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Simon Lightwood
Country: United Kingdom
Role: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
About Simon Lightwood
Simon Lightwood (born 15 December 1980) is a British Labour and Co‑operative Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Wakefield (from a June 2022 by‑election) and for the re‑defined constituency of Wakefield and Rothwell since July 2024. He studied theatre acting at Bretton Hall College and previously worked as a case worker for former MP Mary Creagh, as well as Head of Communications for the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. He served as Shadow Minister for Local Transport from 2022 until July 2024, when he was appointed Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State for Local Transport in the Department for Transport. In September 2025, he was reappointed with a new portfolio as Minister for Roads and Buses. Outside of politics, he is openly gay and lives in West Yorkshire with his husband and two young children, and supports the local rugby league team Wakefield Trinity.
LATEST NEWS ABOUT Simon Lightwood
Local business
22 days ago
London’s first self-driving taxis move from experiment to commerce
London’s first bookable self-driving taxis signal a new phase for urban mobility, with investors, regulators and rivals now watching whether the technology can earn public trust.
Local business
23 days ago
London’s first self-driving taxis move from trials to commercial reality
London has crossed a long-anticipated threshold: self-driving taxis are now carrying paying passengers, opening a new chapter for the UK’s autonomous mobility market.
Local politics
1 month ago
Why the biggest UK political story this weekend is the absence of verifiable new Westminster news
In a quiet Westminster weekend, the real story is how Labour is trying to define government through democratic reform, cost-of-living measures and a rhetoric of institutional repair.
Local politics
1 month ago
Free bus travel for children in England becomes a test of Labour’s cost-of-living politics
A popular August travel offer for children doubles as a political signal about Labour’s approach to living costs, public transport and the role of the state.
Local politics
1 month ago
Ministers turn August bus fares into a cost-of-living dividing line
A one-month free fare scheme for children is being used by ministers to show visible delivery on living costs, but it also exposes the deeper argument over who should control England’s bus network and what public transport is for.
Local politics
1 month ago
Whitehall rewired: Burnham government uses Parliament briefing to define the post-reshuffle state
A parliamentary update on ministerial roles has exposed the larger ambition behind the Burnham government’s Whitehall overhaul: a stronger centre, a devolution-first rhetoric, and a high-risk bet on delivery.