Laura Pidcock

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Laura Pidcock
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights[a]
In office
12 January 2018 – 12 December 2019
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byJack Dromey
Succeeded byRachael Maskell
Member of Parliament
for North West Durham
In office
8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byPat Glass
Succeeded byRichard Holden
National Secretary of the People's Assembly Against Austerity
Assumed office
2020
Personal details
Born (1987-08-19) 19 August 1987 (age 36)
North Shields, England, UK
Political partyLabour
Children1
Residence(s)Lanchester, England, UK
Alma materManchester Metropolitan University
Northumbria University
ProfessionPolitician

Laura Pidcock (born 19 August 1987) is a British former Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Durham from 2017 until 2019, when she lost her seat.[1] She served as Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet.[2] In the 2019 parliamentary election, she lost her seat to the Conservative Richard Holden, who won the constituency with a majority of 1,144.

Pidcock was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in November 2020,[3] from which she resigned in January 2022. She is currently the National Secretary of the People's Assembly Against Austerity.[4]

Early life[edit]

Pidcock was born in North Shields, North Tyneside and raised in New Hartley and Seaton Delaval, Northumberland.[5] Her parents were both active in politics. Her mother Mary was a social worker while her father Bernard was an office manager[6] who was a member of Northumberland County Council from 2008 until his death in February 2019.[7] Pidcock recollects, at the age of 3, attending demonstrations with her parents against then-Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and against the apartheid system in South Africa.[8] 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".[9]

Career[edit]

She studied politics at Manchester Metropolitan University,[10] and was a mental health support worker before working within, then managing, the education team at anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card.[10] She completed an MSc in Disaster Management and Sustainable Development at Northumbria University in 2012, with research focusing on children's institutions in Bulgaria.[11]

Pidcock was councillor for Cramlington Eastfield division on Northumberland County Council until she lost her seat to the Conservative Party candidate in the 2017 local elections.[10]

Parliamentary career[edit]

Only weeks prior to the 2017 United Kingdom general election, Pidcock was selected to stand for Labour in North West Durham, when the previous MP, Pat Glass, stood down.[12]

A feminist,[13] 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".[14] Her speech was shared over 200,000 times on social media in 48 hours.[15]

On 12 January 2018, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.[16] Pidcock was later appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights. Pidcock announced at the 2019 TUC that the next Labour Government would create a Ministry for Employment Rights to "bring about the biggest extension of rights for workers that our country has ever seen" to deliver better wages, greater security and give workers more of a say over how their workplaces are run.[17]

Pidcock lost her seat at the 2019 general election. The winning candidate, Richard Holden, subsequently stated that "she represented a branch of the Labour Party that wasn't mainstream, which wasn't what people thought of as traditional Labour and that's what happened tonight".[18] It was the first time the seat had not returned a Labour MP since its creation in 1950.[19]

In July 2020, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards ordered Pidcock to repay more than £3,800 after she used Commons stationery to accuse the government of a "betrayal" over the BBC licence fee for over-75s. Pidcock had sent out more than 5,000 letters in September 2019 accusing the Conservatives of a "welfare cut". She said she used a template from a House of Commons department, but had made some changes. The Commissioner said these changes meant the letter "was no longer neutral and objective". Pidcock said it had been an "honest mistake".[20]

Views[edit]

Pidcock identifies as a socialist, and supported the policies of party leader Jeremy Corbyn.[21] A strong critic of the Conservative Party, she said that "I go to parliament to be a mouthpiece for my constituents and class".[22] She stated in mid-2017 that Tories were "the enemy" and said she was "disgusted at the way they're running this country".[23] Pidcock did not socialise with Conservative MPs[24] and said that she had "absolutely no intention of being friends with any Tories."[25]

Pidcock speaking at the Britain is Broken rally in 2019

She criticised the Conservative government for doing far too little for working-class people, and said that her then constituency had suffered long-term de-industrialisation and lack of investment, leading to significant financial difficulties for many residents. She highlighted the rise in volunteer organisations to help support people who have been left behind by the state.[26] In December 2017, in a Parliamentary question to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, Pidcock condemned delays to payments under the Universal Credit system in the period just before Christmas, "the toughest financial time" for her constituents. She asked, "Is the roll-out a matter of gross incompetence or calculated cruelty?"[27]

She criticised the lack of proxy voting for pregnant women in Parliament, attending a vote in 2018 whilst in the late stages of pregnancy.[28]

Pidcock described climate change as the "biggest issue facing humanity",[29] and spoke at School Strike for Climate demonstrations.[30]

After Parliament[edit]

In early 2020, she led Richard Burgon's unsuccessful campaign to be deputy leader of the Labour Party.[31] That same year Pidcock was appointed as the National Secretary of the People's Assembly Against Austerity.[32][33]

In November 2020, Pidcock was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party.[34]

In a Labour meeting in March 2021, former Deputy Leader Margaret Beckett, who was unaware her microphone was on, called Pidcock a "silly cow". She subsequently apologised to Pidcock and said the remark was unjustifiable.[35]

