Portrait of Alex Sobel

Member of Parliament

Alex Sobel

Labour (Co-op) MP for Leeds Central and Headingley

At a glanceAlex Sobel is a Labour (Co-op) MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, and has represented the seat for 9 years, 1 month. They have cast 378 votes in Commons divisions (66% attendance), tabled 2,217 written questions and registered 11 financial interests.

Votes cast378
Attendance66%
Voted Aye188
Voted No190
Voted with party99.5%
Rebellions2

Attendance is votes cast as a share of the 575 Commons divisions since the 2024 election; Alex Sobel did not vote in 197. 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.

Biographyfrom Parliament
Alex Sobel is the Labour (Co-op) MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, and has been an MP continually since 8 June 2017.
Current roles3 held
  • Human Rights (Joint Committee) Committee since 13 Nov 2024
  • Leeds Central and Headingley Representation · Elected 1 time since 4 Jul 2024
  • Labour Party since 8 Jun 2017
Voting recordlatest 15 shown
15 Jul 2026 Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots for Statutory Trade Union Ballots Aye
15 Jul 2026 Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 Aye
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 19 No
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 199 No
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 3 No
8 Jul 2026 Draft Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026 Aye
8 Jul 2026 Draft Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment etc.) and the EU Machinery Regulation (Enforcement etc. in Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 Aye
8 Jul 2026 Draft Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Establishment of Schools) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 Aye
6 Jul 2026 National Security (State Threats) Bill: motion to agree to Lords Amendment 1 Aye
1 Jul 2026 Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 No
1 Jul 2026 Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 4 No
1 Jul 2026 Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 2 No
1 Jul 2026 Draft Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 Aye
1 Jul 2026 Draft Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 Aye
23 Jun 2026 Opposition Day: Puberty blockers No

See full voting record

Voting alignmentmost and least similar MPs

Votes most like

Votes least like

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 interests11 entries

From the official Register; shown as registered.

Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources6
  • Music Publishers Association - £1,314.00 (registered 1 Jun 2026)
  • Football Association Ltd - £500.00 (registered 1 Jun 2026)
  • Leeds United FC - £340.00 (registered 12 Apr 2026)
  • BPI - £3,432.00 (registered 15 Mar 2026)
  • BPI - £660.00 (registered 22 Oct 2025)
  • Knights Tailoring Ltd - £750.00 (registered 6 Jul 2025)
Miscellaneous5
  • Member of Executive Committee of the British Group of the Inter Parliamentary Union (registered 28 Nov 2025)
  • Trustee of Leeds International Aid Fund. This is an unpaid role. (registered 6 Nov 2025)
  • Vice Chair of the Climate and Nature Crisis Caucus. This is an unpaid role. (registered 11 Sep 2025)
  • A visiting Parliamentary Fellow at St Anthonys College, Oxford. This is an unpaid role. (registered 14 Mar 2024)
  • A director (unpaid) of Transform Labour Ltd (formally Transform Europe (Campaign) Ltd). This is a dormant company, limited by guarantee, which applied for dissolution on 28 June 2023. (registered 28 Jul 2023)

Source: Register of Interests on parliament.uk.

Written questions2,217 tabled
Video Games: Internet 15 Jul 2026 · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure future online safety regulation does not have unintended consequences for the online gaming industry.

Awaiting an answer from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Video Games: Internet 15 Jul 2026 · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the online gaming industry on its impact on the economy.

Awaiting an answer from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Energy Supply 15 Jul 2026 · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the ADE: Demand report entitled Powered by People, Powered by Place, whether his Department plans to provide guidance on the expectations for reliability and planning for de

Awaiting an answer from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Energy Supply 15 Jul 2026 · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the ADE: Demand report entitled Powered by People, Powered by Place, whether his Department has plans to ensure that Regional Energy Strategic Plans support industrial sites

Awaiting an answer from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Energy Supply 15 Jul 2026 · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the ADE: Demand report entitled Powered by People, Powered by Place, what steps he is taking to help ensure that technologies which deliver whole system savings, such as the

Awaiting an answer from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Heathrow Airport: Noise 14 Jul 2026 · Department for Transport

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in preparing the Heathrow Expansion Appraisal Report, what consideration her Department gave to modelling the potential monetised costs of noise pollution from expansion.

Awaiting an answer from the Department for Transport.

Heathrow Airport: Noise 14 Jul 2026 · Department for Transport

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates her Department has made of the monetised costs of aircraft noise pollution for communities under Heathrow flight paths exposed to noise above 43 decibels, with reference to the recent Aviation Ni

Awaiting an answer from the Department for Transport.

Food: Labelling 30 Jun 2026 · Department of Health and Social Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of requiring food labels to declare levels of potassium and phosphate content.

Answer · 8 Jul 2026

The labelling of packaged foods and drinks plays an important role in helping individuals access the information they need to make informed choices about the food they buy. Food labelling legislation sets out the information that must be displayed on a pr...

