Hilary Benn
Labour Party
MP contact details
- Email: bennh@parliament.uk
- Phone: 020 7219 5770
- Twitter: @hilarybennmp
- Facebook: /hilarybenn4leedscentral
- TheyWorkForYou voting record
- Parliament profile
- Wikipedia page
Positions and memberships
Positions
- Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Select committees
Stances
| Topic | Position |
|---|---|
| MP stance on greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas | Generally voted for |
| MP stance on the preservation of environmental protections after withdrawal from the EU | Generally voted for |
| MP stance on improving environmental water quality | Consistently voted for |
| MP stance on improving air quality | Consistently voted for |
| MP stance on increasing windfall tax on oil and gas companies | No position |
| MP stance on higher taxes on plane tickets | Generally voted against |
| MP stance on financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods | Consistently voted for |
| MP stance on measures to prevent climate change | Generally voted for |
| MP stance on lower taxes on fuel for motor vehicles | Consistently voted against |
| MP stance on improving biodiversity | Consistently voted for |
Votes and EDMs
| Vote | Position |
|---|---|
| MP vote on Environment Bill | No |
| MP vote on Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill | Aye |
| MP support for Cumbria coal mine court appeal | Did not support |
| MP support for Accelerating construction work and lower carbon construction vehicles | Did not support |
| MP support for Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty | Did not support |
| MP support for Zero carbon homes | Did not support |
2024 majority
11,279
Date elected
10th Jun 1999
2025 Mass Lobby attendance
MP did not attend
Place
Constituency history
This constituency was introduced at the July 2024 general election, and replaced the previous two new constituencies:
Leeds Central
Covered approximately 71% of this new constituency’s population, and 84% of this new constituency’s area.
Leeds East
Covered approximately 12% of this new constituency’s population, and 11% of this new constituency’s area.
Estimated households in fuel poverty
36.9%
17.9% national average
Act Now Change Forever constituency briefing
Housing Tenure
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned with a mortgage | 19.7% | 28.9% |
| Other tenure | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| Owned outright | 16.8% | 33.3% |
| Private rented | 30.3% | 19.9% |
| Social rented | 32.2% | 16.8% |
Mental health has been impacted by the cost of living crisis
51.9%
41.5% national average
Estimated child poverty
43.8%
29.3% national average
Worried about not being able to pay their energy bills in the next year
62.2%
53.5% national average
Friends of the Earth ‘State of the Environment’ report
Constituency age distribution
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 0 - 15 | 22.5% | 18.3% |
| Ages 16 - 24 | 12.8% | 10.5% |
| Ages 25 - 34 | 18.4% | 13.2% |
| Ages 35 - 49 | 20.2% | 19.1% |
| Ages 50 - 64 | 15.4% | 19.8% |
| Ages 65 and over | 10.7% | 19.1% |
Constituency Population
124,000
102,977.2 national average
Number of onshore windfarms
0
0.7 national average
Current Industry
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, energy and water | 0.7% | 1.1% |
| Construction | 3.2% | 4.1% |
| Distribution, hotels and restaurants | 10.1% | 9.2% |
| Financial, real estate, professional and administrative activities | 8.1% | 7.9% |
| Manufacturing | 3.3% | 3.5% |
| Does not apply | 55.2% | 53.4% |
| Other | 1.7% | 2.1% |
| Public administration, education and health | 12.7% | 14.3% |
| Transport and communication | 5.0% | 4.4% |
Current Occupation
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative and secretarial occupations | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Associate professional and technical occupations | 5.1% | 6.1% |
| Caring, leisure and other service occupations | 5.2% | 4.4% |
| Elementary occupations | 7.9% | 4.8% |
| Managers, directors and senior officials | 3.1% | 6.0% |
| Does not apply | 55.2% | 53.4% |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | 4.0% | 3.2% |
| Professional occupations | 7.9% | 9.4% |
| Sales and customer service occupations | 3.9% | 3.5% |
| Skilled trades occupations | 3.9% | 4.8% |
Disabled under the Equality Act
16.8%
17.7% national average
Ethnicity
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Asian / Asian British | 10.9% | 8.1% |
| Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups | 4.0% | 2.8% |
| Other ethnic groups | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| Other White | 9.1% | 6.3% |
| White British | 58.8% | 77.5% |
General Health
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 6.0% | 5.3% |
| Fair health | 12.8% | 12.8% |
| Very good or good health | 81.2% | 81.9% |
Have missed a bill payment in the last six months
40.1%
31.5% national average
Have missed a credit payment in the last six months
31.1%
23.6% national average
Have missed a rent payment in the last six months
31.5%
19.0% national average
Have not been able to afford to turn the heating on at home when they have felt cold in the past month
50.9%
37.5% national average
Main Language
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| African languages | 2.5% | 0.3% |
| Asian languages | 4.2% | 3.0% |
| English or Welsh | 79.3% | 88.9% |
| European languages (EU) | 8.2% | 3.8% |
| Does not apply | 4.3% | 3.1% |
| North or South American languages | 0% | 0.0% |
| Oceanic or Australian languages | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Any other languages | 1.4% | 0.6% |
| Other European languages (non-EU) | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Any other UK languages | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Sign and supported languages | 0.1% | 0.0% |
Travel to work method
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycle | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Bus, minibus or coach | 5.8% | 1.8% |
| Driving a car or van | 16.5% | 21.3% |
| On foot | 5.4% | 3.5% |
| Work mainly at or from home | 11.6% | 14.5% |
| Underground, metro, light rail, tram | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Motorcycle, scooter or moped | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Not in employment or aged 15 years and under | 55.2% | 53.4% |
