Leeds South / data
Hilary Benn · Labour Party · sitting since 10 Jun 1999 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
9815days
from 10 Jun 1999
Divisions
367
of 504 possible
Attendance
73%
137 absent / paired
Whip alignment
100%
vs party majority
Speeches
634
45 debates
Written Qs
0
tabled
Committees
0
memberships
Expenses
£186k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 103 claims
Interests
2
2 categories
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 72 | |
| Economy | 65 | |
| Crime & Policing | 39 | |
| Education | 38 | |
| Employment | 31 | |
| Pensions | 22 | |
| Schools | 21 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 19 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Defence | 23 | 34,114 |
| Social Care | 7 | 19,705 |
| Crime | 11 | 19,358 |
| Other | 6 | 6,532 |
| Economy Jobs | 13 | 4,875 |
| Culture Community | 4 | 3,963 |
| Agriculture | 4 | 1,599 |
| Fiscal Policy | 6 | 1,549 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar 2026 | Spring ForecastThere will be a report from the Treasury to the Northern Ireland Executive. It is for the Executive to take the decision, but I say from this Dispatch Box that I would welcome its … Fiscal PolicyEconomy JobsCost Of Living | 35 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Spring ForecastYes; I am working hard, together with the voluntary sector and, I hope, the Executive to find a way forward. There is £9 million available in resource to fund those schemes from 1 … Fiscal PolicyEconomy JobsCost Of Living | 88 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Spring ForecastI do not accept the right hon. Gentleman’s characterisation of what the Government are doing. We have brought economic stability to the country after the disaster of the previous G… Fiscal PolicyEconomy JobsCost Of Living | 78 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Spring ForecastI agree with my hon. Friend. The Government have taken a decision to enable the Executive, if they wish to do so, to agree a multi-year budget. Discussions are taking place, we hav… Fiscal PolicyEconomy JobsCost Of Living | 59 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Spring ForecastNorthern Ireland will directly benefit from the spring forecast, with almost £390 million in additional funding to the Executive over the next three years, including £231 million i… Fiscal PolicyEconomy JobsCost Of Living | 51 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Good Friday AgreementI say to the hon. Gentleman that there was always an alternative to violence—always. That recognition was finally achieved when the Good Friday agreement was negotiated and signed,… Culture Community | 78 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Good Friday AgreementI do not accept the hon. and learned Gentleman’s argument in relation to the Good Friday agreement. When it comes to the Windsor framework, those who advocated to leave the Europea… Culture Community | 95 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Good Friday AgreementI agree with the right hon. Gentleman that economic growth is the answer to many of the questions that the Executive and the Assembly are facing. Northern Ireland, with its dual ma… Culture Community | 75 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Good Friday AgreementThe provisions relating to a border poll are clearly set out in the Good Friday agreement. There is one criterion that governs such a decision, and at the moment there is no eviden… Culture Community | 71 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Good Friday AgreementI agree with my hon. Friend. The biggest lesson of the Good Friday agreement is that it takes immense political courage to say yes, rather than to go on saying no. To pick up her p… Culture Community | 91 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Good Friday AgreementI do agree with my hon. Friend, and I do not understand why some are advocating removing the ECHR from the Good Friday agreement. It would be highly irresponsible, and it shows a c… Culture Community | 60 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Good Friday AgreementOn 10 April we will celebrate the anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, which nearly 30 years ago brought an end to the troubles and enabled Northern Ireland to establish a pow… Culture Community | 54 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationThe creation of the legacy commission took away from the PSNI some 1,000 cases, which it then fell to the commission to investigate. That cost has been transferred to the legacy co… DefenceCrimeSocial Care | 58 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI say very simply that the Government are keen to progress this. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, it is a very complex piece of legislation, in part because it is having to fix t… DefenceCrimeSocial Care | 79 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI am always happy to meet the hon. Gentleman, and the House will have an opportunity in due course to consider the amendments that he has put forward. Most of the victims I have me… DefenceCrimeSocial Care | 121 |
D · Written questions
No written questions tabled by this MP in our records.
