Lynda Waltho


Lynda Ellen Waltho is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Stourbridge from 2005 to 2010 succeeding Labour MP Debra Shipley who had stepped down due to ill-health just days before the 2005 election was called. In the 2010 election the Conservative candidate Margot James took the seat.

Mayoral challenge

In April 2019 Waltho announced that she was seeking the Labour Party nomination as their candidate in the 2020 election for the position of Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, currently held by Conservative Andy Street. However, a family illness the following June intervened and she felt she had to stand aside.

Early life and career

Waltho was born in London and educated at Keele University. She is divorced with two children. She worked as principal advisor to Neena Gill MEP. She is a member of the GMB. Her special interests include education, childcare and the economy.

Parliamentary Service

In November 2005, she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Hanson MP, Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Office and later to the Ministry of Justice. This made her the first Labour member first elected in 2005 to hold any government role. She became a member of the Children, Schools and Skills Select Committee.
In September 2008 Lynda joined the Government as Assistant Regional Minister for the West Midlands.
She served as an important member of several All Party Parliamentary Groups: