Matt Rodda Takes New Role in Parliament

Matt Rodda, Labour MP for Reading Central and Reading's most senior serving MP, has been appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Baroness Angela Smith, the Leader of the House of Lords.

He said: "I am delighted to have been appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Baroness Angela Smith, the Leader of the House of Lords."

Mr Rodda will serve as an unpaid assistant, supporting parliamentary duties and communication between the frontbench and backbench MPs and Lords.

Mrs Smith has been the Leader of the House of Lords since July 2024. The biggest reform of her tenure has been the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, which officially ended the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in Parliament. The Lords have also delayed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which failed to pass Parliament in April after a minority of peers submitted more than 1,200 proposed amendments.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter