Member of Parliament
Simon Lightwood
Labour (Co-op) MP for Wakefield and Rothwell
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
At a glanceSimon Lightwood is a Labour (Co-op) MP for Wakefield and Rothwell, and has represented the seat for 4 years, 1 month. They currently serve as Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport). They have cast 372 votes in Commons divisions (65% attendance), tabled 151 written questions and registered 3 financial interests.
Attendance is votes cast as a share of the 575 Commons divisions since the 2024 election; Simon Lightwood did not vote in 203. 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 Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport).
Current roles
- Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL] Committee since 24 Jun 2025
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport) Government post · Department for Transport since 9 Jul 2024
- Wakefield and Rothwell Representation · Elected 1 time since 4 Jul 2024
- Labour Party since 23 Jun 2022
Voting record
Voting alignment
Votes most like
-
Rachel Hopkins
Labour
100.0% · 364 of 364 shared votes
-
Steve Yemm
Labour
100.0% · 359 of 359 shared votes
-
Paul Davies
Labour
100.0% · 358 of 358 shared votes
-
Tristan Osborne
Labour
100.0% · 357 of 357 shared votes
-
Sir Mark Tami
Labour
100.0% · 354 of 354 shared votes
Votes least like
-
Sir Geoffrey Cox
Conservative
0.0% · 0 of 156 shared votes
-
Alan Mak
Conservative
0.4% · 1 of 262 shared votes
-
Sir Roger Gale
Conservative
0.5% · 1 of 221 shared votes
-
Saqib Bhatti
Conservative
0.8% · 2 of 251 shared votes
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Sir James Cleverly
Conservative
0.8% · 2 of 250 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.
Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP3
- UNISON - £2,000.00 (registered 12 Dec 2025)
- UKREiiF (The UK's Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) - £950.00 (registered 14 Aug 2025)
- Coca Cola Europacific Partners - £5,000.00 (registered 14 Aug 2025)
Written questions
Buses: Carbon Emissions
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21868 on Buses: Carbon Emissions, how many and what proportion of the buses allocated funding under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme 1 (a) are on t
Answer · 21 May 2024
This Government has invested £410m into the Zero Emission Bus programmes since 2020, which has funded over 2,200 buses across England. The Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) 1 programme was launched in 2021 and awarded £270m funding to 16 local tran...
Parkinson's Disease: Health Services
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of numbers of Parkinson's specialist staff in (a) West Yorkshire integrated care board area and (b) England.
Answer · 20 May 2024
As of June 2023, there were 5.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) Parkinson’s Consultants working in the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts. There were 10.49 FTE Parkinson’s Clinical Nurse Specialists. This only includes those working in acute hospital s...
Independent Case Examiner
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to assign to an investigator a complaint to the Independent Case Examiner.
Answer · 18 Apr 2024
The rate at which complaints can be allocated to an investigator is dependent on multiple factors including the volume and complexity of complaints received, as well as available investigative resource. ICE is a demand led service and continues to receive...
Buses: Carbon Emissions
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero-emission buses have been allocated funding under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme 1 as of 15 April 2024; and how many and what proportion of those buses (a) have been ordered and (b) ar
Answer · 18 Apr 2024
The Government provided £270 million to Local Transport Authorities under the ZEBRA 1 programme. This funded 1,314 buses,1,053 have been ordered of which 313 are already on our roads across England. More recently, the Government announced ZEBRA 2, with a ...
Parking: Pedestrian Areas
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16992 on Parking: Pedestrian Areas, if his Department will publish its response to that consultation before the end of this Parliament.
Answer · 17 Apr 2024
Pavement Parking is a complex issue. The Department is considering the consultation findings in order to reach the best outcome for all road users. We want to take the right step for communities and ensure that local authorities have appropriate and effec...
Personation
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Fraud strategy, published on 3 May 2023, what progress his Department has made on introducing an identity checklist outlining the steps needed
Answer · 27 Feb 2024
The Home Office published the Identity theft checklist on 5th December 2023. The checklist can be found on the Action Fraud website here: Identity fraud and identity theft | Action Fraud.
Buses: Carbon Emissions
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero emission buses had been allocated Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding as of 6 February 2024; and how many of those buses (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road as of that date.
Answer · 19 Feb 2024
The following table presents information on the number of zero emission buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas 1 (ZEBRA 1) programme by local transport authority. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on ...
Obesity: Surgery
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase access to NHS-provided weight loss surgery in the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust.
Answer · 19 Feb 2024
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning National Health Service specialist and bariatric weight management services. Rates of bariatric surgery fell across West Yorkshire during the pandemic as hospitals focused on surgeries that were mor...
Speeches in the chamber
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
We continue to liaise closely with other Government Departments during the reorganisation. I am obviously happy to enter into further conversations with the hon. Member on his specifics.
