investigation (including, for example, report-writing and publication...
Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of officers of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery have experience of conducting criminal investigations (a) within and (b) outside of Nort
Answer · 8 Mar 2024
Since the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was legally established as an independent body in December 2023, it has discharged its corporate functions and operated necessary policies within its own budget and accou...
Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials work in the secretariat for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.
Answer · 8 Mar 2024
Since the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was legally established as an independent body in December 2023, it has discharged its corporate functions and operated necessary policies within its own budget and accou...
Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery will become operational.
Answer · 8 Mar 2024
Significant progress has been made since the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was established in December last year. I met with ICRIR Chair, Sir Declan Morgan, earlier this week and expect the body to be operation...
UK Community Renewal Fund: Northern Ireland
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of total UK Community Renewal Fund funding was allocated to Northern Ireland.
Answer · 12 Mar 2024
We are investing £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects across the UK to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.The Levelling Up Fund has invested a total of £4.8 ...
UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Northern Ireland
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of total Shared Prosperity Fund funding has been allocated to projects in Northern Ireland as of 4 March 2024.
Answer · 12 Mar 2024
We are investing £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects across the UK to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.The Levelling Up Fund has invested a total of £4.8 ...
Early day motions
| 13 Jun 2023 | Fire Safety Remediation in Blocks below 11 metres | 34 sig. |
| 17 May 2022 | Specialist Huntington’s Disease Services | 112 sig. |
| 19 Jul 2021 | Unsafe cladding and building safety defects | 26 sig. |
| 12 Oct 2020 | St George’s Crypt 90th Anniversary | 5 sig. |
| 20 Dec 2019 | Unsafe cladding | 35 sig. |
| 13 May 2019 | UNLOCKING THE NORTH'S GROWTH POTENTIAL | 16 sig. |
Speeches in the chamber
8 Jul 2026 Recent Disorder
I join the hon. Gentleman in thanking and praising the brave officers of the PSNI. My hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick) and I visited the officers at Strandtown police station, who dealt with the disorder when the bu…
8 Jul 2026 Recent Disorder
I hope the hon. Lady will recognise that the common travel area, which is more than a century old, is of great benefit to the citizens of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Many people in Northern Ireland live their lives acro…
8 Jul 2026 Recent Disorder
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what she says, and I agree with her. There was terrible disorder in Ballymena last year, as a result of which a number of steps were taken to bring the community together. It was noticeable that the rece…
8 Jul 2026 Recent Disorder
The single most important thing that we can all do as political leaders is to be absolutely clear that everyone who has made the United Kingdom their home lawfully should be treated with equality, respect and dignity, regardless of where t…
8 Jul 2026 Recent Disorder
I met the leaders of the main Northern Ireland political parties on Thursday 11 June to discuss the terrible disorder. The attack on Mr Ogilvie was truly shocking, but the racist violence that we saw in response had no justification whatso…
8 Jul 2026 Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Trade Costs
In respect of the EU emissions trading system, yes, we are applying a carbon charge to boat movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland—the same charge that is being applied between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The p…
8 Jul 2026 Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Trade Costs
I regularly meet representatives of the logistics sector and businesses trading between Great Britain and Northern Ireland—for instance, through the Northern Ireland business stakeholders group—to discuss how we can make the Windsor framew…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
We have already increased the number of operations and arrests in Northern Ireland in the last two years, in comparison with the previous period. About 1,000 people who had no right to be in Northern Ireland have been removed, including 50…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
There is a responsibility, above all, on the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. There being no Executive in Northern Ireland for 40% of the time since the Good Friday agreement has not helped to achie…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue, because five of the main parties have now come forward with various proposals for reform. I have said to the party leaders that I wish to meet them to discuss those proposals. Time and effort is…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
Northern Ireland is a society, as the hon. Gentleman knows better than most, that has been undergoing profound change since the signing of the Good Friday agreement 28 years ago. As the famous lines go, we have a shared history, but not ne…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
The right hon. Gentleman raises a really important point, and I am grateful to him for his question. We all have a responsibility—political leaders have a responsibility to call out what was witnessed for what it is and not mince our words…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
