Steve Witherden is the first ever Labour MP for Montgomeryshire, the only seat in Wales that had never returned a Labour member until he won Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr in 2024. His personal trajectory is one of the most remarkable in Parliament. Born in Wrexham, he is severely dyslexic and dyscalculic, could not read until he was 11, was placed in bottom sets and, in his own words, "written off by many". He worked in factories, warehouses and security before going to university, then read English Literature at Lampeter and trained as a teacher at Aberystwyth.

He taught for almost 20 years, becoming head of drama at Ysgol Clywedog in Wrexham, and rose through the NASUWT from school representative to negotiating secretary, national executive member for North Wales, and President of the union's Welsh branch, the most senior position in Wales for his profession. A member of the Socialist Campaign Group, he has lived in the constituency at Acrefair for 15 years.

He won the seat created from Montgomeryshire and Clwyd South after his predecessor, Conservative Craig Williams, was caught up in the 2024 election betting scandal and finished third. In his maiden speech he invoked Robert Owen, the pre-Marxist socialist born in Newtown, the constituency's largest town, and noted that the area generates around 96 percent of its power from renewables. He was elected with 12,709 votes (29.4 percent) and a majority of 3,815 (8.8 percent), with Reform UK second and the Conservatives third. He sits on the Welsh Affairs Committee.

Witherden's strengths include overcoming dyslexia and dyscalculia, going from illiterate at 11 to English Literature graduate, factory and warehouse work before university, a Lampeter and Aberystwyth education, 20 years of teaching, the presidency of the NASUWT Welsh branch, SCG membership, being the first ever Labour MP for Montgomeryshire, the Welsh Affairs Committee seat, and 15 years of living in the constituency. His weaknesses include a 3,815 majority (8.8 percent), a 29.4 percent vote share in a five-way contest, no ministerial office, no legislative achievement, the SCG membership potentially limiting advancement under Starmer, and the permanent challenge of making Labour relevant in rural and semi-rural Wales. With the dyslexia story, the factory to Parliament trajectory and the union presidency, he has one of the most powerful personal narratives in the 2024 intake. Whether rural Montgomeryshire voters see delivery on public services, renewable energy and employment rights will determine whether the historic first lasts.