Matt Rodda
 | The subject of this article is standing for re-election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 4 July, and has not been an incumbent MP since Parliament was dissolved on 30 May. Some parts of this article may be out of date during this period. |
Matt Rodda | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Shadow Minister for AI and Intellectual Property | |
| Assumed office 5 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Shadow Minister for Pensions | |
| In office 7 January 2021 – 5 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Jack Dromey |
| Succeeded by | Gill Furniss |
| Shadow Minister for Buses | |
| In office 12 January 2018 – 7 January 2021 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Richard Burden |
| Succeeded by | Sam Tarry |
| Member of Parliament for Reading East | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017[1] | |
| Preceded by | Rob Wilson |
| Majority | 5,924 (10.6%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 December 1966 |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex |
| Website | Official website |
Matthew Richard Allen Rodda (born 15 December 1966) is a British Labour Party politician and former journalist and civil servant who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading East since 2017. He is the incumbent Shadow Minister for AI and Intellectual Property.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Rodda is the Labour candidate in the new constituency of Reading Central at the 2024 general election.[8]
Early life and career[edit]
Matthew Rodda was born on 15 December 1966 and raised in Wallingford in South Oxfordshire. He attended the University of Sussex[9] in the 1980s and trained as a journalist with Thomson.
After graduating, he worked for the Coventry Telegraph and was also a journalist for The Independent newspaper, specialising in education news.
He later became a civil servant in the Department for Education, and subsequently worked in the charity sector and for the Higher Education Academy.
In October 1999, he survived the Ladbroke Grove rail crash, an event to which he has attributed his desire to make a contribution to the community.[4][5]
Parliamentary career[edit]
Rodda stood as the Labour candidate in East Surrey at the 2010 general election, coming third with 9% of the vote behind the Conservative candidate Sam Gyimah and the Liberal Democrat candidate.[10]
At the 2015 general election, Rodda stood in Reading East, coming second with 33.1% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Rob Wilson.[11][12]
Rodda was elected to Parliament as MP for Reading East at the snap 2017 general election with 49% of the vote and a majority of 3,749.[3][13][14]
In January 2018, Rodda was promoted to a frontbench position in a Shadow Cabinet mini-shuffle, becoming the Shadow Minister for Local Transport.[2]
At the 2019 general election, Rodda was re-elected as MP for Reading East with a decreased vote share of 48.5% and an increased majority of 5,924.[15]
Rodda nominated Emily Thornberry in the 2020 Labour leadership election.[16]
In the first Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, Rodda was appointed Shadow Minister for Buses.[17]
In January 2021, Rodda was appointed Shadow Minister for Pensions after Jack Dromey was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet Office after Helen Hayes resigned to abstain on the Brexit Bill. Rodda was replaced as Shadow Minister for Buses by Sam Tarry.[18] In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Shadow Minister for AI and Intellectual Property.[7]
Prior to the 2024 general election, Rodda's constituency of Reading East was abolished, and replaced with Reading Central. In June 2024, Rodda was selected as the Labour candidate for Reading Central at the 2024 general election.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ "Contact information for Matt Rodda - MPS and Lords - UK Parliament".
- ^ a b "Jeremy Corbyn makes frontbench appointments". Labour Press. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Reading East parliamentary constituency – Election 2017 – BBC News". Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ a b "South East 2014 European Elections Hustings". Dialogue Society. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ a b "An interview with Matt Rodda, Labour's candidate for East Surrey". The Caterham and District Independent. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Matt Rodda". MyParliament. UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Meet our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ a b Matt Rodda [@MattRodda] (15 August 2022). "🌹RESELECTED IN READING EAST🌹 I am really pleased to have been reselected by members and affiliates to be the @UKLabour candidate for Reading East at the next General Election. Thank you to everyone who has put their faith in me once again. I will not let you down" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Rodda, Mathew Richard Allen". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Parliamentary results 2015". Reading Borough Council. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Notice of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Reading Borough Council.
- ^ "Reading Borough Council – statement of persons nominated 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- ^ "Reading Borough Council". www.reading.gov.uk.
- ^ "Reading East parliamentary constituency – Election 201( – BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Rolling list: MP/MEP nominations for Labour leadership candidates". Labour List. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "Keir Starmer appoints Labour frontbench". The Labour Party. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna. "New roles for Dromey, Anderson, Rodda and Tarry in Labour reshuffle". LabourList. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
External links[edit]