| Other method of travel to work | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Passenger in a car or van | 2.4% | 1.8% |
| Taxi | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Train | 0.6% | 0.8% |
Worried about having to use a foodbank in the next year
40.5%
28.7% national average
Worried about not being able to afford their mortgage or rent in the next year
51.3%
40.0% national average
Country of the UK
England
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)
1
2.8 national average
Coastal constituency
0
Public opinion
Should government policy on climate change be going faster or slower?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Go faster | 62.5% | 54.1% |
| Neither | 11.9% | 12.0% |
| Go slower | 25.6% | 30.9% |
Results of last election
| Party | Votes |
|---|---|
| Labour Party | 17117 |
| Green Party | 5838 |
| Conservative Party | 4172 |
| Other | 3211 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1340 |
EU (Brexit) leave vote percentage
54%
50.5% national average
Likelihood to take action such as voting for a particular candidate or lobbying an MP to tackle climate change and protect nature
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Net likely | 39% | 39.7% |
| Net unlikely | 25.4% | 27.8% |
| Very likely | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| Quite likely | 26.1% | 27.5% |
| Neither likely nor unlikely | 35.7% | 32.5% |
| Quite unlikely | 11.1% | 12.6% |
| Very unlikely | 14.2% | 15.3% |
Should the UK have closer economic ties with the EU, even if that means giving up some sovereignty?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Closer ties with the EU | 57.4% | 51.5% |
| Neither | 10.4% | 6.1% |
| No closer with the EU | 32.3% | 39.5% |
Would you support or oppose the building of onshore wind farms in your area?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Neither | 25.3% | 18.6% |
| Oppose | 8.9% | 12.2% |
| Support | 65.8% | 66.3% |
Do you think immigration has generally enriched or undermined society?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Enriched | 39.3% | 37.2% |
| Neither | 14.8% | 12.5% |
| Undermined | 45.9% | 47.3% |
Should the welfare system be expanded to help more people, or reduced to make benefits harder to get?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Expanded | 43.0% | 34.1% |
| Neither | 13.3% | 11.5% |
| Reduced | 43.7% | 51.5% |
Would you be comfortable paying more tax, if it meant more money were invested in public services like the NHS and education?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable | 52.5% | 44.3% |
| Neither | 7.0% | 6.0% |
| Uncomfortable | 40.5% | 46.8% |
Would you be comfortable with government debt going up, provided that money were invested in the economy and local services?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable | 62.6% | 52.5% |
| Neither | 10.5% | 7.6% |
| Uncomfortable | 26.9% | 37.0% |
Would you support or oppose the building of new housing in your area?
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Neither | 20.1% | 21.1% |
| Oppose | 11.6% | 17.8% |
| Support | 68.4% | 58.2% |
Consider climate change a high priority
54
53.6 national average
Second placed party at most recent election
Green Party
Loss of nature and destruction of the environment should be one of the most important concerns for the country
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Net agree | 67.1% | 72.6% |
| Net disagree | 10% | 8.7% |
| Strongly agree | 30.1% | 33.8% |
| Partly agree | 37.0% | 38.8% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 22.9% | 18.7% |
| Partly disagree | 6% | 5.9% |
| Strongly disagree | 4% | 2.7% |
Policies for tackling the cost of living crisis should go hand in hand with policies to tackle the climate crisis
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Net agree | 60.6% | 58.9% |
| Net disagree | 13.5% | 17.6% |
| Strongly agree | 26.8% | 24.2% |
| Somewhat agree | 33.8% | 34.7% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 25.9% | 23.4% |
| Somewhat disagree | 8.2% | 10.5% |
| Strongly disagree | 5.3% | 7.1% |
Tackling climate change should / should not be one of the Government’s biggest priorities right now
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Should be a priority | 53.0% | 57.5% |
| Should not be a priority | 47% | 42.5% |
Neither support nor oppose Net Zero
28
26.2 national average
Oppose Net Zero
8
12.4 national average
Support Net Zero
62
60.4 national average
Support nuclear energy
54.3%
57.4% national average
Support offshore wind
78.8%
85.3% national average
Support renewable energy projects in their local area
81.4%
85.1% national average
Support solar power
81.7%
87.6% national average
Support tidal energy
76.1%
86.0% national average
Support wave energy
83.4%
86.7% national average
Believe that the government should continue the block on onshore wind development
33.3%
24.3% national average
Believe that the government should use wind and solar farms to reduce energy bills
81.6%
84.3% national average
Believe the government has increased investment in renewables over the past 5 years
52.3%
52.0% national average
Predicted winning party at next general election
Reform UK
| This area | National average | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 25% | 22.5% |
| Conservative | 12% | 20.4% |
| Liberal Democrat | 7% | 14.7% |
| Reform | 33% | 28.2% |
| Green | 14% | 8.1% |
| Other | 9% | 4.6% |
Movement
Churches that have declared a climate emergency
0
0.2 national average
Constituents attending 2025 Act Now Change Forever Mass Lobby
5
7.8 national average
Constituents pledged to meet MP as part of Common Grounds 2024
0
0.7 national average
Friends of the Earth activists
169
302.3 national average
Friends of the Earth financial supporters
39
122.2 national average
Number of Great Big Green Week 2022 events
0
1.8 national average
Number of Great Big Green Week 2023 events
0
2.2 national average
Number of Great Big Green Week 2024 events
0
1.9 national average
Number of RSPB Reserves
0
0.3 national average
Number of Save the Children shops
0
0.2 national average
Number of Trussell Trust foodbanks
6
2.2 national average
Number of Wildlife Trusts Reserves
0
2.4 national average