Andrew Howard Western (born 18 March 1985) is a British
Labour Party politician who was elected as
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Stretford and Urmston at the
2022 by-election. He had been the leader of
Trafford Council
Trafford Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and pr ...
since 2018, a post he vacated upon his election to parliament.
Early life
Western was born at
Wythenshawe Hospital
Wythenshawe Hospital (previously University Hospital of South Manchester) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Wythenshawe, South Manchester, England. It provides general medical services to the local and regional area as well as being a national ...
to Denise Western (née Firth) and Howard Western and grew up in
Timperley
Timperley is a suburban village in the borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Cheshire, it is approximately six miles southwest of central Manchester. The population at the 2011 census was 11,061.
History
The name Ti ...
. He had four sisters, and describes his upbringing as "modest", saying that "after my parents' divorce times were tough"; he benefited from the
Education Maintenance Allowance
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) ( cy, Lwfans Cynhaliaeth Addysg; LCA) is a financial scheme applicable to students and those undertaking unpaid work-based learning in the United Kingdom (except England) and aged between sixteen and nineteen ...
and was the first member of his family to go to university. He attended the local grammar school,
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys is a boys' grammar school in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England.
Admissions
The school is a fully selective non-fee paying grammar school with admission via an entrance exam. Its previous status as a fo ...
, before studying History and Politics at
Sheffield University
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
, graduating in 2006. He returned to
Trafford
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...
after university, and prior to becoming council leader worked in project management within the engineering sector, focusing particularly on transport infrastructure. Western lives in the
Urmston
Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,825 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, it is southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the River Mersey, with Stretford ...
area in the village of
Flixton.
Politics
Local government
Western joined the
Labour Party in 2006, holding various roles at a branch and constituency level over the following 10 years.
He was first elected to
Trafford Council
Trafford Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and pr ...
at the
2011 local elections, representing
Priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
ward, which largely consists of
Sale town centre.
Western was subsequently re-elected at both the
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
local government elections.
Western became Deputy Leader of the Labour Group on Trafford Council in May 2014, before becoming Labour Group Leader, and Leader of the Opposition, in November 2014.
At the
2018 local government elections , the Labour Party gained four seats from the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, with the Tories suffering further losses to the
Liberal Democrats and the
Greens.
The Labour Party became the largest political group on Trafford Council, with the previously Tory-controlled authority being placed in a state of
no overall control; Labour formed a minority-control administration governing the Council with the support of the Liberal Democrats in a
confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house.
A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parl ...
arrangement. Western was confirmed as Council Leader shortly after the elections.
At the
2019 local government elections , the Labour Party made further gains in Trafford, securing an additional six seats from the Conservative Party. The Labour Group obtained a majority of council seats, and formed an outright administration governing the Council. This was the first time since the 2004 boundary changes that Labour had managed to win a majority of seats.
Western sits on the
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members; 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...
and is presently the Portfolio Lead for Place Based Regeneration (Housing and Infrastructure) as well as Clean Air. Between May 2018 and May 2019, he served as Portfolio Lead for Digital. He led on Green City Region between 2019 and 2021, before leading on Digital, Works and Skills for the second half of that year. He sits on the Transport for the North Board, the Greater Manchester Transport Committee and the
North West Regional Leaders Board
The North West Regional Leaders Board is the Local Authority Leaders’ Board for the North West region of England. It was established on 15 July 2008 and replaced the North West Regional Assembly. It was initially based at Wigan, in Greater Manch ...
.
In March 2019, Western publicly opposed the plans by
Mayor of Greater Manchester
The Mayor of Greater Manchester is the directly elected metro mayor of Greater Manchester, responsible for strategic governance in the region that includes health, transport, housing, strategic planning, waste management, policing, the Greater ...
Andy Burnham
Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...
to make cuts to
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is the statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
GMFRS covers an area of ...
.
Western is an active member of the
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association.
The LGA is p ...
, and as Chair of the LGA's Resources (Finance) Board is the cross-party lead on finance in local government. He also represents Labour councillors in North West England as the LGA Labour Group rep for the Region. In June 2022, Western became Chair of the GM Transport Committee, a committee of councillors overseeing public transport in the City Region.
Since 2019, Western has served as a non-executive director at
Trafford Housing Trust
Trafford Housing Trust was a housing association based in Trafford. It was acquired by L&Q in 2019. It owned and managed about 9,000 properties. It also provided care and support for disabled people and ran sheltered housing and extra-care homes ...
. He serves as a school governor at Wellfield Infant and Nursery School in Sale.
Following his election to parliament in December 2022, Western resigned as leader of Trafford Council, being succeeded by Tom Ross.
Parliament
Western had twice sought election to Parliament before being elected, being the Labour candidate in
Altrincham and Sale West at the
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and
2019 general elections. On both occasions, he retained the party's second place, but was defeated by incumbent MP
Sir Graham Brady
Sir Graham Stuart Brady (born 20 May 1967) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2 ...
. The previously
safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
Conservative seat, had, however, become
marginal
Marginal may refer to:
* ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001
* ''Marginal'' (manga)
* '' El Marginal'', Argentine TV series
* Marginal seat or marginal constituency or marginal, in polit ...
. In 2019, he and Brady both lost ground to the Liberal Democrats and Greens.
On 26 June 2022, Western was selected to contest
Stretford and Urmston after the upcoming retirement of incumbent Labour MP
Kate Green
Katherine Anne Green OBE (born 2 May 1960) is a British politician, serving as Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime from January 2023. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A me ...
at the next general election; Green resigned in November 2022, triggering a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
, at which Western was the successful Labour candidate.
He won the by-election with 69.6% of the vote.
Political views
Western supported
Yvette Cooper
Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department, Shadow Home Secretary since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2015. She served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as ...
in the
2015 Labour leadership election. In the
2020 leadership election, he supported
Lisa Nandy
Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010.
N ...
for Leader, backing
Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work since 2021. She has been Shad ...
in the
deputy leadership contest.
Western endorsed
Tony Lloyd
Sir Anthony Joseph Lloyd (born 25 February 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has discontinuously served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1983, currently as the MP for Rochdale since 2017. He was MP for Stretford from 1983 to 1 ...
in the
2016 Greater Manchester Labour Party mayoral selection.
In a speech to
Stand Up to Racism Manchester, Western claimed to have "chased (
Tommy Robinson) out of Trafford", and expressed his concern about
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
and
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, describing the latter as "far right".
[YouTube Stand Up to Racism Manchester, Andrew Western speaking to Stand Up tp (sic) Racism conference, posted "3 years" ago.]
Electoral history
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Western, Andrew
Living people
Councillors in Trafford
Labour Party (UK) councillors
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Leaders of local authorities of England
1985 births
Members of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority
UK MPs 2019–present