Polly Billington

{{Infobox MP

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| name = Polly Billington

| honorific_suffix = MP

| image = Official portrait of Polly Billington MP crop 2.jpg

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| caption = Official portrait, 2024

| constituency_MP = East Thanet

| parliament = United Kingdom

| majority = 6,971 (16.3%)

| term_start = 4 July 2024

| term_end =

| predecessor = Craig Mackinlay
(South Thanet{{efn|The South Thanet constituency was renamed "East Thanet" at the 2024 general election, with moderate boundary changes.{{Cite web |title=The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South East |url=https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/2023-review-volume-one-report/the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-england-volume-one-report-south-east/page/6/ |access-date=28 September 2024 |website=boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk}}{{cite web|url=https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/bdy2023_seast_summary.html|title=South East: New Constituency Boundaries 2023|access-date=28 September 2024|website=Electoral Calculus}}}})

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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1967|11}}

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| party = Labour Party

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| alma_mater = University of Sussex (BA)

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Polly Billington (born 1967) is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament for East Thanet since 2024.

Prior to her election she was an environmental campaigner and had worked as a broadcast journalist for the BBC before becoming a special advisor to Ed Miliband. She was the media director for his successful bid in the 2010 Labour leadership election.{{cite web |url=http://whoknowswho.channel4.com/people/Polly_Billington |title=Channel Four, Who Knows Who |access-date=21 February 2011}} In 2016 she founded the climate politics network UK100.{{cite web |url=https://www.uk100.org | title=UK100 | access-date=9 February 2021}}

Education

Billington was educated at the Ursuline High School, Wimbledon, an all-girls Catholic school. She studied history and French at Sussex University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1990.{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Stephanie |title=UK General Election sees two Sussex alumni join new Labour Cabinet and a further ten alumni elected to Parliament |url=https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/65031 |website=The University of Sussex |access-date=6 November 2024 |language=en |date=14 August 2024}} She then undertook a postgraduate diploma in broadcast journalism at the department of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Central Lancashire in 1993.{{cite web |url=http://ukjournalism.co.uk/2007/01/graduate-returns-for-the-enewsbeat-challenge/ |title=University of Central Lancashire, Graduate returns for the Newsbeat challenge |access-date=21 February 2011}}

Professional career

Billington was a BBC reporter for the Today programme, News 24, the 'Politics Show' 'Newsbeat and on Radio 1 as the first dedicated Political Reporter for Newsbeat.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=MEDIA: Billington on political form at Radio 1 |url=https://www.prweek.com/article/108380/media-billington-political-form-radio-1?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=www.prweek.com |language=en}}

Billington was the Head of Communications and Campaigns at Citizens Advice from January 2013 to January 2015, coordinating campaigns on energy, welfare and payday loans, before resigning to fight the highly marginal three-way contest of Thurrock at the general election.{{cite web |url=https://www.prweek.com/article/1159582/citizens-advice-hires-top-labour-adviser-polly-billington|title=Citizen Advice hires Top Labour advisor Polly Billington |access-date=27 February 2013}}

Billington founded UK100 in 2016, a network for UK locally elected leaders who have pledged to switch to 100% clean energy by 2050.{{cite web |url=https://www.uk100.org/about#members | title=UK100 members | access-date=9 February 2021}} She served as the CEO until February 2023 when she was selected as a parliamentary candidate.{{cite web |url=https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2023/02/27/labours-polly-billington-selected-to-fight-for-current-south-thanet-seat-in-next-general-election|title=Labour's Polly Billington selected to fight for current South Thanet seat in next General Election

|date=27 February 2023

|access-date=27 February 2023}}

Billington received the Business Green Leader of the Year Award in 2023, for her "inspirational role in establishing UK100 as one of the most respected and important voices on climate policy in the UK".{{cite web |url=https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4119130/uk-green-business-awards-winners-announced|title=UK Green Business Awards: And the winner is...|date=30 June 2023 |access-date=30 June 2023}}

Politico Europe reported in May 2023 that Billington had accepted a Senior Adviser role at the PR lobbying firm Hanover Communications - in their election planning team.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-25 |title=London Influence: Hanover's Labour grab — Open government latest — Meet Ridgeway |url=https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/politico-london-influence/hanovers-labour-grab-open-government-latest-meet-ridgeway-2/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}