See all written questions

Early day motions20 tabled
Speeches in the chamber934 on record

15 Jul 2026   Iran

I have long called in this House for the proscription of the IRGC. Last year, the Joint Committee on Human Rights, on which I sit, undertook an inquiry into transnational repression, which found that Iran was one of the most flagrant perpe…

13 Jul 2026   State of Climate and Nature

The Government have produced a global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security report, and I support the call by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) for the analysis to be released in full. The…

9 Jul 2026   Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests with regard to my visit to Palestine with Yachad. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) for securing the debate and for her e…

30 Jun 2026   Antisemitism: University Campuses

I am proud that my constituency has the largest population of Jewish students in the country. I was a Jewish student at the University of Leeds, as were my parents. We have had a Hillel house for over 70 years. It provides kosher accommoda…

23 Jun 2026   Puberty Blockers

I commend the Minister on an excellent and brave speech. When the Cass report came out, I was criticised for not accepting it in full, and now the very same people who said that to me are not accepting the Cass report in full. Does he agre…

23 Jun 2026   Environmental Sustainability: UK-Indonesia Collaboration

Absolutely. If one looks at the geography of Indonesia and its different sized islands, such as Sumatra, New Guinea or Borneo, and the evolution of species on those islands over millions of years, that is what created these unique animal a…

23 Jun 2026   Environmental Sustainability: UK-Indonesia Collaboration

Absolutely. Unfortunately, that follows a history of 60 years of extrajudicial killings and internal displacement in what are, and have traditionally been, very thickly forested areas. The island of New Guinea, which includes Papua New Gui…

23 Jun 2026   Environmental Sustainability: UK-Indonesia Collaboration

As you have made clear, Sir Jeremy, I have a little time, so I start, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on West Papua, by dedicating my speech to our former vice-chair, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, who passed away recently. He …

23 Jun 2026   Environmental Sustainability: UK-Indonesia Collaboration

I was also delighted to see today that that announcement has been made. Is my hon. Friend aware that the five-year delay in passing the regulations has meant that imports totalling 54,000 hectares of tropical forests have happened? That is…

16 Jun 2026   Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill

On the amendment from the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), I think we have made some progress with the Minister, but it is clear that trying to isolate the issues around fair trial from other matt…

16 Jun 2026   Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill

There is obviously a level of complexity here in relation to the data centre, AI development and the network in the UK and more broadly. Will the Minister therefore commit to a meeting with me and my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath …

16 Jun 2026   Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill

It is a pleasure to follow such esteemed colleagues. My only declaration before I start my speech is that I hold a degree in information systems from the University of Leeds. I have been sat here for the last two hours looking at the me…

15 Jun 2026   Russian Shadow Fleet

I wrote to the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty), about the remaining licences for Russian fossil fuels—[Interruption.] And here he is. He said that those licences would be ending in January …

15 Jun 2026   Russian Shadow Fleet

I will start by praising 42 Commando for the planning and execution of what could have been a difficult operation. Today the Ukrainian Speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, visited us in Parliament, and the all-party group on Ukraine hosted him. He …

15 Jun 2026   Brain Cancer

My constituent Emma has long been committed to achieving justice for people with brain cancer and has been writing to me about it ever since I became an MP. She has highlighted the survival rate of 12.9%. As we have already heard, research…

8 Jun 2026   Water Companies

Minister, we know that our water company, Yorkshire Water, is a dirty business, flushing sewage into rivers such as the Wharfe and the Aire, with children and others getting ill from swimming in them. But is it not also a broken business, …

2 Jun 2026   Preparedness for National Emergencies

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. Agility and long-term planning are two essential cornerstones of our preparedness for national emergencies. There are two types of national emergency where we must instil those tra…

2 Jun 2026   Children: Development of Essential Skills

It is an honour to serve under your chairship for the first time, Dr Allin-Khan. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow). It is well known across the House that he is a classics scholar; indeed, he chairs t…

1 Jun 2026   Equality Act 2010: Code of Practice

As a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, I have concerns that human rights that have long applied to trans people since the Gender Recognition Act 2004 will no longer apply. I am afraid that that will be the case more broadly th…

20 May 2026   Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions

This package of sanctions has come to us very quickly, and I am slightly concerned about how it has been communicated today, so a bit of clarity would be really welcome. How long will the regulations made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money…

Source: contributions on parliament.uk.

Full parliamentary career13 past posts

Opposition posts

  • Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 4 Dec 2021 – 5 Sep 2023
  • Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) · Department for Culture, Media and Sport 10 Apr 2020 – 4 Dec 2021

Committee memberships

Previous seats

  • Leeds North West · Elected 2 times 8 Jun 2017 – 30 May 2024

Source: parliamentary career on parliament.uk.

Expenses£20,220 · 2025/26
Staffing£12,300
Office Costs£7,920

See every line item

Source: IPSA (OGL v3.0)

Contact & offices[email protected]

[email protected]

0207 219 8295

X (formerly Twitter)

Parliamentary office

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Constituency office

Constituency office

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Alex Sobel, answered from official Parliament data.

Who is Alex Sobel?

Alex Sobel is a Member of Parliament representing Leeds Central and Headingley in the House of Commons. See Alex Sobel's official Parliament profile.

Which party does Alex Sobel represent?

Alex Sobel sits as Labour (Co-op). See Alex Sobel's official Parliament profile.

Which constituency does Alex Sobel represent?

Alex Sobel is the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central and Headingley. See Alex Sobel's official Parliament profile.

How long has Alex Sobel been an MP?

Alex Sobel has served in the House of Commons for 9 years, 1 month. See Alex Sobel's official Parliament profile.

What registered interests are listed for Alex Sobel?

Alex Sobel has 11 entries in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. See Alex Sobel's official Parliament profile.

Source: this MP's official Parliament profile. Last updated 26 Jul 2026.