Montgomeryshire & Glyndŵr / data
Steve Witherden · Labour Party · sitting since 04 Jul 2024 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
660days
from 04 Jul 2024
Divisions
420
of 504 possible
Attendance
83%
84 absent / paired
Whip alignment
99%
vs party majority
Speeches
120
57 debates
Written Qs
87
84 answered
Committees
1
memberships
Expenses
£141k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 55 claims
Interests
1
1 category
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 78 | |
| Economy | 72 | |
| Employment | 49 | |
| Crime & Policing | 39 | |
| Education | 36 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 26 | |
| Housing | 24 | |
| Energy | 21 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Culture Community | 6 | 4,805 |
| Education | 5 | 4,298 |
| Economy Jobs | 20 | 4,025 |
| Social Care | 12 | 3,299 |
| Technology | 2 | 3,147 |
| Local Government | 6 | 2,334 |
| Defence | 8 | 2,229 |
| Other | 6 | 2,180 |
B · Notable divisions
Free votes, rebellions and high-salience whipped votes — the moments that distinguish this MP from the party machine. The full division-by-division record will follow once the per-MP archive is wired.
| Date | Division | Whip | MP voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Jul 2025 | Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill: Reasoned Amendment at Second ReadingMPs voted on a 'reasoned amendment' at the Second Reading of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill — a procedural move… | Rebelled | Aye |
| 01 Jul 2025 | Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill: Second ReadingMPs voted on whether to give the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill a Second Reading, allowing it to progress through Pa… | Rebelled | No |
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Apr 2026 | Welsh Affairs Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-22)The Committee heard about the frustration felt by Welsh GPs regarding individual patient funding requests and commissioning processes. What is the experience of receiving referrals… | 41 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Welsh Affairs Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-22)We all know about the delays—we have heard about them already. Are patients ever severely delayed due to the patient funding issue for cross-border referrals? | 25 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Cost of Living3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the cost of living in Wales. Cost Of LivingEconomy JobsLabour Market | 18 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Welsh Affairs Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-22)Staying with Stacey, I will apologise in advance: I tend to say “Gobowen Orthopaedic” rather than Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic hospital. Like many of the constituents I … | 109 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Cost of LivingThis month, the UK Labour Government formally lifted the two-child limit, benefiting nearly 70,000 children in Wales and 2,270 children in my constituency. I am enormously proud th… Cost Of LivingEconomy JobsLabour Market | 72 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Welsh Affairs Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-22)Another thing that comes into this is that it will not necessarily be just one day if there are repeated treatments. One thing that is of great concern to me is the impact on famil… | 75 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Welsh Affairs Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-22)I would like to speak about the distance that some of my constituents have to travel for healthcare. Some of the round trips I hear about are frankly obscene—horrific stories about… | 53 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Welsh Affairs Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-22)Thank you, Chair. I am grateful for the answer, but I would like to place a little more emphasis on what families face. Obviously, it is not just the patient; it is their family. I… | 77 |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Gulf ConflictWhile energy giants and Wall Street banks cash in on the war, ordinary people pay the price. In the first month of the US-led war with Iran alone, the world’s 100 largest oil and g… DefenceEnergyCost Of Living | 82 |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Gulf Conflict16. What steps her Department is taking with international counterparts to help achieve a lasting resolution to the conflict in the Gulf. DefenceEnergyCost Of Living | 22 |
| 15 Apr 2026 | Cost of Heating OilIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) for securing this essential debate. The escalation of conf… EnergyCost Of LivingUtilities | 204 |
| 15 Apr 2026 | Cost of Heating OilIt will not surprise my hon. Friend that I agree wholeheartedly. With heating oil prices reaching levels similar to those in 2022 following the Ukraine war, our Government have bee… EnergyCost Of LivingUtilities | 177 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Passenger Rail ServicesIn January, I was delighted to get confirmation that Ruabon station had progressed to the next stage of the Access for All programme. It is an absolute disgrace that disabled peopl… TransportEconomy JobsFiscal Policy | 73 |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Rail Connections to London: Rural TownsI thank my hon. Friend for giving way when she is making such an excellent and passionate speech. I hope the WSMR bid will succeed, as it would benefit my constituents in Powys and… TransportEconomy JobsLocal Government | 67 |
| 18 Mar 2026 | EngagementsQ10. I spent 20 years as a secondary school teacher in Wales. We worked hard. Labour has given them the biggest upgrade of rights in a generation—rights that millions of us fought … Cost Of LivingDefenceHealth | 73 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department for Work and Pensions | 18 | 20.7% |
| Home Office | 10 | 11.5% |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 10 | 11.5% |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 9 | 10.3% |
| Cabinet Office | 6 | 6.9% |
| Treasury | 6 | 6.9% |
| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 5 | 5.7% |
