Laura Pidcock

Pidcock was born in North Shields, North Tyneside and raised in New Hartley and Seaton Delaval, Northumberland.{{cite news |last=Wearmouth |first=Rachel |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour-mhairi-laura_uk_5995670ee4b0acc593e5578d |title=17 from '17: Labour Firebrand Laura Pidcock Admires Mhairi Black But Says Mum Is Her True Hero |work=Huffington Post UK |date=30 August 2017 |access-date=15 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116081306/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour-mhairi-laura_uk_5995670ee4b0acc593e5578d |archive-date=16 January 2018 |url-status=live}} Her parents were both active in politics. Her mother Mary was a social worker while her father Bernard was an office manager[https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/IhNPmEOj0rfrWkPyZuwmBqzN6yo/appointments Bernard Pidock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408010544/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/IhNPmEOj0rfrWkPyZuwmBqzN6yo/appointments |date=8 April 2018}}, Companies House. Retrieved 7 April 2018. who was a member of Northumberland County Council from 2008 until his death in February 2019.[http://committee.northumberland.gov.uk/Councillor.aspx?cllrID=242 Councillor Bernard Pidcock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408010120/http://committee.northumberland.gov.uk/Councillor.aspx?cllrID=242 |date=8 April 2018 }}, Northumberland County Council. Retrieved 7 April 2018. 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/02/rapid-rise-laura-pidcock-labour-mp-tipped-possible-successor-corbyn |title=The rapid rise of Laura Pidcock – the Labour MP tipped as a possible successor to Corbyn |first=Anoosh |last=Chakelian |work=New Statesman |date=13 February 2018 |accessdate=17 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217202927/https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/02/rapid-rise-laura-pidcock-labour-mp-tipped-possible-successor-corbyn |archive-date=17 February 2018 |url-status=live }} 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".{{cite news |url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/befriending-laura-pidcock-an-interview-with-a-labour-firebrand |title=Befriending Laura Pidcock: an interview with a Labour firebrand |newspaper=The Spectator |date=23 September 2017 |accessdate=17 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004132727/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/befriending-laura-pidcock-an-interview-with-a-labour-firebrand/ |archive-date=4 October 2017 |url-status=live }}

She studied politics at Manchester Metropolitan University,{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Mike |url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/who-laura-pidcock-labour-candidate-13149141 |title=Who is Laura Pidcock the new Labour MP for the North West Durham constituency? |work=The Chronicle Live |date=8 June 2017}} and was a mental health support worker before working within, then managing, the education team at anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card. She completed an MSc in Disaster Management and Sustainable Development at Northumbria University in 2012, with research focusing on children's institutions in Bulgaria.{{Cite web|url=https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/media/6548554/dissertations-for-the-msc-disaster-management-and-sustainable-development.pdf|title=Indicative List of Dissertations for the MSc Disaster Management and Sustainable Development Taught Programme|access-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116131759/https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/media/6548554/dissertations-for-the-msc-disaster-management-and-sustainable-development.pdf|archive-date=16 November 2018|url-status=live}}

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.

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.{{cite news|last1=Mason|first1=Rowena|last2=Elgot|first2=Jessica|title=Labour party to hold emergency selections for constituencies|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/19/labour-emergency-selections-constituencies-national-executive-committee|work=The Guardian|date=19 April 2017|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421083610/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/19/labour-emergency-selections-constituencies-national-executive-committee|archivedate=21 April 2017}}

A feminist,{{cite news|last=Edwards|first=Peter|title=Unite activist wins key north east selection|url=http://labourlist.org/2017/04/unite-activist-wins-key-north-east-selection/|work=LabourList|date =27 April 2017|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802204551/http://labourlist.org/2017/04/unite-activist-wins-key-north-east-selection/|archivedate=2 August 2017}} 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".{{cite news|url=http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/update/2017-06-27/new-north-east-mp-says-parliament-is-archaic-and-reeks-of-the-establishment/|title=New North East MP says Parliament is 'archaic' and 'reeks of the establishment'|publisher=ITV News|date=27 June 2017|accessdate=29 June 2017|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628170841/http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/update/2017-06-27/new-north-east-mp-says-parliament-is-archaic-and-reeks-of-the-establishment/|archivedate=28 June 2017}} Her speech was shared over 200,000 times on social media in 48 hours.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-mp-maiden-speech-laura-pidcock-viral-commons-poverty-archaic-nobody-left-behind-north-west-a7814131.html|title=Labour MP's maiden speech goes viral after she calls on the Commons to fight "the indignity of poverty"|first=Shehab|last=Khan|newspaper=The Independent|date=29 June 2017|accessdate=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217212811/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-mp-maiden-speech-laura-pidcock-viral-commons-poverty-archaic-nobody-left-behind-north-west-a7814131.html|archive-date=17 February 2018|url-status=live}}

