Samantha Ruth Margaret Niblett[2] (born December 1979)[1] is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire since 2024.[3]

Early life and education

Niblett is from Nottingham, the daughter of local detective Jim Doherty. Her paternal grandparents moved to Nottingham from County Mayo in Ireland in the 1950s.[4]

Early career

Prior to pursuing a full-time political career, Niblett worked at software company 1E as its Head of Alliances, Channel & Ecosystem; before 2022, she had worked in the information technology sector for more than 20 years.[5][6] In 2022, she founded Labour Women in Tech, a campaign for the Labour Party to adopt policies to promote STEM subjects to girls and technology-related careers to women.[7] Labour Women in Tech held a launch event in July 2023 which was attended by then Labour MPs Lucy Powell and Jonathan Ashworth, as well as former Labour MP and future East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, and future MP for Erewash Adam Thompson.[8]

Parliamentary career

In politics, Niblett unsuccessfully contested the 2019 and 2023 elections to Erewash Borough Council.[9][10] In August 2023, she was successfully selected as the Labour Party candidate for the South Derbyshire constituency, which since the 2010 general election had been represented by Conservative MP Heather Wheeler.[11] At the 2019 general election, Wheeler had won South Derbyshire by a margin of 19,335 votes (36.3%) over the second-placed Labour candidate.[12] At the 2024 general election, Niblett defeated Wheeler by a margin of 4,168 votes (9.1%).[13] In doing so, Niblett became the first Labour MP for South Derbyshire since Mark Todd, who held the seat from 1997 to 2010, and is the first female Labour MP for South Derbyshire.

As MP, Niblett drew attention to the risks of vendor lock-in from Microsoft's contracts with the NHS.[14]

In 2026, Niblett launched the "summer of sex" campaign to encourage more lifelong sex education.[15]

Personal life

Niblett is openly bisexual. She has a daughter.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "LABOUR: WOMEN IN TECH LTD people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
  2. ↑ "Members Sworn". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 10 July 2024.
  3. ↑ "Derbyshire South | General Election 2024". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "Woman with Mayo roots elected as Labour MP". Mayo Live. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  5. ↑ Belger, Katie Neame, Morgan Jones, Tom (2024-06-06). "Labour selections: parliamentary candidates selected so far for the general election". LabourList. Retrieved 2024-07-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "Samantha Niblett". www.openended.design. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  7. ↑ Niblett, Samantha (2022-10-26). "Labour must form a coherent approach to promoting women and girls in tech". LabourList. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  8. ↑ cicero (2023-07-31). "EVENT: H/Advisors Cicero hosts the launch of Labour: Women in Tech". H/Advisors Cicero. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  9. ↑ "Local Elections Archive Project - 2019 - Erewash". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  10. ↑ "Local Election Results 2023". www.erewash.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  11. ↑ "Samantha Niblett status". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on 2024-07-15. Retrieved 2024-07-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ "Derbyshire South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  13. ↑ "South Derbyshire - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  14. ↑ Booth, Robert (19 November 2025). "Microsoft has 'ripped off the NHS', says MP amid call for contracts with British firms". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ Devlin, Kate (15 April 2026). "Labour". The Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "South Derbyshire MP comes out in Pride debate". Bi Community News. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Niblett