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Laura Pidcock

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Laura Pidcock
MP
Shadow Minister for Labour
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 January 2018
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byJack Dromey
Member of Parliament
for North West Durham
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 June 2017
Preceded byPat Glass
Majority8,792 (18.3%)
Personal details
Born (1987-08-19) 19 August 1987 (age 37)
North Shields, England
Political partyLabour
Residence(s)Lanchester, England
Alma materManchester Metropolitan University
OccupationMental health support worker
ProfessionPolitician
Websitefacebook.com/LauraPidcockMP/

Laura Pidcock (born 19 August 1987) is a British Labour Party politician. She has been the Shadow Minister for Labour since 2018 and the Member of Parliament for North West Durham since the 2017 snap election.[1]

Early life and career

Pidcock was born in North Shields, North Tyneside and raised in New Hartley and Seaton Delaval, Northumberland.[2] Her parents were both active in politics. Her mother Mary was a social worker while her father Bernard was an office manager[3] who has sat on Northumberland County Council since 2008.[4] As a young child, she attended demonstrations with her parents against the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and against apartheid.[5] Pidcock has stated, "From a very, very young age I was taught to see everything through a political lens and through a class lens," and that at school she was known as "the political one" and a "swot."[6]

She studied politics at Manchester Metropolitan University,[7] and was a mental health support worker before working within, then managing, the education team at anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card.[7] Pidcock was a councillor on Northumberland County Council until losing her seat in 2017.[7]

Parliamentary career

Only weeks prior to the 2017 UK general election, Pidcock was selected to stand for Labour in the safe seat of North West Durham, when the previous MP, Pat Glass stood down.[8]

A feminist,[9] she said in her maiden speech, that the Palace of Westminster dated from "a time when my class and my sex would have been denied a place in it, because we are deemed unworthy".[10] Her speech was well-received by many and shared over 200,000 times on social media.[11] On 12 January 2018, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Labour.[12]

Politics

Pidcock is a strong critic of the incumbent Conservative government. She attracted attention in mid-2017 for calling them "the enemy" and saying she was "disgusted at the way they’re running this country".[13] Pidcock has also stated she has "absolutely no intention of being friends with any Tories."[14]

She maintains the government is doing far too little for poor people, and that her constituency has suffered long-term deindustrialisation and a lack of investment, leading to significant financial difficulties for many residents. During her surgeries, people have complained that the government does not care and has broken off support. She has highlighted the rise in volunteer organisations to help support people who she feels have been left behind by the state.[15]

On Universal Credit Pidcock condemned the rollout just before Christmas when poor people's budgets are very tight. She asked, ‘My question for the Prime Minister is this. Is the roll-out a matter of gross incompetence or calculated cruelty?’[16]

In June 2017, Pidcock raised the issue of social housing saying she would accept a council house, but there were none available and was renting in the private sector. She was unable to afford the deposit for her first home, despite her MP's salary, because of university debt.[17]

Pidcock supports the policies of party leader Jeremy Corbyn. She supports Britain leaving the European Union; her constituency voted strongly to leave and she said after her election that, “people were suffering even within that structure... Why would anybody vote for things to stay the same when their life is crap? Or it feels crap?”.[5] She has been tipped as a future party leader, though she has said she is more interested in grass-root politics.[5] She socialises little with MPs, preferring to spend time in her constituency where possible.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Election 2017: Durham North West". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Wearmouth, Rachel (30 August 2017). "17 from '17: Labour Firebrand Laura Pidcock Admires Mhairi Black But Says Mum Is Her True Hero". Huffington Post UK.
  3. ^ Bernard Pidock, Companies House. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  4. ^ Councillor Bernard Pidcock, Northumberland County Council. Retrieved 7 April 2018.]
  5. ^ a b c Chakelian, Anoosh (13 February 2018). "The rapid rise of Laura Pidcock – the Labour MP tipped as a possible successor to Corbyn". New Statesman. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Befriending Laura Pidcock: an interview with a Labour firebrand". The Spectator. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Kelly, Mike (8 June 2017). "Who is Laura Pidcock the new Labour MP for the North West Durham constituency?". The Chronicle Live.
  8. ^ Mason, Rowena; Elgot, Jessica (19 April 2017). "Labour party to hold emergency selections for constituencies". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Edwards, Peter (27 April 2017). "Unite activist wins key north east selection". LabourList. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "New North East MP says Parliament is 'archaic' and 'reeks of the establishment'". ITV News. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Khan, Shehab (29 June 2017). "Labour MP's maiden speech goes viral after she calls on the Commons to fight "the indignity of poverty"". The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Clive Lewis has been reappointed to the Labour frontbench in a reshuffle". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Labour MP says she could never be friends with a Tory". The Independent. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Befriending Laura Pidcock: an interview with a Labour firebrand". The Spectator. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Laura Pidcock: don't ruin Christmas – pause the rollout of Universal Credit". New Statesman. 10 August 2017. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017.
  16. ^ "PM rejects Universal Credit roll-out halt despite 'calculated and cruel' delays". 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Wearmouth, Rachel (23 June 2017). "Labour MP Laura Pidcock 'Would Love A Council House' But Says There Are None". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "'I don't know if other MPs are all off having a good time': Labour MP who 'won't be friends with Tories' speaks of why she finds it hard to socialise in Parliament". The Daily Telegraph. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for North West Durham
2017–present 		Incumbent

Template:North East Labour Party MPs

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