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 | 68 | 15,337 | 8.3% |
| Accommodation | 30 | 5,339 | 2.9% |
| Staffing | 1 | 162,859 | 87.8% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 1,984 | 1.1% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service charge & ground Rent | Office Costs | 11 | 5,289 |
| Pooled staffing services | Office Costs | 3 | 3,450 |
| Service charge & ground Rent | Accommodation | 12 | 2,455 |
| Council tax | Accommodation | 12 | 2,262 |
| Pooled staffing services | Staffing | 1 | 1,150 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 10 | 921 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 2 | 776 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 3 | 754 |
| Newspapers, journals, magazines | Office Costs | 27 | 546 |
| Insurance - contents | Office Costs | 1 | 367 |
| Utilities | Accommodation | 4 | 339 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Accommodation | 2 | 283 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | AMZNMKTPLACE [***] [200011725-10741] | 43 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Service charge & ground Rent | Office service charge | 534 | Paid |
| 19 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | AMAZON [***] [200011725-5463] | 210 | Paid |
| 11 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | stationery - copy paper | 59 | Paid |
| 05 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | NWD LTD NATIONAL WORL [200011725-3726] | 11 | Paid |
| 05 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | BELFAST TE BELFASTTEL [200011725-3727] | 8 | Paid |
| 02 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | AMZNMKTPLACE [***] | 23 | Paid |
| 25 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Pooled staffing services | Parliamentary Research Service (Labour) | 1,150 | Paid |
| 25 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Pooled staffing services | Parliamentary Research Service (Labour) | 1,150 | Paid |
| 25 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Pooled staffing services | Parliamentary Research Service (Labour) | 1,150 | Paid |
| 25 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 150 | Paid |
| 05 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | NWD LTD NATIONAL WORL | 11 | Paid |
| 05 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | BELFAST TE BELFASTTEL | 8 | Paid |
| 04 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Service charge & ground Rent | Service charge - February 2025 | 509 | Paid |
| 22 Jan 2025 | Accommodation Council tax | [***] [***] [***] Claim line 60261835-2 is a duplicate of 60258715-2 | 0 | Repaid |
| 22 Jan 2025 | Accommodation Service charge & ground Rent | [***] [***] [***] Claim line 60261835-1 is a duplicate of 60258715-1 | 0 | Repaid |
| 17 Jan 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline & internet package | 258 | Paid |
| 10 Jan 2025 | Accommodation Council tax | Council Tax | 206 | Paid |
| 07 Jan 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | FS TECHSMITH | 56 | Paid |
| 05 Jan 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | NWD LTD NATIONAL WORL | 11 | 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.
6. Land and property portfolio with a value over £100,000 and where indicated, the portfolio provides a rental income of over £10,000 a year1 entry
18 Apr 2024
Type of land/property: Property, other (House and small nature reserve)
Number of properties: 1
Location: Essex
Ownership details: Part-owner
(Updated 24 November 2014)
9. Family members employed and paid from parliamentary expenses1 entry
18 Apr 2024
Name: Sally Clark
Relationship: Spouse
Role: Office Manager
Working pattern: Part time
Additional information: My spouse, Sally Clark, is also employed as part time Senior Parliamentary Assistant.
(Updated 16 April 2019)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 4 wards, 4 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beeston Holbeck | Shaf Ali | Labour Party | 2,533 | 02 May 2024 |
| Burmantofts Richmond Hill | Ashgar Khan | Labour Party | 2,752 | 02 May 2024 |
| Hunslet Riverside | Mohammed Iqbal | Labour Party | 2,274 | 02 May 2024 |
| Middleton Park | Rob Chesterfield | Social Democratic Party | 1,882 | 02 May 2024 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 124,649 | Electorate 75,953 (2024) |
| Median age | 32 | years |
| Degree-educated | 27.5% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 67.3% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 37.2% | households |
| Private-rented | 29.9% | households |
| Social-rented | 32.5% | households |
| Employment rate | 57.0% | 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.