On 12 January 2018, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.{{Cite news|url=https://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/laura-pidcock/4665|title=Laura Pidcock – House of Commons|access-date=9 January 2019|language=en-gb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326071740/https://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/laura-pidcock/4665/|archive-date=26 March 2019|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://labour.org.uk/press/corbyn-pidcock-announce-ministry-employment-rights-workers-protection-agency/|title=Corbyn and Pidcock announce Ministry for Employment Rights and Workers' Protection Agency|website=The Labour Party|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018212659/https://labour.org.uk/press/corbyn-pidcock-announce-ministry-employment-rights-workers-protection-agency/|archive-date=18 October 2019|url-status=live}}

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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-west-durham-election-results-17265048|title=North West Durham 2019 election results – full standings, MP and reaction|first=Jonathan|last=Walker|date=13 December 2019|website=Evening Chronicle|access-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213092145/https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-west-durham-election-results-17265048|archive-date=13 December 2019|url-status=live}} It was the first time the seat had not returned a Labour MP since its creation in 1950.{{cite news|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/watch-shock-moment-labours-laura-17414212|title=See shock moment Laura Pidcock lost North West Durham to the Tories|first=Hannah|last=Graham|date=13 December 2019|website=nechronicle|access-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214160114/https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/watch-shock-moment-labours-laura-17414212|archive-date=14 December 2019|url-status=live}}

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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-53321971|date=7 July 2020|website=BBC News|access-date=7 July 2020|title=Laura Pidcock: Former MP to repay £3k over misused stationery}}

Pidcock identifies as a socialist, and supported the policies of party leader Jeremy Corbyn.{{cite news|url=https://www.huckmag.com/perspectives/reportage-2/laura-pidcock/|title='There's no appetite for the political centre anymore'|last1=Segalov|first1=Michael|date=27 September 2017|work=Huck|accessdate=8 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705055900/https://www.huckmag.com/perspectives/reportage-2/laura-pidcock/|archive-date=5 July 2019|url-status=live}} A strong critic of the Conservative Party, she said that "I go to parliament to be a mouthpiece for my constituents and class".{{Cite web|url=https://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/news/i-don%E2%80%99t-want-be-friends-any-tories-says-labour-mp-laura-pidcock|title=I don't want to be friends with any Tories, says Labour MP Laura Pidcock|date=23 August 2017|website=TotalPolitics.com|language=en|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828095636/http://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/news/i-don%E2%80%99t-want-be-friends-any-tories-says-labour-mp-laura-pidcock|archive-date=28 August 2017|url-status=live}} She stated in mid-2017 that Tories were "the enemy" and said she was "disgusted at the way they're running this country".{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/laura-pidcock-labour-mp-tory-never-friends-conservative-party-a7910156.html|title=Labour MP says she could never be friends with a Tory|newspaper=The Independent|date=24 August 2017|accessdate=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209231451/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/laura-pidcock-labour-mp-tory-never-friends-conservative-party-a7910156.html|archive-date=9 February 2018|url-status=live}} Pidcock did not socialise with Conservative MPs{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/21/labour-mp-wont-friends-tories-suggests-mps-having-good-time/|title='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|date=21 September 2017|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217202845/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/21/labour-mp-wont-friends-tories-suggests-mps-having-good-time/|archive-date=17 February 2018|url-status=live}} and said that she had "absolutely no intention of being friends with any Tories."{{cite news|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/befriending-laura-pidcock-an-interview-with-a-labour-firebrand|title=Befriending Laura Pidcock: an interview with a Labour firebrand|newspaper=The Spectator|date=23 September 2017|accessdate=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004132727/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/befriending-laura-pidcock-an-interview-with-a-labour-firebrand/|archive-date=4 October 2017|url-status=live}}

File:Laura Pidcock MP speaking at the Britain is Broken rally (2019).jpg

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.{{cite journal |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2017/08/laura-pidcock-dont-ruin-christmas-pause-rollout-universal-credit |title=Laura Pidcock: don't ruin Christmas – pause the rollout of Universal Credit |journal=New Statesman |date=10 August 2017 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021220444/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2017/08/laura-pidcock-dont-ruin-christmas-pause-rollout-universal-credit |archivedate=21 October 2017}} 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?"{{cite web|url=http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/18/theresa-may-wont-halt-universal-credit-roll-out-despite-calculated-and-cruel-delays-7009362/|title=PM rejects Universal Credit roll-out halt despite 'calculated and cruel' delays|date=18 October 2017|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123010318/http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/18/theresa-may-wont-halt-universal-credit-roll-out-despite-calculated-and-cruel-delays-7009362/|archivedate=23 November 2017}}

