Matt Western
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Shadow Minister for Higher Education
Assumed office
8 March 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byEmma Hardy
Member of Parliament
for Warwick and Leamington
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byChris White
Majority789 (1.5%)
Personal details
Born (1962-11-07) 7 November 1962
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
SpouseRebecca Earle[1]
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
WebsiteOfficial website

Matthew Raymond Western[2] (born 7 November 1962) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Warwick & Leamington[3] since the snap 2017 general election.[4] He was re-elected in the 2019 general election.

Early life

Western was educated in St Albans and graduated with a BSc degree in Geography from the University of Bristol in 1984.[5]

Prior to entering politics, Western worked in various senior management roles during a 24-year career with Peugeot both in the UK and Paris, France.[6] He specialised in Finance, Procurement and Marketing.[7]

Political career

Western entered politics relatively late in life, and was elected to the Leamington Willes ward of Warwickshire County Council for the first time in 2013. Western was elected again in 2017 shortly before becoming an MP. He resigned as a Councillor in March 2018.[8][9] While a councillor, Western volunteered as a careers mentor at Campion School in Leamington Spa.[10]

As an MP Western has served on the International Trade Select Committee since September 2017 and on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee since February 2018.[11] Western is the Chair of the Parliamentary Campaign for Council Housing, which aims to increase the number of council houses being built and represent the interests of council tenants, and is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Students.[12][13]

In December 2017, Western criticised the Warwick District Council for a proposal to relocate the council's offices to a new site in Leamington.[14] Western objected to the plans, stating that the new development would consist of "100 per cent private housing, with no social, affordable or council housing on the site".[14] In response to the plans, Western started a petition in protest against the move.[15] As of 3 December 2019, the petition had gained over 8,000 signatures.[16] In September 2019, Warwick District Council leader Andrew Day asked Western to "stop playing political games with the regeneration of town" over Western's opposition to plans to relocate the council's headquarters.[17] However, as a result of Western's petition and a campaign by a local pressure group, the project was put on hold and the private equity backed partner company PSP was withdrawn. Western stated that the scrapped plans would result in Warwick District Council having to pay out £1.2m in compensation to PSP, even though there was never an official tendering process.[18]

In February 2019, Western proposed a Bill that sought to limit the driving hours worked by bus drivers on local routes.[19] The bill, known as Rowan's Law, was introduced in response to a bus crash in 2005 in Coventry, which killed 76-year-old pedestrian Dora Hancox, and 7-year-old passenger Rowan Fitzgerald from Western's constituency. Driver exhaustion was said to have played a role in the crash, and Rowan's Law sought to prevent any similar future tragedies.[20][21]

In May 2019, the Sun On Sunday described Western as a "cycling fanatic", reporting that he had claimed expenses for cycling to appointments around his constituency. Western asserted that he was simply "doing the right thing by cycling and not driving" in a town with issues with air quality.[22] Western went on to say that the expenses were "HMRC-approved" and "that cycle mileage claims are considerably less than car mileage claims".[22]

In June 2019, Western led a Parliamentary debate on social housing.[23] The Commons passed his motion calling on the Government to carry out a mass council housebuilding programme.[23]

In August 2019, Western was a signatory to a letter calling on the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to intervene and prevent India's revocation of Article 370 regarding the province of Kashmir's self-autonomy.[24] The letter urged "the United Nations to do everything in its power to de-escalate" the situation.

In October 2019, Western was a signatory to a letter calling for the Labour Party to adopt plans to build 100,000 Council Homes, in line with the Labour Campaign for Council Housing's proposals.[25] The policy was later adopted by the Labour Party in its manifesto.[26]

In March 2021, Western was appointed Shadow Minister for Further Education and Universities[27] after Emma Hardy stepped down.[28]

Controversies

In December 2020, it emerged that Western had written a foreword to a report at the centre of a climate lobbying controversy. The report claimed that electric vehicles had a poorer carbon footprint than petrol ones. The report purported to be written by an independent organisation, but was in fact written by a PR firm owned by the spouse of a director of Aston Martin. After this emerged, Western said that he was "disappointed that the report has since been used to push an anti-electrification line in the media", and that he "was not aware of any link between the PR firm involved and Aston Martin".[29]

Policies and views

Western has been vocal in his support for sustainable energy. While a County Councillor, he was instrumental in introducing the Warwickshire Energy Plan in 2015.[30][31] Western has also advocated in favour of electric vehicles, and from Jul 2019, served as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electric Vehicles.[32][33]

Western is a signatory of the MPs Not Border Guards pledge, which vows to not report constituents to the Home Office for immigration enforcement.[34][35]

Personal life

Western is married to Rebecca Earle, a history professor at Warwick University, and they live in Leamington.[7][36] He supports Arsenal FC.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Matt Western – Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Warwick and Leamington". Warwick and Leamington Labour Party. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11786.
  3. ↑ "Matt Western MP". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Election 2017 Results – Warwick and Leamington". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Matt Western". LinkedIn. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Western, Matthew Raymond". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  7. 1 2 "About Matt Western". mattwestern.org. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "Councillors". democratic.warwickshire.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western stands down as Warwickshire county councillor". www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  10. ↑ "Who is Warwick and Leamington's new MP?". Warwick and Leamington Labour Party. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Matt Western MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  12. ↑ "Cross-party letter on council housing". www.politicshome.com. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "About Matt Western". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Objections to housing plans at council headquarters". www.stratford-herald.com. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "Warwick and Leamington MP launches urgent petition against council hq plans". leamingtonobserver.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  16. ↑ "Matt Western Riverside House petition". mattwestern.org. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  17. ↑ "District council leader asks Leamington MP to 'stop playing political games with the regeneration of town' over HQ concerns". Leamington Courier. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  18. ↑ "Controversial council HQ plans postponed". www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "Rowan's Law". www.politicshome.com/. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  20. ↑ "2015 Coventry bus crash". BBC News. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  21. ↑ "Coventry bus crash: How the law on tired drivers could be changed". www.coventrytelegraph.net. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  22. 1 2 "Why the vitriol about my bike expenses won't stop me cycling for work". the guardian.com/. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  23. 1 2 "Social Housing – in the House of Commons at 12:50 pm on 13th June 2019". www.theyworkforyou.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  24. ↑ "45 UK MPs, peers urge UN chief to stop India's Kashmir move". The Express Tribune. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  25. ↑ "Open letter: Put radical housing policies in Labour's manifesto". labourlist.org/. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  26. ↑ "Labour to unveil £75bn social housing plan to 'build for the many'". www.theguardian.com. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  27. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna (8 March 2021). "Matt Western promoted after Emma Hardy quits as shadow universities minister". LabourList. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  28. ↑ @mattwestern_ (8 March 2021). "Proud to have been appointed Shadow Universities Minister after my brilliant colleague @EmmaHardyMP stepped down" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ↑ "Aston Martin in row over 'sock puppet PR firm' pushing anti-electric vehicle study". www.theguardian.com. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  30. ↑ "Matt Western MP's Warwickshire Energy Plan". www.policyconnect.org.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  31. ↑ "Warwickshire Energy Plan". www.warwickshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  32. ↑ "MP Matt Western driving electric car agenda in parliament". leamingtonobserver.co.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  33. ↑ "Matt Western MP elected as new chair of the APPG on Electric Vehicles". www.r-e-a.net/. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  34. ↑ "MPs not border guards - pledge signatories | Global Justice Now". Globaljustice.org.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  35. ↑ Jessica Elgot (12 October 2018). "MPs criticised for calling immigration hotline 68 times in year | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  36. ↑ "Professor Rebecca Earle". Warwick University. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
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