Tracy Brabin

Mayor
Tracy Brabin
Mayor Tracy Brabin
	Official portrait, 2020
Mayor of West Yorkshire
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 10 May 2021
Preceded by	Office established
Member of Parliament; for Batley and Spen
	In office; 20 October 2016 – 10 May 2021
Preceded by	Jo Cox
Succeeded by	Kim Leadbeater
2020
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Secretary of State
2020	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Shadow Minister
2020	Cultural Industries
2017–2020	Early Years
Personal details
Born	9 May 1961 (age 63); Batley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Political party	Labour Co-op
Alma mater	Loughborough University (BA); University of the Arts London (MA)
Website	Official Website

Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician who has served as the Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 2021 under the Labour and Co-operative banner.^[1]

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.

^ "Tracy Brabin chosen as Labour mayor candidate for West Yorkshire". BBC News. 11 December 2020. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.