About
In Parliament
I was elected as MP for Liverpool West Derby on 12 December 2019, with 34,117 votes, 77.6% of the vote share.
I currently sit on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee which scrutinises the policy, administration and spending of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
I also sit on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee which scrutinises the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Both committees are made up of MPs from across the House of Commons and you can follow the work of these committees on their websites:
· Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee Website Link
MP of the Year
In March 2022 I was named MP of The Year at the prestigious Patchwork Foundation MP Awards in Parliament. At a ceremony in Westminster hosted and presented by Patchwork Patron, Mr Speaker, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, I was “honoured and humbled” to win Overall MP of The Year, the foundation’s top honour.
Hillsborough Law Now Campaign
I am immensely proud to Chair the Hillsborough Law Now Campaign in Parliament, launching it on Tuesday 19 July 2022 with support from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and Liverpool Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle.
The inaugural Parliamentary meeting of the campaign heard from campaigners on Hillsborough, Grenfell, Blood Contamination, Covid-19 Bereavement, Nuclear Test veterans and from fellow Parliamentarians and legal experts.
You can find more information at Hillsborough Law Now Campaign
Fans Supporting Foodbanks
In 2015 I co-founded Fans Supporting Foodbanks, a volunteer community initiative by football fans to tackle food poverty in Liverpool.
Formed by representatives of Everton FC and Liverpool FC supporters’ groups; myself from Liverpool’s Spirit of Shankly and Dave Kelly and Robbie Daniels of Everton Supporters Trust.
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, food collections took place outside every home game at Anfield and Goodison Park and during the last four Premier League seasons, fans of Liverpool FC, Everton FC and visiting teams have provided more than 30% of donations to North Liverpool foodbanks.
Following the suspension of the football season in March 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, the group set up an online donation page to enable fans who wish to continue to donate, but are no longer able to donate in person, to do so. From an initial target of £10,000 this online fundraising effort now stands at an incredible total of £150,000 from nearly 3000 donations.
During the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fans Supporting Foodbanks also worked in partnership with a range of people to scale up food distribution in Liverpool and co-ordinate local efforts to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline NHS and care workers.
Follow Fans Supporting Foodbanks on social media at Twitter @SFoodbanks and Facebook @FansSupportingFoodbanks.