Jonathan Ashworth

Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth (born 14 October 1978) is a British former Labour and Co-op politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South from 2011 to 2024. He had served as Shadow Paymaster General from September 2023. Having lost his seat at the 2024 general election, he was appointed chief executive of the Labour Together thinktank. Prior to his election to Parliament, Ashworth worked as an adviser to Gordon Brown and head of party relations for Ed Miliband. He was first elected at a by-election in 2011, following the resignation of his predecessor Peter Soulsby. In October 2016, Ashworth was appointed Shadow Health Secretary by party leader Jeremy Corbyn, shadowing Jeremy Hunt and later Matt Hancock alongside the Shadow Minister for Social Care Barbara Keeley. In April 2020, Ashworth was reappointed to the position by new leader Keir Starmer, gaining the additional shadow portfolio of social care in England; he was succeeded in the role by Wes Streeting in 2021. Ashworth was Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2021 to September 2023, when he was appointed as the Shadow Paymaster General.