In January 2022, Pidcock resigned from the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in the wake of the Committee's vote to not restore the Labour whip to Jeremy Corbyn and in critique of decisions taken under Keir Starmer's leadership, commenting that there was "an irreconcilable difference between the actions of the Labour Party as it stands and the principles that underpin the way I have been taught to treat people and my idea of what a political organisation should be for" and that, at multiple levels of organisation, the Party had become "hostile territory for socialists".[4]

In March 2022, Pidcock announced that she would not seek to be reselected as the Labour candidate for North West Durham.[36]

Personal life[edit]

Pidcock's former partner is Daniel Kebede, president of the National Education Union.[37][38][39] They have one son, born in July 2018.[40] In June 2017, Pidcock said she would accept a council house, but there were none available. She claimed that she was unable to afford the deposit for her first home because of her university debt, so she was renting in the private sector.[41] She bought a house jointly with Kebede in September 2018.[42]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Office known as Shadow Minister for Labour until 10 September 2019.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Election 2017: Durham North West". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Labour market abuse widespread – Laura Pidcock responds to the Resolution Foundation's report". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  3. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (13 November 2020). "Labour national executive committee election results released". LabourList. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b Pidcock, Laura (26 January 2022). "Resignation from the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party". Medium. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  6. ^ Bernard Pidock Archived 8 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Companies House. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  7. ^ Councillor Bernard Pidcock Archived 8 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Northumberland County Council. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  8. ^ Chakelian, Anoosh (13 February 2018). "The rapid rise of Laura Pidcock – the Labour MP tipped as a possible successor to Corbyn". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Befriending Laura Pidcock: an interview with a Labour firebrand". The Spectator. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Indicative List of Dissertations for the MSc Disaster Management and Sustainable Development Taught Programme" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Edwards, Peter (27 April 2017). "Unite activist wins key north east selection". LabourList. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Laura Pidcock – House of Commons". Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Corbyn and Pidcock announce Ministry for Employment Rights and Workers' Protection Agency". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  18. ^ Walker, Jonathan (13 December 2019). "North West Durham 2019 election results – full standings, MP and reaction". Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  19. ^ Graham, Hannah (13 December 2019). "See shock moment Laura Pidcock lost North West Durham to the Tories". nechronicle. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Laura Pidcock: Former MP to repay £3k over misused stationery". BBC News. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  21. ^ Segalov, Michael (27 September 2017). "'There's no appetite for the political centre anymore'". Huck. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  22. ^ "I don't want to be friends with any Tories, says Labour MP Laura Pidcock". TotalPolitics.com. 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  23. ^ "Labour MP says she could never be friends with a Tory". The Independent. 24 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  24. ^ "'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. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  25. ^ "Befriending Laura Pidcock: an interview with a Labour firebrand". The Spectator. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "PM rejects Universal Credit roll-out halt despite 'calculated and cruel' delays". 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017.
  28. ^ Walker, Jonathan (13 September 2018). "MPs on maternity leave will be allowed to cast 'proxy votes'". Chronicle Live. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  29. ^ Pidcock, Laura [@LauraPidcockMP] (15 February 2019). "Love & #solidarity to all of the young people striking from school today to demand action from the corporate & political class on the biggest issue facing humanity: climate change. All power to you #ClimateStrike Here's the Durham protest pic.twitter.com/PncBGg8sIB" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 October 2019 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Pidcock, Laura [@LauraPidcockMP] (12 July 2019). "In between the union events I attended today, I managed to drop in on the Climate Emergency #SchoolStrike in the Market Square in Durham. So pleased that these young people are continuing to protest, organise and educate. Keep on building!pic.twitter.com/w3e1ixL4gC" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 October 2019 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ "Richard Burgon denies Laura Pidcock is transphobic". DIVA. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Laura Pidcock teams up with People's Assembly to defy Johnson's Tories". 21 January 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  33. ^ "Left-wing activists plan national Day of Action against Tories' handling of the Covid crisis". Left Foot Forward. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  34. ^ Rodgers, Sienna. "Labour NEC election results boost support for Starmer on ruling body". LabourList. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  35. ^ Scott, Jennifer (12 March 2021). "Labour MP Margaret Beckett apologises over 'silly cow' remark". BBC News. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  36. ^ Laura Pidcock [@LauraPidcock] (8 March 2022). "Obviously, there are much more important things to be thinking about right now, but I just wanted to say this in response to the question about whether I will seek selection to be a candidate for the Labour Party at the next election" (Tweet) – via Twitter..
  37. ^ Roy, Amit (15 February 2018). "Baby test for House". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  38. ^ Robinson, James (2 September 2021). "North East teacher appointed to top job at teacher's union". Evening Chronicle.
  39. ^ Kebede, Daniel [@danielkebedeneu] (7 April 2021). "I have been removed from Labour Party membership apparently, even though I resigned in writing nearly six months ago (this was accepted nationally and locally), for this tweet..
    I was even sent the screenshot...
    Odd way to go on with people who aren't members..."     (Tweet). Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via Twitter.
  40. ^ Pidcock, Laura [@laurapidcockmp] (22 September 2018). "Baby update and thank you" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 October 2019 – via Twitter.
  41. ^ 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.
  42. ^ "My mum bought her council house. Can Laura Pidcock explain why that's wrong?". Spectator. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2020.

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for North West Durham
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
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