That was, of course, an awful feature of what we saw. One of the things I learned in my discussions was that those from the far right had taken a list of houses in multiple occupation in Belfast—a list that, in the interests of openness, w…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
I do agree with my hon. Friend. The attack on Mr Ogilvie was truly shocking, and there was no justification whatsoever for the racist thuggery we witnessed on the streets of Belfast in the days following. I met nurses and doctors from a ho…
8 Jul 2026 Community Cohesion
I regularly meet the Northern Ireland Executive and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to discuss a range of issues in Northern Ireland, including community cohesion. However, given the recent serious disorder, there is a problem that …
8 Jul 2026 Troubles Legacy: Legislation
The right hon. Gentleman makes a powerful argument for why the troubles Bill should be passed, because it will enable precisely the information sharing with the Irish authorities that he and I want to see, and that all the people in Northe…
8 Jul 2026 Troubles Legacy: Legislation
As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the Irish Government published on 8 June their legislative outline, entitled “The General Scheme of the Legacy of the Troubles Bill 2026”. That is intended to fulfil the commitment that the Irish Governme…
8 Jul 2026 Troubles Legacy: Legislation
We will come to debate that amendment, along with all the other amendments that hon. and right hon. Members have tabled, when we get to the Committee stage. The judgment in the Thompson case was absolutely clear—it was also referred to by …
8 Jul 2026 Troubles Legacy: Legislation
I do not accept that, because all the Northern Ireland political parties were opposed to the immunity that was at the heart of the 2023 legacy Act. It had no support from political parties in Northern Ireland or from victims and survivors’…
8 Jul 2026 Troubles Legacy: Legislation
My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns) will have to answer that question, but, with respect, I disagree with him. He worked on the package of amendments during his time as a Defence Minister. In the end, we have to s…
Source: contributions on parliament.uk.
Full parliamentary career
Government posts
- Secretary of State for Northern Ireland · Northern Ireland Office 5 Jul 2024 – 20 Jul 2026
- Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 28 Jun 2007 – 6 May 2010
- Secretary of State for International Development · Department for International Development 6 Oct 2003 – 28 Jun 2007
- Minister of State (Department for International Development) · Department for International Development 13 May 2003 – 6 Oct 2003
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office) (Minister for Prisons and Probation) · Home Office 29 May 2002 – 13 May 2003
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for International Development) · Department for International Development 11 Jun 2001 – 28 May 2002
Opposition posts
- Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland · Northern Ireland Office 4 Sep 2023 – 30 May 2024
- Shadow Foreign Secretary · Foreign and Commonwealth Office 8 May 2015 – 26 Jun 2016
- Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government · Department for Communities and Local Government 7 Oct 2011 – 8 May 2015
- Shadow Leader of the House of Commons · Office of the Leader of the House of Commons 8 Oct 2010 – 7 Oct 2011
- Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 12 May 2010 – 8 Oct 2010
Committee memberships
- Energy Security and Net Zero Committee 12 Jun 2023 – 20 Nov 2023
- Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union · Chair 27 Jan 2020 – 16 Jan 2021
- Liaison Committee (Commons) 20 May 2020 – 15 Jan 2021
- Liaison Committee Sub-committee on the effectiveness and influence of the select committee system 13 Feb 2019 – 6 Nov 2019
- Liaison Committee (Commons) 6 Nov 2017 – 6 Nov 2019
- Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union · Chair 12 Jul 2017 – 6 Nov 2019
- Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union · Chair 19 Oct 2016 – 3 May 2017
- Liaison Committee (Commons) 19 Oct 2016 – 3 May 2017
- Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority 26 Jan 2011 – 7 Dec 2011
- Environment, Transport & Regional Affairs 6 Dec 1999 – 1 Jun 2001
Previous seats
- Leeds Central · Elected 4 times 6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024
- Leeds Central · Elected 3 times 10 Jun 1999 – 6 May 2010
Elections contested
- Ealing North 11 Jun 1987
- Ealing North 9 Jun 1983
Expenses
Contact & offices
020 7219 5770
Parliamentary office
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Constituency office
Suite 7, Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds, LS7 1AB
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Hilary Benn, answered from official Parliament data.
Who is Hilary Benn?
Hilary Benn is a Member of Parliament representing Leeds South in the House of Commons. See Hilary Benn's official Parliament profile.
Which party does Hilary Benn represent?
Hilary Benn sits as Labour. See Hilary Benn's official Parliament profile.
Which constituency does Hilary Benn represent?
Hilary Benn is the Member of Parliament for Leeds South. See Hilary Benn's official Parliament profile.
How long has Hilary Benn been an MP?
Hilary Benn has served in the House of Commons for 27 years, 1 month. See Hilary Benn's official Parliament profile.
What registered interests are listed for Hilary Benn?
Hilary Benn has 2 entries in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. See Hilary Benn's official Parliament profile.
Source: this MP's official Parliament profile. Last updated 26 Jul 2026.