Hannah Kitching, Baroness Kitching of Penistone

The Right Honourable
The Baroness Kitching of Penistone
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Life peerage
2 September 2026
Personal details
BornHannah Ruth Kitching
PartyLiberal Democrats

Hannah Ruth Kitching, Baroness Kitching of Penistone is a British businesswoman, local government politician, and former physiotherapist.

Political career

From 2018 to 2026, she was a Liberal Democrat councillor on Barnsley Council, rising to become leader of the opposition. She stood as the Liberal Democratic candidate for Mayor of the Sheffield City Region in the 2018 mayoral election, and for the now named Mayor of South Yorkshire in the 2024 mayoral election. She has also stood unsuccessfully to be elected a Member of Parliament in the Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency in the 2019 general election, receiving 5,054 votes (10.2%), and in the Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton constituency in the 2024 general election, receiving 1,271 votes (3.3%).

In the July 2026 political peerages, it was announced that she was to be made a life peer and would sit in the House of Lords for the Liberal Democrats. She was created as Baroness Kitching of Penistone, of Penistone in the County of South Yorkshire on 2 September 2026.

References

  1. ↑ "Five new Lib Dem peers". www.libdems.org.uk. 2026. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Who is Hannah Kitching? Meet the Lib Dem candidate for South Yorkshire mayor". The Sheffield Star. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Who is Liberal Democrat South Yorkshire mayor candidate Hannah Kitching?". BBC News. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton - General election results 2024". BBC News. 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton - General election results 2024". BBC News. 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Political Peerages July 2026". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "No. 65172". The London Gazette. 7 September 2026. p. 17446.