Hitchin / data
Alistair Strathern · Labour Party · sitting since 19 Oct 2023 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
939days
from 19 Oct 2023
Divisions
447
of 515 possible
Attendance
87%
68 absent / paired
Whip alignment
100%
vs party majority
Speeches
87
56 debates
Written Qs
64
63 answered
Committees
0
memberships
Expenses
£302k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 179 claims
Interests
1
1 category
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 96 | |
| Economy | 88 | |
| Employment | 47 | |
| Crime & Policing | 40 | |
| Education | 33 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 30 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 27 | |
| Pensions | 25 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | 1 | — |
| Mp Performance | 1 | — |
| Economy Jobs | 24 | 7,777 |
| Local Government | 14 | 5,593 |
| Education | 12 | 4,148 |
| Social Care | 10 | 4,027 |
| Housing | 6 | 2,707 |
| Crime | 8 | 2,456 |
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.
No notable votes recorded for this MP yet.
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2026 | New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public AmenitiesAbsolutely; this is a stealth tax, but the issue is far wider than that, as I will explain. I look forward to the Government’s work to address it in a root-and-branch manner. HousingLocal Government | 32 |
| 13 May 2026 | New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public Amenities HousingLocal Government | 0 |
| 13 May 2026 | New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public AmenitiesAbsolutely. The situation that the hon. Member highlights is far too common across every part of the United Kingdom. It is really important that the Government drive forward an amb… HousingLocal Government | 236 |
| 13 May 2026 | New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public AmenitiesThe hon. Gentleman brings me seamlessly to my next point, which is what we can do about the matter. I introduced a ten-minute rule Bill in the previous Session, and I am glad to se… HousingLocal Government | 805 |
| 13 May 2026 | New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public AmenitiesI know that pulses have been racing all day in Westminster, but the moment is finally here: we come to tonight’s Adjournment debate on unadopted housing estates. The House may not … HousingLocal Government | 395 |
| 13 May 2026 | New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public AmenitiesMy hon. Friend is spot on in highlighting that Gleeson and many other developers right across the country are not fulfilling their crucial obligations, and new homeowners are being… HousingLocal Government | 78 |
| 13 May 2026 | New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public AmenitiesMy hon. Friend is spot on. We should not tolerate the shirking of any responsibility by developers, but sadly that happens all too often on developments throughout the country, inc… HousingLocal Government | 179 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Security VettingMany of my constituents are rightly appalled that someone who betrayed not just our country but every single victim of Jeffrey Epstein was able to serve in such a prestigious posit… Mp PerformanceDefence | 113 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Topical QuestionsRail users at Hitchin and Arlesey stations in my constituency have to put up with services that simply are not reliable enough. I am glad that, after pushing the operator, Minister… TransportLocal GovernmentEconomy Jobs | 91 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Craniocervical InstabilityI congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate on a topic that, like him, I must confess I had not heard much about until I spoke to two of my constituents about it. Having … HealthSocial Care | 148 |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Oil and GasI understand that the wind farm that the hon. Gentleman is talking about would generate about a quarter of a million houses’ worth of energy every year. Given that his party is cur… EnergyEconomy JobsEnvironment | 78 |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Oil and GasSome of the broad themes of the topics that we are discussing today are very important. How do we drive down bills at a time when all our constituents will be worried about the cos… EnergyEconomy JobsEnvironment | 254 |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Oil and GasThe hon. Gentleman will be aware that his party is also proposing a big tax cut for oil and gas companies in the removal of the EPL. He will have seen research from Oxford Universi… EnergyEconomy JobsEnvironment | 75 |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Oil and GasNot at all. I think that that is why the last Government’s shameful failure to invest in the transition—their failure, in fact, to do much to create a better offer for the 50% of N… EnergyEconomy JobsEnvironment | 150 |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Oil and GasI thank the right hon. Gentleman for his confirmation that his party used to believe in the future once, but when it comes to clean energy, I think the fact that we have been able … EnergyEconomy JobsEnvironment | 640 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Social Care | 33 | 51.6% |
| Department for Education | 6 | 9.4% |
| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 5 | 7.8% |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 5 | 7.8% |
| Department for Transport | 5 | 7.8% |
| Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 4 | 6.3% |
| Department for Business and Trade | 2 | 3.1% |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 2 | 3.1% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to (a) make the pharmacy contract more sustainable and (b) reform the price concession mechanism. | Pending |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help reduce the average waiting time for a decision from the Housing Ombudsman Service. | Answered |
| 19 Mar 2026 | Department for Transport | To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the reliability of train services in the East of England. | Answered |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the uptake of the Play Well toolkit, as laid out in Action 8 for Children and Young People with Cancer, in the National Cancer Plan 202… | Answered |
| 02 Feb 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to develop a national diagnostic and treatment pathway for craniocervical instability. | Answered |
| 13 Jan 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of the outcomes for children in the critical 1,001 days in (a) areas with Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies and (b) areas without Bes… | Answered |
