A by-election was held for the United Kingdom House of Commons constituency of South Shields on 2 May 2013. It was triggered by the resignation of David Miliband, the previous Member of Parliament (MP) and former Foreign Secretary, who had held the seat for Labour since 2001. The by-election coincided with local elections across England.

David Wright Miliband is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a British Labour Party former politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Shields in North East England from 2001 to 2013. He and his brother, Ed, were the first siblings to sit in the Cabinet simultaneously since Lord Edward and Oliver Stanley in 1938. He was a candidate for Labour Party leadership in 2010, following the departure of Gordon Brown, but was defeated by his brother and subsequently left politics.