Politics

Billington became a special adviser to Ed Miliband in 2007 when he was working on party policy and election strategy in the Cabinet Office{{cite web |url=http://network.civilservicelive.com/pg/pages/view/263191 |title=Civil Service Live Network |access-date=21 February 2011}} and according to The Daily Telegraph she was the 59th most influential person on the UK left in 2011.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/8787641/The-Top-100-Most-Influential-People-on-the-Left-2011-51-75.html | title=The Top 100 Most Influential People on the Left 2011: 51–75 | access-date=21 February 2011}}

She was the media director for Ed Miliband's successful Labour leadership bid.{{cite web |url=http://whoknowswho.channel4.com/people/Polly_Billington |title=Channel Four, Who Knows Who | access-date=21 February 2011}}

In December 2011, Billington was selected for Thurrock,{{Cite web |last=Ferguson |first=Mark |date=2011-12-03 |title=Thurrock PPC selected |url=https://labourlist.org/2011/12/thurrock-ppc-selected/ |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=LabourList |language=en-GB}} a marginal seat. She was one of 15 Labour candidates each given financial support of £10,000 by Lord Matthew Oakeshott in January 2015.{{cite news|title=Former Lib Dem Lord Oakeshott donates £300,000 to Labour candidates|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/01/former-lib-dem-lord-oakeshott-donates-300000-labour-candidates|access-date=1 February 2015|work=New Statesman|date=21 January 2015}} The tight three-way contest resulted in a Tory hold by 536 votes over Billington with UKIP coming third.{{Cite web |date=2015-05-07 |title=Election results for Thurrock, 7 May 2015 |url=https://democracy.thurrock.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=232 |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=democracy.thurrock.gov.uk}}

Billington worked on Sadiq Khan's campaign to be selected as Labour's mayoral candidate for London, leading on communications.{{cite web | url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/05/whos-who-team-sadiq | title=Who's who on Team Sadiq | date=22 May 2015 }} She was one of two Labour Party councillors elected to De Beauvoir ward in the 2018 Hackney London Borough Council election, with 1,448 votes.{{cite web | title = Borough councillors election 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180507161338/https://www.hackney.gov.uk/councillor-election-2018 | archive-date = 7 May 2018 | url = https://www.hackney.gov.uk/councillor-election-2018 | website = hackney.gov.uk | publisher = Hackney Council | date = 4 May 2018 | access-date = 7 May 2018}} She was reelected in 2022, with 1,400 votes.{{cite web | title = Council election results | url = https://hackney.gov.uk/council-elections | website = hackney.gov.uk | publisher = Hackney Council | date = 6 May 2022 }}

Billington has served as an Executive Member of SERA, Labour's Environment Campaign{{Cite news|url=http://www.sera.org.uk/executive_committee|title=SERA's 2016/17 Executive Committee|work=SERA - Labour's Environment Campaign|access-date=2017-06-20}} and is on the advisory group of Labour Climate and Environment Forum.{{cite web |url=https://lcef.co.uk/who-we-are|title=LCEF who we are

}}

On 24 February 2023 she was selected by local Labour party members as the parliamentary candidate for East Thanet at the 2024 general election.{{Cite web |last=Neame |first=Katie |date=2023-02-27 |title=Two more local Labour Parties select their next parliamentary candidates |url=https://labourlist.org/2023/02/two-more-local-labour-parties-select-their-next-parliamentary-candidates/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=LabourList {{!}} Latest UK Labour Party news, analysis and comment |language=en-GB}} She was elected in the general election on 4 July 2024.{{Cite web |last=Bowles |first=Millie |date=2024-07-04 |title=East Thanet general election full results |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/polls-predict-towns-first-labour-seat-in-14-years-309279/ |access-date=2024-07-05 |language=en-GB}}

She is LGBT+ and received support from the Chris Smith List.{{Cite web |title=The Chris Smith List |url=https://www.lgbtlabour.org.uk/chrissmithlist |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=LGBT+ Labour |language=en}}