John Derek Twigg (born 9 July 1959) is a British Labour Party politician who currently serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Widnes and Halewood since 2024, and for its predecessor constituency, Halton, from the 1997 general election until its abolition in 2024.
Early life
Twigg was born in Widnes, Lancashire and attended Bankfield High School in Widnes, and afterwards Halton College of Further Education (now Riverside College). At the age of 16, he joined the Civil Service and worked for the Department for Employment (at Runcorn) for the following 19 years.
At 18, Twigg became branch secretary of the Civil and Public Services Association (now part of the Public and Commercial Services Union) before joining the Labour Party in 1979. He was elected to Cheshire County Council at the age of 21, serving as a county councillor until 1985. In 1983 he was elected to Halton Borough Council. After the general election of May 2005, he became Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Transport.
In September 2006, Twigg was appointed Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Veterans at the Ministry of Defence.
In 2013, he was one of 22 Labour MPs to vote against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which eventually passed with cross-party support.
Personal life
Twigg married Mary Cassidy in January 1988 in Widnes. He has a son and a daughter. Twigg's wife died on 26 November 2019; this led to him stepping away from his general election campaign and allowing his constituency party to run it on his behalf.
Twigg's interests outside politics include hill walking, military history (particularly World War II) and rugby league.