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
In addition to delivering £3 billion across the country—we have a new, formula-led way of doing that, rather than the competitive allocations of the previous Government—we have given local transport authorities increased powers to take bac…
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
It is important that when bus services are disrupted, people are given timely information to ensure that they can undertake their journey. I will reiterate that all local authorities and bus operators should do just that.
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
I encourage the local authority to get a grip of this issue. Of course, Reform-led councils do not have a great record. It is the party with the most councils that are red-rated on potholes and so on, and I encourage it to take action on t…
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady, but I will say once again that we would welcome an application from Hammersmith and Fulham council for the bridge in question.
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
Ministers are in close contact with TfL on a range of issues, including this one, and obviously the structures fund is open for applications, should the parties involved wish to pursue that route.
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
I will of course meet the hon. Lady. Applications for the structures fund are still open, and we will make a decision in due course on any applications made.
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
Let me be clear that these proposals will be consulted on. The A38 Derby junctions and the A46 Newark bypass schemes are not in contract and are not scheduled to start main construction until the second half of the third road investment st…
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
As reporting from Greater Manchester’s Bee Network shows, bus franchising can deliver improved services for passengers, and the Government are taking steps to support the roll-out of bus franchising in England. Obviously, transport is a de…
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
As somebody who is running the Great North Run this year, I hope that the local highways authority will grip this issue and ensure it is dealt with. The structures fund is open for applications until 3 August.
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss this further.
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
We have invested over £7 billion precisely so that we can turn the corner on constantly having to react to potholes and go back to the same one time and again. We are investing £30 million on Live Labs 2, so that we can use new innovative …
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
National Highways and local authorities are working together through initiatives, such as the £165 million growth and housing accelerator fund, to unlock housing sites where transport infrastructure is a barrier. I will ask National Highwa…
16 Jul 2026 Topical Questions
We are investing over £7 billion to banish the potholes from UK roads. I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss his specific circumstances.
16 Jul 2026 Road Repairs: New Technology
My hon. Friend will be aware that this Government brought forward, for the first time in over a decade, a road safety strategy. In addition, we have introduced a red, amber and green rating of local authorities, to identify where extra sup…
16 Jul 2026 Road Repairs: New Technology
That is exactly why the Government have funded the £30 million for Live Labs 2. We want councils to have access to the best available evidence on the condition of their roads. We have introduced a new road conditioning monitoring standard …
16 Jul 2026 Road Repairs: New Technology
The Government are providing local authorities with a record £7.3 billion investment in local road maintenance, giving councils the long-term certainty that they need to fix potholes, repair road defects and adopt a more preventive approa…
16 Jul 2026 Bus Manufacturing: Scotland
I share my hon. Friend’s commitment to UK bus manufacturing. I am delighted that through the UK bus manufacturing expert panel, mayoral combined authorities have agreed to a commitment that 10% of social value criteria will apply in all fu…
16 Jul 2026 Bus Manufacturing: Scotland
The Government want a vibrant and competitive UK bus manufacturing sector, including in Scotland. That is why we are providing £73.2 million to support the purchase of a further 484 zero emission vehicles, and working with the industry and…
16 Jul 2026 Bus Travel Affordability: Children and Young People
The Labour party is keeping bus fares low. We introduced the £3 bus fare cap, after the previous Government failed to fund any support when the previous cap expired. Beyond March next year, we will continue to keep our options open, in ord…
Source: contributions on parliament.uk.
Full parliamentary career
Opposition posts
- Shadow Minister (Transport) · Department for Transport 27 Sep 2022 – 30 May 2024
Committee memberships
- Automated Vehicles Bill [HL] 13 Mar 2024 – 19 Mar 2024
- Seafarers' Wages Bill [HL] 11 Jan 2023 – 17 Jan 2023
Previous seats
- Wakefield · Elected 1 time 23 Jun 2022 – 30 May 2024
Expenses
Contact & offices
01924 682269
Parliamentary office
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Constituency office
16 Westmorland Street, Wakefield, WF1 1PJ
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Simon Lightwood, answered from official Parliament data.
Who is Simon Lightwood?
Simon Lightwood is a Member of Parliament representing Wakefield and Rothwell in the House of Commons. See Simon Lightwood's official Parliament profile.
Which party does Simon Lightwood represent?
Simon Lightwood sits as Labour (Co-op). See Simon Lightwood's official Parliament profile.
Which constituency does Simon Lightwood represent?
Simon Lightwood is the Member of Parliament for Wakefield and Rothwell. See Simon Lightwood's official Parliament profile.
How long has Simon Lightwood been an MP?
Simon Lightwood has served in the House of Commons for 4 years, 1 month. See Simon Lightwood's official Parliament profile.
What registered interests are listed for Simon Lightwood?
Simon Lightwood has 3 entries in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. See Simon Lightwood's official Parliament profile.
Source: this MP's official Parliament profile. Last updated 26 Jul 2026.