Tracy Brabin

Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British Labour Co-op politician and former actress who has been the strategic authority mayor for West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 2021. Born in Batley, Brabin was an actress and television writer prior to entering politics, appearing in several British soap operas including Coronation Street, Doctors, EastEnders, Casualty and Emmerdale. She was elected for Batley and Spen in an October 2016 by-election after the murder of previous incumbent Jo Cox. She was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport by Jeremy Corbyn in January 2020, succeeding former Deputy Labour Leader Tom Watson. In April 2020, new Labour Leader Keir Starmer removed Brabin from the shadow cabinet and appointed her Shadow Minister for Cultural Industries. She resigned as an MP after winning the 2021 West Yorkshire mayoral election. Her resignation triggered a by-election, which Labour's Kim Leadbeater won. She is the first ever woman to serve as a metro-mayor. She won a second term in the 2024 West Yorkshire mayoral election.