Paula Barker
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|
Paula Barker | |
|---|---|
 Barker in 2019 | |
| Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019[1] | |
| Preceded by | Luciana Berger |
| Majority | 31,310 (72.2%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Liverpool, England[2] |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Mike Barker |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | vote |
Paula Barker is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Wavertree since 2019.
Before election, Mrs Barker was a Unison trade union official as the North West Regional Convenor as well as the leader of her local government branch in Halton, Cheshire.
Early life and education
Paula Barker was born at Sefton General Hospital in Wavertree, Liverpool. Her dad was diagnosed with cancer and died two weeks before her second birthday, leaving her mum to raise her as a single parent. She attended Holly Lodge Girls' High School in West Derby, Liverpool.
Early career
Paula Barker was employed in local government for almost 30 years – ever since she left school. After leaving school she joined Liverpool City Council on a Youth Training Scheme in the Human Resources Department. Soon after, she moved to a permanent position in the Building Maintenance & Repairs Department. On day one of her employment she went and found the union rep and joined NALGO. Within the first year of work she was balloted for industrial action and joined colleagues on the picket line.
She eventually moved from Liverpool City Council for a promotion at neighbouring Knowsley Council to work in Customer Services where she spent around four years. In around 2001 she joined Halton Borough Council where she progressively became more active in her trade union, UNISON. She held a variety of roles in her local branch before becoming Branch Secretary and then for the last 5 years prior to her election to Parliament she was the North West Regional Convenor for UNISON, the most senior lay official for the union. In this role she constantly has championed workers rights for the 200,000 plus members she represented[3][4][5]
Political career
Paula Barker voted for Jeremy Corbyn in both his leadership campaigns. She was the first major trade union official to publicly back Jeremy Corbyn's original leadership campaign in 2015.[6]
Her candidacy to be Labour candidate for Liverpool Wavertree was backed by all the major trade unions, including Unite and Unison.[7] She was elected in the 2019 general election, winning 31,310 votes. This represented 72.2% of the vote.[8]
She is a member of Labour's Socialist Campaign Group.[citation needed]
Paula Barker made her maiden speech on 4 February 2020 becoming one of the first of the new MPs from the 2019 general election to do so. In it she paid tribute to her predecessor and outlined the rich diversity of the Liverpool Wavertree constituency whilst also pointing out to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government that it is local representatives who know what is best for their constituencies.[9]
Since that maiden speech, Barker has called upon the Government to enact meaningful reform of the coail care market[10]. She also sponsored the Private Members Bill put forward by Mike Amesbury MP (Weaver Vale) on proposed changes to the law regarding school uniforms. [https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-13/debates/5B43E213-2C7C-44F7-85BD-C275A27F8B14/Education(GuidanceAboutCostsOfSchoolUniforms)Bill?highlight=paula%20barker#contribution-C053E74C-43C9-448D-8ED7-BB09133EE6BA
She is a member of the Justice Select Committee on behalf of the Labour Party.[11]
References
- ^ https://members.parliament.uk/member/4828/contact
- ^ "PAULA BARKER". Liverpool Echo.
- ^ "A blog from our Regional Convenor, Paula Barker". Unison North West.
- ^ "The core ideals of trade unionism endure from one generation to the next". Morning Star. 2 June 2018.
- ^ "The Peterloo protesters had liberated their own minds from apathy and fear". Morning Star. 16 August 2019.
- ^ Clay-LE, Oliver (7 August 2015). "Unison branch secretary for Halton takes centre stage with Labour contender as Corbynmania lands in North West". Liverpool Echo.
- ^ "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". PoliticsHome.com. 16 December 2019.
- ^ "Liverpool Wavertree parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Rating and Valuation - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "Social Care - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "Justice Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
External links
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- 1972 births
- Living people
- Politicians from Liverpool
- 21st-century British women politicians
- Councillors in Liverpool
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies
- UK MPs 2019–