Dr Simon Opher | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Stroud | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Siobhan Baillie |
| Majority | 11,411 (20.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oxfordshire,England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Education | St Mary's Hospital Medical School |
| Occupation | General practitioner &Member of Parliament |
Simon Joseph Opher [1] MBE MP is a British Labour Party politician and general practitioner who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud since 2024.
Opher,originally from Oxfordshire,attended to a comprehensive school before studying medicine at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London. Prior to becoming and MP he worked and lived in Dursley as a full-time GP for "almost exactly 29 years," with his wife Rachel;their three children attended the local Rednock School. He was awarded an MBE in 2016 for introducing and advocating social prescribing (now part of NHS policy nationwide) and was instrumental in the building of the Vale Community Hospital. Chairman of the Stroud Locality NHS,Opher headed the Covid-19 vaccination program locally and pledged,if elected,to remain working as a GP as time permitted.
He is chair of the charity that runs Prema Arts Centre,and President of Uley Cricket Club. [2]
In July 2022,he replaced former Labour MP David Drew as the Labour Prospective parliamentary candidate for Stroud. Since the July 2024 General Election,he has served as the Member of Parliament for Stroud,having unseated Tory incumbent Siobhan Baillie. [3] [4] Opher polled 25,607 votes to Baillie's 14,219.
Simon made his maiden speech on 5th September 2024 in a debate on renewable energy. He has since spoken in both Westminster Hall and the Commons Chamber on a range of issues including energy,maternity services,dentistry,bus services and salt marshes. [5]
He sits on a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups,and is Chair of the Health Group and Vice-Chair of the Net Zero Group.
In November 2024,Opher co-ordinated a group of MPs who are also medics backing assisted dying. The cross-party group called on colleagues to support legislation from Labour MP Kim Leadbeater,calling on Parliament to be “brave enough to change the law in this difficult area for the benefit of patients”. [6]
Ann Clwyd Roberts was a Welsh Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cynon Valley for 35 years,from 1984 until 2019. Although she had intended to stand down in 2015,she was re-elected in that year's general election and in 2017 before standing down in 2019. Clwyd is the longest-serving female MP for a Welsh constituency.
Frank Doran was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom,who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South from 1987 to 1992,when he lost his seat. He was re-elected in 1997 to Aberdeen Central,and most recently represented Aberdeen North. He was the husband of former Labour MP Dame Joan Ruddock.
David Elliott Drew is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud from 1997 to 2010 and 2017 to 2019. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties,he was Shadow Minister for Farming and Rural Affairs from 2017 to 2019.
Albert Owen is a Welsh Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ynys Môn from 2001 to 2019. He took the seat in the 2001 election from Plaid Cymru with a margin of exactly eight hundred votes and retained the seat at the four subsequent general elections. During his time in Parliament,he was a member of the Business,Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee,Welsh Affairs Select Committee and the International Development Committee. He was also a member of the Speaker's Panel of Chairs and vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cancer.
Margot Cathleen James is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Digital and Creative Industries from 2018 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stourbridge from 2010 to 2019. Elected as a Conservative,she had the whip removed in September 2019 and,after having the whip restored,stood down as an MP prior to the upcoming general election.
William Neil Carmichael is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud from 2010 until 2017. In April 2019,he announced he had left the Conservative Party;he subsequently joined Change UK for which he was an unsuccessful candidate in the East of England constituency at the 2019 European Parliament election. In September 2019,Carmichael joined the Liberal Democrats but left after one year.
The Welsh Affairs Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure,administration and policy of the Wales Office,as well as relations with the Senedd. The members of the committee are usually Welsh MPs.
The Scottish Affairs Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure,administration and policy of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland,and relations with the Scottish Parliament. It also looks at the administration and expenditure of the Advocate General for Scotland.
Philippa Whitford is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and a breast surgeon. Originally from Northern Ireland,she was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Ayrshire in May 2015 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. Whitford stood down at the 2024 general election. She previously served as the SNP Spokesperson for Scotland from December 2022 to September 2023.
Melanie Onn is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes since 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she previously served as MP for Great Grimsby from 2015 to 2019.
Christopher Patrick James Green is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 2015 until 2024. He was re-elected in 2017 and 2019,increasing his majority and vote share at both general elections. He lost the seat in the 2024 general election.
Ruth Margaret Cadbury is a British politician and planner who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentford and Isleworth since 2015. A member of the Labour Party,she was a Member of Hounslow Council from 1986 to 2015 and Deputy Leader of the Council from 2010 to 2012.
Paula Michelle Sherriff is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury from 2015 to 2019.
Daniel Joseph Carden is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Walton since 2017.
Darren Paul Jones is a British politician who has served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024,having previously been Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from September 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,he has been Member of Parliament for Bristol North West since 2017. He previously chaired the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee from 2020 to 2023.
Martin David Whitfield is a Scottish Labour politician and former lawyer and primary school teacher who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region and the Convener of the Standards and Procedures and Public Appointments Committee since 2021.
Karen Elizabeth Lee is a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln between the 2017 general election and the 2019 general election. She defeated the sitting Conservative MP,Karl McCartney by 1,538 votes in the 2017 general election but lost to him in 2019.
Robert Largan is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for High Peak from 2019 to 2024. He served as Assistant Government Whip from October 2022 until July 2024.
Siobhan Kathleen Baillie is a former British politician. A member of the Conservative Party,she was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud from the 2019 general election until 2024. Before her parliamentary career,she was a family law solicitor,a councillor,and worked for a charity.
Kevin McKenna is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sittingbourne and Sheppey since 2024. He gained the seat from the Conservative Party.
   | This article about a Labour Party member of Parliament representing an English constituency is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |