Steve Witherden

Steve Witherden is the first ever Labour MP for Montgomeryshire, the only seat in Wales that had never returned a Labour member until he won Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr in 2024. His personal trajectory is one of the most remarkable in Parliament. Born in Wrexham, he is severely dyslexic and dyscalculic, could not read until he was 11, was placed in bottom sets and, in his own words, "written off by many". He worked in factories, warehouses and security before going to university, then read English Literature at Lampeter and trained as a teacher at Aberystwyth.

He taught for almost 20 years, becoming head of drama at Ysgol Clywedog in Wrexham, and rose through the NASUWT from school representative to negotiating secretary, national executive member for North Wales, and President of the union's Welsh branch, the most senior position in Wales for his profession. A member of the Socialist Campaign Group, he has lived in the constituency at Acrefair for 15 years.

He won the seat created from Montgomeryshire and Clwyd South after his predecessor, Conservative Craig Williams, was caught up in the 2024 election betting scandal and finished third. In his maiden speech he invoked Robert Owen, the pre Marxist socialist born in Newtown, the constituency's largest town, and noted that the area generates around 96 per cent of its power from renewables. He was elected with 12,709 votes (29.4 per cent) and a majority of 3,815 (8.8 per cent), with Reform UK second and the Conservatives third. He sits on the Welsh Affairs Committee.