Josh Simons

Joshua Cameron Simons (born 24 July 1993) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Makerfield from 2024 to 2026. A member of the Labour Party, he briefly served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital Government from January to March 2026. In early 2026 it was reported that Simons had been responsible for investigating the private affairs of journalists who had published an article unfavourable to Labour Together, a think tank he ran. Simons was accused of naming them to British intelligence, and falsely linking them to pro-Russian propaganda. On 28 February 2026, he resigned his ministerial positions, stating that while he had been cleared of breaching the Ministerial Code, the allegations had become a "distraction" from the government's work. On 14 May 2026, he announced that he would be standing down from Parliament, in order to allow Andy Burnham to contest the ensuing by-election.