| 13 Jan 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of national implementation models of online parenting support in Australia. | Answered |
| 12 Dec 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Chief Medical Officer’s publication entitled Annual report 2025: infections, published on 4 December 2025, if he will set out how the proposed regional infectio… | Answered |
| 12 Dec 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Chief Medical Officer’s publication entitled Annual report 2025: infections, published on 4 December 2025, what steps he is taking to embed antimicrobial stewar… | Answered |
| 14 Nov 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address the shortage of the drug pancrelipase for pancreatic exocrine insufficiency patients. | Answered |
| 12 Nov 2025 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to support children’s media and digital literacy education before 2028. | Answered |
| 29 Oct 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the availability of hydrocortisone for people with adrenal insufficiency. | Answered |
| 29 Oct 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve NHS staff (a) training and (b) understanding of tracheobronchomalacia. | Answered |
| 28 Oct 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on ensuring that NHS speech and language therapy services use evidence-based intervention dosages for children with moderate to severe sp… | Answered |
| 10 Oct 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all brain tumour patients are routinely informed of opportunities to take part in (a) research and (b) clinical trials. | Answered |
E · Committees
No committee memberships recorded for this MP.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Costs | 162 | 42,161 | 14.0% |
| Accommodation | 6 | 6,794 | 2.3% |
| Miscellaneous | 1 | 171 | 0.1% |
| Staffing | 1 | 247,674 | 82.1% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 934 | 0.3% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 3,880 | 1.3% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | Accommodation | 6 | 6,794 |
| Advertising and contact cards | Office Costs | 7 | 6,568 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 59 | 4,787 |
| Pooled staffing services | Office Costs | 3 | 3,450 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 7 | 3,335 |
| Postage & couriers | Office Costs | 3 | 2,925 |
| Utilities | Office Costs | 13 | 2,111 |
| Moving Fees | Office Costs | 2 | 1,680 |
| Insurance - buildings | Office Costs | 1 | 1,421 |
| Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Office Costs | 31 | 981 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 2 | 391 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 17 | 347 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09 May 2025 | Office Costs Subletting | Sublet Rent | 0 | Repaid |
| 08 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 224 | Paid |
| 08 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011803-484] | 44 | Paid |
| 08 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 31 | Paid |
| 08 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Water | 28 | Paid |
| 08 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Water | 6 | Paid |
| 25 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | [200011803-485] | 294 | Paid |
| 17 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Mobile telephone - contract & usage | VOIPFONE [200011725-9281] | 22 | Paid |
| 14 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 20 | Paid |
| 06 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 37 | Paid |
| 06 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Cleaning services | Waste collection (VAT payment) | 14 | Paid |
| 04 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 1,209 | Paid |
| 04 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Cleaning services | [***] [200011725-3476] | 40 | Paid |
| 03 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Water | 17 | Paid |
| 25 Feb 2025 | Accommodation Rent | Rent Feb | 1,300 | Paid |
| 25 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Pooled staffing services | Parliamentary Research Service (Labour) | 1,150 | Paid |
| 19 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Water | 32 | Paid |
| 19 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 15 | Paid |
| 15 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Internet | 22 | Paid |
| 14 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 220 | 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
18 Apr 2024
I hold share options in OakNorth Holdings Limited that are below the threshold for registration.
(Registered 17 November 2023)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 7 wards, 14 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlesey Fairfield | Jodie Chillery | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 895 | 04 May 2023 |
| Arlesey Fairfield | Nick Andrews | Labour Party | 724 | 04 May 2023 |
| Clifton Henlow Langford | David Shelvey | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,667 | 04 May 2023 |
| Clifton Henlow Langford | Drew Robert Richardson | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,680 | 04 May 2023 |
| Clifton Henlow Langford | Richard David Wenham | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,589 | 04 May 2023 |
| Graveley St Ippolyts Wymondley | Caroline McDonnell | Liberal Democrats | 361 | 02 May 2024 |
| Graveley St Ippolyts Wymondley | Dominic Griffiths | Liberal Democrats | 357 | 02 May 2024 |
| Hitchwood | Joe Graziano | Conservative and Unionist Party | 472 | 02 May 2024 |
| Offa | Claire Patricia Annette Strong | Conservative and Unionist Party | 470 | 02 May 2024 |
| Offa | David John Barnard | Conservative and Unionist Party | 558 | 02 May 2024 |
| Shefford | Mark Robert Liddiard | Conservative and Unionist Party | 918 | 04 May 2023 |
| Shefford | Tony Brown | Conservative and Unionist Party | 907 | 04 May 2023 |
| Stotfold | Helen Diana Wightwick | Labour Party | 743 | 04 May 2023 |
| Stotfold | Kathryn Woodfine | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 1,348 | 04 May 2023 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 99,088 | Electorate 75,877 (2024) |
| Median age | 41 | years |
| Degree-educated | 40.2% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 88.1% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 70.2% | households |
| Private-rented | 15.1% | households |
| Social-rented | 14.7% | households |
| Median weekly pay | £645 | ASHE |
| Employment rate | 65.4% | 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.