| Ministry of Justice | 5 | 5.7% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Apr 2026 | Department for Business and Trade | To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made contingency arrangements in the event of Royal Mail becoming insolvent. | Pending |
| 13 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are (a) receiving Employment Support Allowance in March 2026 and (b) have experienced ‘failed transitions’ from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit; and what… | Pending |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the sale of unethical fur products. | Answered |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support his Department providing to people that require access to heating oil in the medium to near term. | Answered |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what are the qualifying criteria for "most vulnerable households" in the provision of heating oil support. | Answered |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, whether moving to all schools being part of school trusts means academy trusts. | Pending |
| 23 Feb 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on changes to women's State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential… | Answered |
| 23 Feb 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Statement of 29 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the reasons why the findings of the 2007 research report did not lead to a targeted public communication… | Answered |
| 20 Feb 2026 | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of exemptions permitting the use of birds of prey in fox hunting activities; and whether it plans to review… | Answered |
| 12 Feb 2026 | Department for Culture, Media and Sport | To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase access to arts and culture. | Answered |
| 02 Feb 2026 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure adequate security provision for the Palestinian Embassy in London. | Answered |
| 18 Dec 2025 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of lengthening the qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years for young adults and children under Appendix Privat… | Answered |
| 15 Dec 2025 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how he plans to reduce disability benefits by up to £580 million a year. | Answered |
| 04 Dec 2025 | Cabinet Office | To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Digital ID scheme will cost. | Answered |
| 04 Dec 2025 | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he has taken to make sure that digital ID can not be made a requirement for accessing a wide range of public and private services. | Answered |
E · Committees
| Committee | Role | House | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welsh Affairs CommitteeSelect | Member | Commons | 28 Oct 2024 | present |
F · Expenses
Every business-cost claim reimbursed by IPSA in the current financial year, grouped by category. “Aggregated” rows are IPSA’s own year-end totals for cost types like payroll and rent that aren’t itemised claim-by-claim.
Category breakdown
| Category | Claims | Paid (£) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | 22 | 25,309 | 17.9% |
| Office Costs | 24 | 8,747 | 6.2% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 6,728 | 4.8% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 185 | 0.1% |
| Staffing | 0 | 99,704 | 70.5% |
| Dependant Travel | 0 | 688 | 0.5% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | Accommodation | 7 | 18,779 |
| Hotel - London | Accommodation | 7 | 5,527 |
| Pooled staffing services | Office Costs | 1 | 2,300 |
| Advertising and contact cards | Office Costs | 1 | 1,908 |
| Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Office Costs | 8 | 1,399 |
| Pooled Staffing Services | Office Costs | 1 | 1,250 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 1 | 944 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 7 | 918 |
| Utilities | Accommodation | 2 | 635 |
| Council tax | Accommodation | 1 | 219 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Accommodation | 5 | 150 |
| Parking | Office Costs | 4 | 16 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [***] Claim line 60284064-1 is a duplicate of 60284056-1 | 0 | Repaid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Pooled Staffing Services | Socialist Parliamentary Research Group (Labour) | 1,250 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -1,371 | Paid |
| 24 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 50 | Paid |
| 24 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Internet | 30 | Paid |
| 21 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Pooled staffing services | Parliamentary Research Service (Labour) | 2,300 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | Rent | 3,358 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES [200011725-5342] [200011799-247] | 134 | Paid |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Other office equipment | 944 | Paid |
| 07 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | ADOBE ADOBE [200011725-6120] | 28 | Paid |
| 07 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | CANVA [***] [200011725-6121] [200011799-248] | 18 | Paid |
| 06 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Advertising and contact cards | Advertising for surgeries in local press | 1,908 | Paid |
| 03 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 319 | Paid |
| 26 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | ELECTED TECHNOLOGIES | 600 | Paid |
| 20 Feb 2025 | Accommodation Utilities | Electricity | 151 | Paid |
| 20 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 113 | Paid |
| 20 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 90 | Paid |
| 20 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | Repayment for Canva licences Dec 24- Feb 25 | 81 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Accommodation Rent | Rent | 3,358 | Paid |
| 12 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 420 | Paid |
G · Register of interests
Every financial interest declared by the MP, grouped under the Register’s official categories. Retracted entries are hidden but counted above.
8. Miscellaneous1 entry
16 Aug 2024
Negotiating Secretary NASUWT Wrexham Association. This is an unpaid role.
