Jake Richards: Labour MP for Rother Valley, Justice Minister and Career Explained

Jake Richards is the Labour Member of Parliament for Rother Valley and a minister at the Ministry of Justice. Elected to Parliament at the 2024 general election, he went from the courtroom to the Commons in a single step: before becoming an MP he was a barrister specialising in child protection and family law, and he has spoken in Parliament from direct experience of the cases that shape children’s lives.

Richards is also known to Presslix readers through a family link: he is married to Liz Bates, the former Sky News political correspondent whose biography is already published on this site. This article covers his own career on its own merits — his legal work, his selection for a seat Labour had lost, his narrow election win, and his rapid move into government.

Quick Bio

Early life and education

Jacob Ben Richards was born in London and educated at Highgate School, a fee-paying school in north London, before attending Woodhouse College. He read History at Somerville College, Oxford, and then completed the Bar Professional Training Course at City, University of London. He was called to the bar in 2017. He is the son of journalist and broadcaster Steve Richards. Before joining the bar, Richards also worked in politics as a speechwriter and campaigner.

A barrister in child protection

Richards practised as a barrister at Deka Chambers in London, building a practice in clinical negligence and healthcare law, commercial and professional negligence disputes, and — most significantly for his later parliamentary work — child protection and family law. His chambers profile describes him as an experienced advocate who appeared regularly in the media discussing law and policy and wrote for journals and news outlets. That background surfaced directly in his parliamentary work. In debates on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, Richards drew on his own experience as a barrister who had spent Friday afternoons in court seeking urgent orders for the removal of children from their primary carer before the weekend — work, he said, that ended for him once judgment was given and the order drafted, but had only just begun for his social work team. It is the kind of first-hand detail that separates a politician who has read a brief from one who has lived the system. He stopped practising law when he was elected to Parliament, as his chambers profile confirms. A colleague from Deka Chambers, Catherine Atkinson, was also elected as a Labour MP at the 2024 general election.

Selection for Rother Valley

Richards was selected as Labour’s candidate for Rother Valley after the previous candidate, Dominic Beck, stood down in December 2022 following concerns over his position on Rotherham Council during the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal. The seat itself had a story: Rother Valley had been Labour-held for decades before falling to the Conservatives in 2019, part of the so-called Red Wall losses, and retaking it was a test of whether Labour could win back its former heartlands. Richards campaigned on the constituency as his home, saying he lived in Rother Valley and that improving opportunities for people there would be his main focus every day.

Elected in 2024 — by 998 votes

At the general election on 4 July 2024, Richards won Rother Valley with 16,023 votes, 38.5% of the vote, defeating the sitting Conservative MP Alexander Stafford, who took 15,025 votes (36.1%). Reform UK took 7,679 votes (18.5%). The majority was just 998 votes — a reminder that the seat, while regained, remains marginal and will be fought hard at the next election. Turnout was 41,608 votes, 59.9% of the 69,460 registered electors, and the result was a Labour gain from the Conservatives with a swing of 8.0%. Once in Parliament, Richards joined the Home Affairs Select Committee in October 2024. He also co-sponsored Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on assisted dying, one of the most sensitive conscience votes of the Parliament.

Into government: the Ministry of Justice

Richards’s rise into government was fast. On 7 September 2025 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, initially for Sentencing, Youth Justice and International Justice, and served at the same time as an Assistant Government Whip in the Commons until 22 July 2026. On 22 July 2026 he was reappointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, now as Minister for Sentencing, Human Rights and Technology. The brief puts him at the centre of some of the justice system’s hardest questions: sentencing policy, youth justice, human rights and the use of technology in the courts. In December 2025, during Justice Questions, he refused a request from Jeremy Corbyn that he meet representatives of Palestine Action hunger strikers held on remand — an exchange that drew laughter from some MPs and coverage the following day, and an early example of the scrutiny a junior minister faces at the despatch box.

The Liz Bates connection

Richards is married to Liz Bates, the former Sky News political correspondent. Bates reported from Westminster for Sky News from 2022, after three years as a political correspondent for Channel 4 News and earlier roles at PoliticsHome and the Yorkshire Post, where her February 2019 scoop on Labour MP Chris Williamson made her name. Politico’s 2023 ranking of Britain’s political power couples listed the pair, and Wikipedia’s biography of Richards confirms the marriage. The connection is worth noting because it links two sides of Westminster: a journalist who reported on politics and a politician who now makes it. But it is not the reason for this article. Richards’s own record — a legal career in child protection, a marginal-seat win, committee work and a ministerial brief within two years of entering Parliament — stands on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jake Richards?

Jake Richards is the Labour MP for Rother Valley, elected in July 2024, and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice.

What is Jake Richards’s current ministerial role?

He is Minister for Sentencing, Human Rights and Technology at the Ministry of Justice, reappointed on 22 July 2026. He previously held the Sentencing, Youth Justice and International Justice brief and served as an Assistant Government Whip.

What did Jake Richards do before Parliament?

He was a barrister at Deka Chambers in London, called to the bar in 2017, with a practice including child protection and family law, clinical negligence and commercial disputes. He stopped practising when elected.

How did Jake Richards win Rother Valley?

He won the seat at the 2024 general election with 16,023 votes (38.5%), beating Conservative Alexander Stafford by a majority of 998 votes. It was a Labour gain from the Conservatives.

Is Jake Richards married to Liz Bates?

Yes. He is married to Liz Bates, the former Sky News political correspondent, whose biography is published on Presslix.

Where did Jake Richards study?

He read History at Somerville College, Oxford, after Highgate School and Woodhouse College, and completed the Bar Professional Training Course at City, University of London.

More on Presslix

• Dan Johnson: BBC West and South West Correspondent, Career and Reporting Explained
• Liz Bates: Sky News Political Correspondent, Career and Westminster Reporting Explained
• Biography

Sources and Further Reading

• Jake Richards (politician) — Wikipedia
• GOV.UK — Jake Richards ministerial biography: reappointment 22 July 2026; previous roles.
• UK Parliament — Jake Richards parliamentary career and register of interests: MP since 4 July 2024; Home Affairs Committee; Deka Chambers.
• Deka Chambers — Jake Richards barrister profile: called 2017; practice areas; not practising since election.
• BBC News — Rother Valley general election results 2024: 16,023 votes; majority 998.
• LabourList — Dominic Beck stands down as Labour candidate for Rother Valley, December 2022.
• Politico — Britain’s political power couples, 2023: marriage to Liz Bates.
• The Guardian, December 2025 — Justice Questions exchange on Palestine Action hunger strikers.