Leigh Ingham was elected Labour MP for Stafford on 4 July 2024 with a majority of 4,595 (10 percent), overturning a Conservative majority of 14,377 held by Theo Clarke. It was one of the larger swings of the election in the West Midlands. She did not come from Stafford.

Before her selection as the Stafford candidate, Ingham served as a Labour councillor for Kingswood ward on South Gloucestershire Council, near Bristol. She was Cabinet Member for Communities and Local Place and Deputy Leader of the Labour group. She resigned her South Gloucestershire seat in May 2024 when the general election was called, and was selected as the Labour candidate for Stafford following the announcement of the election. Her executive council experience is real, but it was gained 120 miles from the constituency she now represents. The parachute dimension is worth acknowledging.

Since entering Parliament she has been active across multiple committees and forums. She joined the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in October 2024 and the Business and Trade Committee in April 2026, and was appointed to the Speaker's Conference in December 2024 and the Modernisation Committee in December 2025. She also serves on the Speaker's Committee for IPSA and sat on the Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill Committee in June 2025. She has voted in more than 330 divisions and votes consistently with her party. She contributed 470 words to the Free School Meals (Automatic Registration of Eligible Children) Bill debate. She is active in All Party Parliamentary Groups including Afghan Women and Girls, Apprenticeships, Further Education and Lifelong Learning, Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and Financial Technology.

Stafford has been Conservative since 2010. Before that, David Kidney held it for Labour from 1997. The constituency covers the town of Stafford and surrounding semi-rural areas in Staffordshire. A 10 percent majority is substantial for a first gain but the constituency's history suggests it will revert to the Conservatives if national conditions shift against Labour. Reform UK's presence in the West Midlands adds a further variable.

Ingham's strengths include an unusually active committee record for a new MP, taking in the Business and Trade and Northern Ireland Affairs select committees, executive local government experience as a Cabinet Member and Deputy Labour Group Leader, a substantial majority for a newly gained seat, and active engagement across education and international development APPGs. Her weaknesses include the parachute candidate dynamic (South Gloucestershire to Stafford), limited national profile, no ministerial office, and a constituency that does not have deep Labour roots. Whether she builds a personal following in Stafford strong enough to hold the seat under less favourable conditions is the central test of her political career.