Luke Charters | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for York Outer | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Julian Sturdy |
| Majority | 9,391 (18.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 August 1995 |
| Party | Labour |
| Education | Huntington School,York |
| Alma mater | (MSc) |
| Website | lukecharters |
Luke Jonathan Charters [1] (born 18 August 1995) is a British Labour politician elected as Member of Parliament for York Outer in the general election held on 4 July 2024. [2]
Charters was born on 18 August 1995 in York, North Yorkshire, England. [3] He was educated at Huntington School, a comprehensive school in York. He studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Mansfield College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Oxford in 2016. [3] He then studied political science at the University of Chicago, [4] [5] graduating with a Master of Science (MSc) degree in 2017. [3]
Before his political career, Charters worked at the Bank of England and at the Financial Conduct Authority with a focus on fraud. [6] While at the Bank of England, Charters helped with the polymer banknote programme and contributed to the development of new payment infrastructure projects. [7] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Charters collaborated with the CEOs of several banks to ensure readily available access to cash. [6]
Charters subsequently worked in the fintech industry as a senior manager at the global payroll company Remote and led their fraud and compliance function. [8] In May 2022, Charters was appointed company director. [9] In March 2024 Charters resigned as a company director. [10] Charters was also a company director of Charters-Reid Surveyors Ltd between October 2014 and October 2017. [11] In July 2020, Charters was appointed a company director of Roots Local Ltd cocktail bar, [12] [13] and resigned as a director in July 2022 [14] before the company was placed in voluntary liquidation in 2023. [14]
Charters first stood for election for York Outer (as Luke Charters-Reid) as the Labour candidate in the 2017 general election, when he was 21, coming second to the Conservative Party's incumbent MP Julian Sturdy. [15] [16] Charters was subsequently elected as a councillor for the Wall End ward on Newham London Borough Council in 2022 prior to standing in York Outer. [17] He stepped down from the council in 2023. [3]
During the 2024 general election, Charters campaigned on several issues, including the regulation of the bailiff sector, [18] flood defences for York, [19] planning reform, [20] eating disorders in young men, [21] and removing restrictions on investing in UK defence companies. [22] Charters has also campaigned for the creation of a national anti-fraud centre. [23]
Elected with 45% of the vote, a positive swing of 15%, Charters temporarily appointed Labour donor Owen Trotter to set up and run his first parliamentary office. [24] [25] [26] On 17 July 2024, he made his maiden speech in the House of Commons in the debate following the King's Speech [27] and was elected as the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Food Security. [28]
In October 2024, Charters was elected to the Public Accounts Committee. [29] Previously, Charters served on the Crown Estate Bill Committee. [30] In November 2024, Charters voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise assisted suicide. [31]
In March 2025, Charters held a Westminster Hall debate on "aggressive and unregulated bailiff practices". [32] Later that month, Charters supported government reforms of the existing "cliff-edge welfare system" [33] and was one of 36 signatories in an open letter of support for improving disabled employment support. [34] In May 2025, Charters introduced a Private Members' Bill for the regulation of bailiffs [35] "to get a grip on rogue bailiffs", [36] and proposed looking at the ban on alcohol during men's football matches. [37] Charters also serves as the current Chair of the FinTech All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). [38]
In June 2025, Charters announced that he would be the first male MP to take extended parental leave and employ his office manager as locum during paternity leave. [39] This followed a campaign for improving UK paternity leave [40] [41] that was backed by multiple MPs and the Women and Equalities Committee. [42]
Charters has a wife and two children. [5] [43] They named their first son after his religious studies teacher at Huntington School. [44] They had their second son in summer 2025. [43] The family live in his constituency with two pets. [45]