She criticised the lack of proxy voting for pregnant women in Parliament, attending a vote in 2018 whilst in the late stages of pregnancy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/mps-maternity-leave-allowed-cast-15148602|title=MPs on maternity leave will be allowed to cast 'proxy votes'|date=13 September 2018|access-date=27 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082959/https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/mps-maternity-leave-allowed-cast-15148602|last=Walker|first=Jonathan|work=Chronicle Live|archive-date=28 January 2019|url-status=live}}

Pidcock described climate change as the "biggest issue facing humanity",{{cite tweet|user=LauraPidcockMP|number=1096436760991723525|title=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|last=Pidcock|first=Laura|access-date=18 October 2019}} and spoke at School Strike for Climate demonstrations.{{cite tweet|user=LauraPidcockMP|number=1149817986007666688|title=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|last=Pidcock|first=Laura|access-date=18 October 2019}}

In 2020, Torr Robinson writing for Tribune said that Pidcock "has alarmed many by her repeated use of transphobic dog-whistles and talking points in various articles and public appearances".{{cite web |last= Robinson |first= Torr |date= 11 February 2020 |title= For Trans Liberation |url= https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/02/the-labour-campaign-for-trans-rights/ |website= Tribune |access-date= 12 June 2025}}

In early 2020, she led Richard Burgon's unsuccessful campaign to be deputy leader of the Labour Party.{{Cite web|date=21 February 2020|title=Richard Burgon denies Laura Pidcock is transphobic|url=https://divamag.co.uk/2020/02/21/richard-burgon-denies-laura-pidcock-is-transphobic/|access-date=2 July 2020|website=DIVA|language=en-GB}} That same year Pidcock was appointed as the National Secretary of the People's Assembly Against Austerity.{{Cite web|title=Laura Pidcock teams up with People's Assembly to defy Johnson's Tories|date=21 January 2020 |url=https://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/laura-pidcock-teams-up-with-peoples-assembly-to-defy-johnsons-tories/|access-date=2020-11-24|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2020-09-22|title=Left-wing activists plan national Day of Action against Tories' handling of the Covid crisis|url=https://leftfootforward.org/2020/09/left-wing-activists-plan-national-day-of-action-against-tories-handling-of-the-covid-crisis/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=Left Foot Forward|language=en-GB}}

In November 2020, Pidcock was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party.{{cite web|last=Rodgers|first=Sienna|title=Labour NEC election results boost support for Starmer on ruling body|url=https://labourlist.org/2020/11/labour-national-executive-committee-election-results-released/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=LabourList|date=13 November 2020 |language=en-GB}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56376710|title=Labour MP Margaret Beckett apologises over 'silly cow' remark|last=Scott|first=Jennifer|date=12 March 2021|accessdate=8 April 2021|publisher=BBC News}}

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".

In March 2022, Pidcock announced that she would not seek to be reselected as the Labour candidate for North West Durham.{{Cite tweet |user=LauraPidcock |author=Laura Pidcock |number=1501316360168632320 |title=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}}

Pidcock's former partner is Daniel Kebede, president of the National Education Union.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/baby-test-for-house/cid/1463517|work=The Telegraph|date=15 February 2018|last=Roy|first=Amit|accessdate=2 October 2019|title=Baby test for House}}{{cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=James |title=North Tyneside teacher Daniel Kebede appointed president of the NEU|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/neu-president-daniel-kebede-tyneside-21466333 |website=Evening Chronicle |date=2 September 2021}}{{cite tweet|last=Kebede|first=Daniel|user=danielkebedeneu|number=1379820276893024261|title=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....|access-date=8 April 2021|language=en}} They have one son, born in July 2018.{{cite tweet|number=1043512046850134017|first=Laura|last=Pidcock|user=laurapidcockmp|date=22 September 2018|title=Baby update and thank you|accessdate=2 October 2019}} In June 2017, Pidcock said she would accept a council house, but there were none available. She said 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.{{cite news|last=Wearmouth|first=Rachel|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/pidcock-council-housing_uk_594cc184e4b02734df298d59|title=Labour MP Laura Pidcock 'Would Love A Council House' But Says There Are None|work=HuffPost|date=23 June 2017|accessdate=3 February 2018|url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913214318/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/pidcock-council-housing_uk_594cc184e4b02734df298d59 |archivedate=13 September 2017}} She bought a house jointly with Kebede in September 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-mum-bought-her-council-house-can-laura-pidcock-explain-why-that-s-wrong-|title=My mum bought her council house. Can Laura Pidcock explain why that's wrong?|work=Spectator|date=10 March 2018|accessdate=16 April 2020}}

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Category:1987 births

Category:Living people

Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies

Category:UK MPs 2017–2019

Category:21st-century British women politicians

Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies

Category:Members of Northumberland County Council

Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors

Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University

Category:People from Cramlington

Category:English socialists

Category:British socialist feminists

Category:People from Lanchester, County Durham

Category:People from North Shields

Category:Politicians from Tyne and Wear

Category:People from Seaton Delaval

Category:Women councillors in England

Category:Politicians from County Durham