Sharon Hodgson
Sharon Hodgson | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition | |
| Assumed office 14 May 2021 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Carolyn Harris |
| Shadow Minister for Veterans | |
| In office 10 April 2020 – 14 May 2021 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Gerald Jones |
| Succeeded by | Stephanie Peacock |
| Shadow Minister for Public Health | |
| In office 10 October 2016 – 9 April 2020 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Andrew Gwynne |
| Succeeded by | Alex Norris |
| Shadow Minister for Children and Families | |
| In office 14 September 2015 – 27 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Alison McGovern |
| Succeeded by | Emma Lewell-Buck |
| In office 8 October 2010 – 7 October 2013 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Lucy Powell |
| Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities | |
| In office 7 October 2013 – 14 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Kate Green |
| Succeeded by | Cat Smith |
| Member of Parliament for Washington and Sunderland West Gateshead East and Washington West (2005–10) | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Joyce Quin |
| Majority | 3,723 (9.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 April 1966 Gateshead, County Durham, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Alan Hodgson[1] |
| Website | Official website |
Sharon Hodgson (born 1 April 1966) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Washington and Sunderland West, previously Gateshead East and Washington West, since 2005.
Hodgson was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer, in May 2021, and has served in various front bench roles under Labour leaders Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.
Early life[]
Hodgson was born in Gateshead, County Durham and was educated locally at Greenwell Junior High School and Heathfield Senior High School, where she obtained eight O-Levels. After leaving school, she worked as an accounts clerk in the Team Valley, then attended Newcastle College and the Trades Union Congress Academy in London.[2]
Hodgson later worked for Northern Rock in Gosforth, and then as a payroll and accounting clerk for local companies. After being a full-time mother for a few years in the mid-1990s, and volunteering for the Labour Party in Stockton-on-Tees during the 1997 general election campaign, she became a party organiser in 1999.
In 2000, she became the local Party organiser for two years in the Mitcham and Morden constituency, helping the sitting Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh to be re-elected at the 2001 general election. Before her election to Parliament, Hodgson worked as Labour Link Officer for UNISON.
She was elected for two years as the women's officer within the Tyne Bridge Constituency Labour Party (CLP) in 1998. In 2002, she was elected as the secretary of the Mitcham and Morden CLP in the London Borough of Merton.
Parliamentary career[]
In 2004, Hodgson was chosen as the official Labour candidate for Gateshead East and Washington West at the 2005 general election. Her selection followed the retirement of the sitting Labour MP Joyce Quin, and came about as a result of an all-woman shortlist.[3] Hodgson held the seat with a majority of 13,407 votes, and gave her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 25 May 2005.[4]
Following boundary changes, the constituency of Gateshead East and Washington West was abolished and replaced by two new seats, Gateshead and Washington and Sunderland West at the 2010 general election. David Clelland, then MP for Tyne Bridge, was chosen in December 2006 by Labour Party members to become the candidate for the Gateshead constituency at the next general election.
Following her failure to be selected for the Gateshead seat, Hodgson announced her intention to run for selection as the Labour Party candidate for the new Washington and Sunderland West seat in September 2007, and she was selected. She was elected as the MP for that seat in the 2010 general election with a majority of 11,458.[5]
In Parliament, she has served on several select committees since her election in 2005, including the North East Regional Committee and the Children Schools and Families Committee. She has also served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Liam Byrne in the Home Office, Bob Ainsworth at the Ministry of Defence and Dawn Primarolo at the Department of Health. In June 2009, Hodgson was promoted to the position of assistant Government Whip.[6]
In opposition, the then Leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband, appointed Hodgson to the Shadow Children and Families Office in October 2010.[7] She resigned from the role and supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.[8] Three months later, in October 2016, she was appointed the Shadow Minister for Public Health.[9] In Keir Starmer's first opposition frontbench, Hodgson was appointed Shadow Minister for Veterans. In May 2021 Starmer appointed Hodgson his parliamentary private secretary.[10]
Affiliations[]
Hodgson is a vice-chair of lobby group Labour Friends of Israel.[11][12]
References[]
- ^ "The Register of Members' Financial Interests: Part 2". House of Commons. 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.
- ^ "Westminster dream of a working class girl". Darlington and Stockton Times. 5 July 2004. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014.
- ^ "All-women shortlists" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 21 October 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2012.
- ^ "The Economy and Welfare Reform". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 25 May 2005. col. 803–806. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017.
- ^ "Washington & Sunderland West". BBC News. 6 May 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Mrs Sharon Hodgson MP". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "Labour Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ Price, Daniel (11 October 2016). "Wearside MP Sharon Hodgson 'honoured' after returning to shadow cabinet – three months after resigning". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ Stewart, Heather (14 May 2021). "Keir Starmer appoints northern MP to build bridges with backbenchers". Tthe Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "MPs flock to support Labour Israel group". The Jewish Chronicle. 22 September 2016.
- ^ Harpin, Lee (7 August 2019). "Dame Louise Ellman becomes new Labour Friends of Israel chair". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
External links[]
- Official website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
Authority control  |
|---|
- 1966 births
- Living people
- People from Gateshead
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Labour Friends of Israel
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- UK MPs 2010–2015
- UK MPs 2015–2017
- UK MPs 2017–2019
- 21st-century British women politicians
- UK MPs 2019–present
- 21st-century English women
- 21st-century English people