(Registered 1 August 2024)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 40 wards, 43 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrefair North | Paul Blackwell | Labour Party | 217 | 05 May 2022 |
| Banwy Llanfihangel Llanwddyn | Bryn Davies | Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | 437 | 05 May 2022 |
| Berriew Castle Caereinion | Adrian Jones | Conservative and Unionist Party | 278 | 05 May 2022 |
| Caersws | Les George | Conservative and Unionist Party | 473 | 05 May 2022 |
| Cefn East | Derek Wright | Labour Party | 235 | 05 May 2022 |
| Cefn West | Stella Matthews | Labour Party | 269 | 05 May 2022 |
| Chirk North | Frank Hemmings | Labour Party | 434 | 05 May 2022 |
| Chirk South | Terry Evans | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 518 | 04 May 2017 |
| Churchstoke | Danny Bebb | Liberal Democrats | 348 | 05 May 2022 |
| Dolforwyn | Gareth Michael Pugh | Conservative and Unionist Party | 486 | 05 May 2022 |
| Esclusham | Mark Pritchard | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 796 | 04 May 2017 |
| Forden Montgomery | Jeremy Brignell-Thorp | Green Party of England and Wales | 333 | 05 May 2022 |
| Glantwymyn | Elwyn Vaughan | Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | 458 | 04 May 2017 |
| Guilsfield | Ian Harrison | Conservative and Unionist Party | 370 | 05 May 2022 |
| Kerry | Benjamin Breeze | Conservative and Unionist Party | 340 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llanbrynmair | Gary Mitchell | Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | 307 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llandrinio | Lucy Margaret Roberts | Conservative and Unionist Party | 434 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llandysilio | Evan Arwel Jones | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 272 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llanfair Caereinion Llanerfyl | Gareth Jones | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 555 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llanfyllin | Peter Lewis | Conservative and Unionist Party | 261 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llangyniew Meifod | Jonathan Wilkinson | Conservative and Unionist Party | 366 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llanidloes | Gareth Morgan | Liberal Democrats | 706 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llanidloes | Glyn Preston | Liberal Democrats | 605 | 05 May 2022 |
| Llanrhaeadr Ym Mochnantllansilin | Aled Davies | Conservative and Unionist Party | 625 | 04 May 2017 |
| Llansantffraid | Robert Gwynfor Thomas | Conservative and Unionist Party | 476 | 04 May 2017 |
| Machynlleth | Mike Williams | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 404 | 05 May 2022 |
| Newtown Central South | David Selby | Liberal Democrats | 554 | 05 May 2022 |
| Newtown Central South | Kelly Healy | Liberal Democrats | 500 | 05 May 2022 |
| Newtown East | Joy Jones | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | — | 04 May 2017 |
| Newtown North | Adam Dale Kennerley | Liberal Democrats | 301 | 05 May 2022 |
| Newtown West | Peter Arthur Lewington | Conservative and Unionist Party | 230 | 05 May 2022 |
| Pant Johnstown | David Anthony Bithell | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 780 | 05 May 2022 |
| Pant Johnstown | Steve Joe Jones | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 902 | 05 May 2022 |
| Penycae | John Conrad Phillips | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 579 | 05 May 2022 |
| Penycae Ruabon South | Alison Tynan | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 303 | 05 May 2022 |
| Ponciau | Paul Howard Pemberton | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 478 | 05 May 2022 |
| Rhiwcynon | John Yeomans | Conservative and Unionist Party | 352 | 04 Jun 2024 |
| Rhos | Fred Eddie Roberts | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 231 | 05 May 2022 |
| Ruabon | Dana Davies | Labour Party | 249 | 05 May 2022 |
| Trelystan Trewern | Amanda Jenner | Conservative and Unionist Party | 367 | 05 May 2022 |
| Welshpool Castle | Richard Church | Liberal Democrats | 246 | 05 May 2022 |
| Welshpool Gungrog | Carol Robinson | Liberal Democrats | 224 | 05 May 2022 |
| Welshpool Llanerchyddol | Graham Charles Breeze | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 536 | 04 May 2017 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 104,259 | Electorate 74,039 (2024) |
| Median age | 47 | years |
| Degree-educated | 29.1% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 98.0% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 65.3% | households |
| Private-rented | 16.4% | households |
| Social-rented | 18.1% | households |
| Employment rate | 56.3% | 16-64 in work |
J · Public spending
HMT publishes headline spending identifiable by region in PESA. Constituency-level capital allocations (Levelling-Up Fund, Towns Fund, UKSPF, transport capital, BEIS R&D) are published as separate departmental datasets. We are evaluating the cleanest reconciliation for a per-constituency view.