Chris Webb (politician)

Christopher Paul Webb (born 26 April 1986) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool South since the 2024 Blackpool South by-election.

Early life and education
Christopher Webb was born on 26 April 1986 in Blackpool Victoria Hospital, and attended St Mary's High School. He is the son of a local postman and a teaching assistant.

He studied British politics and legislative studies at the University of Hull, and while at university was the president of the rugby league club and a member of the students' union council.

Political career
Webb served as a Councillor on Manchester City Council from 2015 to 2018. During his time on the council, he was stranded in Belgium following the 2016 Brussels bombings, whilst on a delegation to the European Parliament.

Webb was appointed Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire in 2018, and at that time was office manager for MEP Wajid Khan. He was also an assistant to Gordon Marsden, the Labour MP for Blackpool South from 1997 to 2019, and worked for Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd. Webb is a volunteer at Blackpool Food Bank, chair of the trustees of a local mental health charity, Counselling in the Community, and a trustee of the Communication Workers Union charity Humanitarian Aid. He was awarded a Local Hero Award in 2021 for his charity work during the pandemic.

Parliamentary career
At the snap 2017 general election, Webb stood as the Labour candidate in Blackpool North and Cleveleys, coming second with 44.5 per cent of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Paul Maynard. Webb again stood in Blackpool North and Cleveleys at the 2019 general election, again coming second with 35.5 per cent of the vote behind Maynard.

In August 2023, Webb was selected as Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Blackpool South at the 2024 general election. Following the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP Scott Benton, Webb became the Labour candidate in the 2024 Blackpool South by-election. At the election on 2 May, the same day as local elections across England, he was elected with 58.9 per cent of the vote and a majority of 7,607. Webb was the first Blackpool South MP to have been born in the constituency for 60 years.

Webb was reselected in June 2024 as the Labour candidate for Blackpool South at the 2024 general election. He won the seat with 48.1% of the vote and a majority of 6,846 over the second-placed Reform UK candidate. There were seven candidates.

Personal life
Webb's wife, Portia Webb, was elected as a Labour councillor for the ward of Tyldesley at the 2023 Blackpool Council election. They married in 2019 and have a son, born in 2024.

Webb was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 18, while at university.

Webb ran the 2022 London Marathon in a time of 5 hours 38 minutes 57 seconds, raising £1,000 for the Royal British Legion.