Manchester Withington / data
Jeff Smith · Labour Party · sitting since 07 May 2015 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
4005days
from 07 May 2015
Divisions
442
of 504 possible
Attendance
88%
62 absent / paired
Whip alignment
100%
vs party majority
Speeches
228
35 debates
Written Qs
8
3 answered
Committees
1
memberships
Expenses
£284k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 150 claims
Interests
3
2 categories
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 91 | |
| Economy | 81 | |
| Employment | 45 | |
| Crime & Policing | 38 | |
| Education | 37 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 30 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 28 | |
| Housing | 23 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | 1 | — |
| Technology | 2 | — |
| Immigration | 3 | 261 |
| Culture Community | 3 | 245 |
| Economy Jobs | 6 | 239 |
| Crime | 2 | 215 |
| Health | 2 | 153 |
| Fiscal Policy | 2 | 150 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Apr 2026 | West Bank: Illegal Settlements8. What diplomatic steps her Department is taking to oppose the expansion of illegal settlements in the west bank. DefenceCulture Community | 19 |
| 21 Apr 2026 | English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI think the Minister has slightly brushed over Lords amendment 41 on the agent of change principle. This is an excellent Bill, but I do think it is disappointing that the Governmen… Local GovernmentHousingEnvironment | 137 |
| 21 Apr 2026 | West Bank: Illegal SettlementsTariff preferences are one thing, and I know we cannot solve this problem alone, but we must do whatever we can to put pressure on the Israeli Government to stop. The Israeli Gover… DefenceCulture Community | 68 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)Giles, TikTok has talked about helping teenagers engage with educational and informative content. Can you make an estimate of what proportion of the content on TikTok you could des… | 31 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)You have both talked glowingly about the fund. Of the two interventions, would you say the YAC fund is more likely to stimulate production? | 24 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)Is 35 not a bit high? | 6 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)You talked earlier on about pointing users to iPlayer. I do not know if you know about the BBC initiative, “Other Side of the Story”. | 25 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)Giles, TikTok has talked about helping teenagers engage with educational and informative content. Can you make an estimate of what proportion of the content on TikTok you could des… | 31 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)How can you quality assure that educational content? How do parents know it is decent content? | 16 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)Morning. Louise, you mentioned the young audiences content fund. I think both of you have called for some version of that fund to be reintroduced, and also for some kind of tax rel… | 45 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)How would you fund it? | 5 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)Morning. Louise, you mentioned the young audiences content fund. I think both of you have called for some version of that fund to be reintroduced, and also for some kind of tax rel… | 45 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)How would you fund it? | 5 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)What is your view of the idea that the BBC has put forward for an enhanced tax relief for UK culturally relevant content? | 23 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Culture, Media and Sport Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1338)Did you say 18 million? | 5 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department for Education | 3 | 37.5% |
| Home Office | 3 | 37.5% |
| Department of Health and Social Care | 2 | 25.0% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the next review of the School Admissions Code will take place; and whether the scope of that review will include admissions arrangements for schools with a religious character, including the… | Pending |
| 22 Apr 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 make the drug Enhertu is available for people with secondary breast cancer in England. | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects to make a decision on whether to include Religious Education within the National Curriculum as part of the current curriculum and assessment review; and whether that decision wil… | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Department plans to publish updated guidance on collective worship in state-funded schools in England; and whether there will be a public consultation as part of that review. | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the Cancer Plan commitment to define and count recurrent cancers, starting with metastatic breast cancer in 2026. | Pending |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the scheduled January meeting of the cross-government working group on how best to reduce barriers to clinical research with Schedule 1 drugs took place, and whether minutes wil… | Answered |
| 16 Dec 2025 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the meetings scheduled for the working group on any new issues involving research with controlled drugs during the next six months. | Answered |
| 16 Dec 2025 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings have been held of the cross-government officials working group on research with controlled drugs. | Answered |
E · Committees
| Committee | Role | House | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeSelect | Member | Commons | 28 Oct 2025 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Costs | 127 | 23,290 | 8.2% |
| Staffing | 13 | 237,894 | 83.6% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 5,859 | 2.1% |
| Accommodation | 0 | 15,600 | 5.5% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 1,796 | 0.6% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pooled staffing services | Office Costs | 1 | 4,600 |
| Utilities | Office Costs | 30 | 3,061 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 15 | 1,866 |
| Equipment - hire | Office Costs | 5 | 1,658 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 36 | 1,020 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 3 | 913 |
| Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Office Costs | 18 | 600 |
| Cleaning services | Office Costs | 14 | 435 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 2 | 64 |
| Volunteer - agreed arrangement costs | Staffing | 13 | 64 |
| Insurance - contents | Office Costs | 1 | 37 |
| TV licence | Office Costs | 1 | 15 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 62 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Gas | 87 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline | 23 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 30 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 30 | Paid |
| 14 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | SHARP BUSINESS SYSTEMS [200011725-5844] | 21 | Paid |
| 04 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Gas | 186 | Paid |
| 04 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline | 120 | Paid |
| 04 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 81 | Paid |
| 03 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - hire | Printer, photocopier & scanner | 336 | Paid |
| 01 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Insurance - contents | Office Content Insurance [200011781-117] | 37 | Paid |
| 28 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 30 | Paid |
| 28 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | 30 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 34 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 28 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 24 | Paid |
| 17 Feb 2025 | Office Costs TV licence | TVLICENSING.CO.UK [200011781-118] | 15 | Paid |
| 14 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline | 310 | Paid |
| 12 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 69 | Paid |
| 12 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Cleaning services | Banner March 2025 | 46 | 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.
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources2 entries
14 Apr 2026
Name of donor: The English Football League (EFL)
Address of donor: Efl House, 10 - 12 West Cliff, Preston PR1 8HU
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Two tickets with hospitality to Manchester City v Arsenal at the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley, value £900
Date received: 22 March 2026
Date accepted: 22 March 2026
Donor status: company, registration 00080612
(Registered 24 March 2026)
10 Mar 2026
Name of donor: British Phonographic Industry Limited (BPI)
Address of donor: 4 Tileyard Studios, Tileyard Road, London, England, N7 9AH
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Two tickets, which included hospitality, for the BRIT Awards 2026, value £2,860
Date received: 28 February 2026
Date accepted: 28 February 2026
Donor status: company, registration 01132389
(Registered 5 March 2026)
8. Miscellaneous1 entry
16 Aug 2024
Trustee of the registered charity, Drug Science. This is an unpaid role.
(Registered 30 July 2024)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 6 wards, 7 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chorlton | Tina Kirwin-McGinley | Labour Party | 2,809 | 02 May 2024 |
| Chorlton Park | Mandie Shilton Godwin | Labour Party | 3,235 | 02 May 2024 |
| Didsbury East | Leslie Bell | Labour Party | 2,611 | 02 May 2024 |
| Didsbury East | Linda Foley | Labour Party | 2,636 | 02 May 2024 |
| Didsbury West | Deborah Louise Hilal | Labour Party | 2,379 | 02 May 2024 |
| Old Moat | Gavin White | Labour Party | 2,078 | 02 May 2024 |
| Withington | Chris Wills | Labour Party | 1,614 | 02 May 2024 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 90,043 | Electorate 70,555 (2024) |
| Median age | 33 | years |
| Degree-educated | 54.7% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 71.7% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 51.4% | households |
| Private-rented | 33.1% | households |
| Social-rented | 15.5% | households |
| Employment rate | 61.1% | 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.