Labour Party MP for Hertford and Stortford.
Elected in 2024 as the first Labour MP ever to win Hertford and Stortford, Josh Dean has built a reputation as an active constituency advocate — most visibly on special educational needs, where he secured Prime Minister backing for a ministerial meeting on local SEND provision and has spoken publicly about his own ADHD diagnosis. His one rebel vote came in June 2025, when he backed a devolution-focused amendment to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill despite his party voting against it — consistent with his voting pattern on assisted dying, where he sits 20 percentage points more supportive of access than the average Labour MP.
Otherwise, Dean is a near-perfect party-line voter at 99.8% alignment, and his 93% participation rate puts him above the Commons average. He has made 113 contributions across 85 debates since entering Parliament, with the economy, health, education and social care dominating his speaking time. His stance profile shows strong alignment with Labour on workers' rights and fiscal responsibility, but low alignment scores on civil liberties, business, and parliamentary scrutiny — the last of these reflecting consistent votes against opposition amendments rather than any particular hostility to scrutiny as a principle.
Local coverage over the past year has been broadly positive, with the Bishop's Stortford Independent regularly covering his casework and community engagement. Recent 90-day coverage is neutral in tone, touching on culture, the economy and housing. He holds no select committee seat, which limits his formal scrutiny role. Data on his voting record is drawn from parliamentary division records; news sentiment reflects local press coverage available to Beyond The Vote.
Josh Dean is the Labour MP for Hertford and Stortford, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024.
Top eight by total divisions voted, this parliament. Volume measures engagement, not direction — see Notable Votes for free-vote moments and rebellions.
Source · The Public Whip · Hansard
Moments where the whip was free, or where Dean broke ranks. Free votes are the truer signal of personal stance.
| Date | Bill / motion | Vote | Whip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: New Clause 2 | Yes | Freevs party |
Source · Hansard
“Emphasises the role of trusted adults and youth workers in tackling youth unemployment and NEETs, calling for Young Futures hubs to act as centres of relational practice.”
“Young people face systemic financial exclusion—thin credit files, unaffordable insurance, inadequate financial education for ages 16-24, and mental health impacts—requiring governm…”
“Youth hubs must be designed flexibly to overcome rural barriers such as transport and distance, potentially operating across multiple venues rather than a single location.”
“Highlighted that young people with undiagnosed ADHD are disproportionately likely to be NEET, calling for cross-government support including through the Milburn review.”
Dean holds no select-committee seat this session. New 2024-intake MPs typically wait one term before being appointed.
| Department | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 6 | 35.3% |
| Department for Education | 5 | 29.4% |
| Department for Work and Pensions | 2 | 11.8% |
| Home Office | 2 | 11.8% |
| Cabinet Office | 1 | 5.9% |
| Department of Health and Social Care | 1 | 5.9% |
Whether she is taking steps to help ensure that the proposed school inclusion bases are designed as integrated, short-term bridges back to mainstream education rather than pathways toward permanent exclusion.
Inclusion bases will have specialisms, providing tailored and expert teaching and support for specific groups of children. We know there are lots of great examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through inclusion base…read full →
What steps her Department is taking to encourage and incentivise mainstream schools to use data-driven assessment tools to identify children’s hidden social, emotional, and mental health needs before they escal
The department is supporting mainstream schools to take a more evidence‑based approach to early identification of need, including social, emotional and mental health needs.We are developing National Inclusion Standards, backed by up to £15 …read full →
Whether Ofsted or another regulatory body will be mandated to track the destination outcomes of children placed in school inclusion bases.
Inclusion bases will have specialisms, providing tailored and expert teaching and support for specific groups of children. We know there are lots of great examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through inclusion base…read full →
What steps she is taking to ensure that the new initial teacher training and early career framework includes content related to (a) identifying children’s social and emotional developmental needs and (b) suppor
The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Early Career Framework covers the first three years or more of a teacher’s career. It sets out a minimum entitlement to training for all new teachers and, following a review, now contains significantly…read full →
Type of land/property: Residential property (Flat)
Type of land/property: Residential property (Flat)
Number of properties: 1
Location: East Hertfordshire
Interest held: from 18 July 2025
… |
Trustee of Future Living, a domestic abuse charity based in Hertford. This is an Trustee of Future Living, a domestic abuse charity based in Hertford. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 11 June 2025
(Registere… |
Source · Members API · Last amended 2 Sept 2025
| Category | £ | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Staffing | 136,805 | 80.8% |
| Office Costs | 32,146 | 19.0% |
| Staff Travel | 399 | 0.2% |
| Total · 113 claims | 169,349 | 100% |
Source · IPSA · FY 24_25
Nothing tabled for Dean on the published Order Paper this week.