Julie Elliott, Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (born 29 July 1963), is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Sunderland Central Sunderland Central is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. It is represented by the Labour Party ...

from 2010 to 2024. Elliott served as Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change from 2013 to 2015, with specific responsibility for renewable energy, the Green Investment Bank, and skills and supply chain issues. She was a member of the European Scrutiny; Business, Innovation and Skills; Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; and Regulatory Reform Committees. Elliott stood down as an MP at the 2024 general election and was subsequently appointed to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in 2025.

Early life and education

Julie Elliott was born in Whitburn, Sunderland, on 29 July 1963. Her father, Harold, served as an apprentice

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

at Sunderland Shipbuilders before working as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

striker at Wearmouth Colliery. Elliott was educated at Seaham Northlea Comprehensive School, and later gained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in government and public policy at Newcastle Polytechnic.

Professional career

Elliott served as a

school governor In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions: *Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction *Holding the headteacher to account for th ...

for Whitburn Comprehensive from 1991 to 2004, including a stint as chair. She also served as a governor at primary schools across Sunderland and

South Tyneside South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear: Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the north and Newcastl ...

. She worked for the National Asthma Campaign in 1998 and 1999 as a regional organiser. From 1999 to 2010, Elliott became a regional organizer for the trade union GMB, responsible for political matters, representing members in employment tribunals and regional pay negotiations.

Political career

House of Commons

Elliott became a member of the Labour Party in 1984 and worked as a regional organizer from 1993 to 1998. She served as an

election agent An election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent by those running the election. The term is most used in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some ...

for

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

at the 1997 general election. Elected as MP for Sunderland Central at the 2010 general election with a majority of 6,725, Elliott served on the

European Scrutiny Committee The European Scrutiny Committee was a Select committee (United Kingdom), select committee of the British House of Commons, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Following Britain's withdrawal from the European Union in January ...

and the

Business, Innovation and Skills Committee The Business and Trade Select Committee is a Parliamentary select committees of the United Kingdom, select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committ ...

. In October 2013, Elliott became a shadow minister for the Department for Energy and Climate Change, with specific responsibility for

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

. She also served as the parliamentary private secretary to

Caroline Flint Caroline Louise Flint (born 20 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet as Minister for Housing and Planning in ...

. Elliott was re-elected as MP for Sunderland Central at the 2015 general election with an increased majority of 11,179 votes. Following her departure from the frontbench in September 2015, she became a member of the

Culture, Media and Sport Committee The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, formerly the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, is one of the Select committee (United Kingdom), select committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, es ...

. She nominated

Liz Kendall Elizabeth Louise Kendall (born 11 June 1971) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West sinc ...

in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election and

in the deputy leadership election. Elliott was elected as chair of the

Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...

's Backbench Housing and Planning Committee in November 2015, and served as a member of the

National Policy Forum The National Policy Forum (NPF) of the British Labour Party is part of the policy-making system of the Party, set up by Leader Tony Blair as part of the Partnership in Power process. A Provisional National Policy Forum had been established by Bla ...

. She endorsed

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...

in the failed attempt to replace

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election. Elliott was re-elected as MP for Sunderland Central at the 2017 general election with a slightly reduced majority of 9,997 votes, and again at the 2019 general election with a smaller majority of 2,964 votes. In addition to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Elliott also served on the Regulatory Reform Committee from 2017 to 2021 and the Panel of Chairs from 2020 to 2024. Elliott nominated Jess Phillips in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election and Ian Murray in the deputy leadership election. In the House of Commons, Elliott voted in favour of the removal of

hereditary peers The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

from the

, equal

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

, and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. She voted against university tuition fees, proposed reductions in spending on welfare benefits and culling badgers to tackle bovine tuberculosis. Elliott campaigned to remain in the European Union and consistently voted against withdrawal agreements put forward to Parliament despite her constituents voting to leave. On 28 May 2024, Elliott announced that she would stand down at the 2024 general election.

House of Lords

In late 2024, Elliott was nominated for a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

age by Prime Minister

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

. She was created ''Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay, of Whitburn Bay in the City of Sunderland'', on 27 January 2025, and was introduced to the House of Lords on 10 February.

Campaigns

Elliott took on roles in several campaigns over the decades, both before and after becoming an MP. While working with the National Asthma Campaign in 1998, Elliott urged the government to ban smoking in public places. She later worked with the GMB to change the law around compensation paid to victims of

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

-related diseases, led a campaign against the use of zero-hour contracts in 2013. After becoming an MP, Elliott joined forces with the ''

Sunderland Echo The ''Sunderland Echo'' is a daily newspaper serving the City of Sunderland, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Easington (district), East Durham areas of North East England. The newspaper was founded by Samuel Storey (Liberal politician), Samuel ...

'' to campaign against the closure of Sunderland Central Fire Station in 2014. She campaigned for a transformation of Sunderland's "rundown railway station" and for a new court complex for the city. During the 2016 Brexit referendum, Elliott supported the campaign for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union.

Personal life

Elliott has one son and three daughters. On 21 August 2021, she married her long-term partner Andy Fletcher. After standing down as an MP, Elliott was named a pro-chancellor of the

University of Sunderland The University of Sunderland is a public research university located in Sunderland in the North East of England. Its predecessor, Sunderland Technical College, was established as a municipal training college in 1901. It gained university status ...

. She is scheduled to assume the role in July 2025.

References

External links

*
Julie Elliott
Labour Party profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Julie 1963 births Living people 20th-century English politicians 20th-century English women politicians 21st-century English politicians 21st-century English women politicians Alumni of Northumbria University English health activists English women trade unionists Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East Labour Party (UK) life peers Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Life peeresses created by Charles III Life peers created by Charles III People associated with the University of Sunderland People from Whitburn, Tyne and Wear Politicians from Sunderland Trade unionists from Tyne and Wear UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs who were granted peerages