Stephanie Louise Peacock (born 1986) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for

Barnsley South Barnsley South is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Created as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. It is represented by Stephanie ...

, previously

Barnsley East Barnsley East was a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency in South Yorkshire, from 2010 until 2024. This constituency covered parts of the town of Barnsley. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Wes ...

, since

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. She has served as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth is a junior position in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the British government. The incumbent is Stephanie Peacock. The position was cre ...

since July 2024.

Early life and education

Stephanie Peacock was born in 1986 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. She obtained a degree in history from

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

, and a master's degree from the

Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Early career

After graduating Peacock worked as a teacher, before going on to work on adult education in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

for the shop workers' union

USDAW The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of over 360,000 members. Usdaw members work in a variety of occupations and industries including: shopworkers, factory and warehouse wor ...

. Between 2007 and 2011, she served as the Youth Representative on the Labour Party National Executive Committee. In 2007 she introduced

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

at the launch of his unopposed campaign to become

Labour Leader The ''Labour Leader'' was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later renamed ''New Leader'' and ''Socialist Leader'', before finally taking the name ''Labour Leader'' again. 19th century The origins of th ...

. Between 2013 and 2017, she worked as a Political Officer for the GMB trade union.

Parliamentary career

At the 2015 general election, Peacock stood as the Labour Party candidate in Halesowen and Rowley Regis, coming second with 36.2% of the vote behind the incumbent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP James Morris.

1st term (2017–2019)

Peacock was elected to Parliament as MP for

at the snap 2017 general election with 59.5% of the vote and a majority of 13,283. Her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

occurred during a

Grenfell Tower Grenfell Tower is a derelict 24-storey residential tower block in North Kensington in West London, England. The tower was completed in 1974 as part of the first phase of the Lancaster West Estate. Most of the tower was destroyed in a Grenfell T ...

debate during which she mentioned the local issue of Orgreave. From January 2018 until March 2019 she served as an

Opposition Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

. She resigned on 14 March 2019 after defying the whip to vote against an amendment calling for a second Brexit referendum. In November 2018, Peacock, alongside fellow Women's Parliamentary Football teammates,

Alison McGovern Alison McGovern (born 30 December 1980) is a British Labour politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birkenhead since 2024, and previously Wirral South since 2010. She has served as Minister of State for Employment since J ...

Tracey Crouch Dame Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (born 24 July 1975) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford from 2010 to 2024. Crouch was appointed as Minister for Sport, Civil Soc ...

Louise Haigh Louise Margaret Haigh () is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Transport from July to November 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliam ...

and

Hannah Bardell Hannah Mary Kennedy-Bardell (born 1 June 1983) is a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Livingston from 2015 until 2024. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she served as its spokesperson for Digital, Cu ...

, was rebuked by the then

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...

, for having a 'kickabout' in the House of Commons after Parliamentary business. Bercow said that the "historic chamber should not be used for this type of activity". The team had been due to play their first match, but the game was cancelled because they had to be in parliament for a vote.

2nd term (2019–2024)

At the 2019 general election, Peacock was re-elected as MP for Barnsley East with a decreased vote share of 37.6% and a decreased majority of 3,217. In January 2020 Peacock joined Labour's Shadow

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

team as the Shadow Minister responsible for the Veterans' Office and

Procurement Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual ...

. Following the election of

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 ...

as the

Leader of the Labour Party (UK) The leader of the Labour Party is the highest political office within the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The current holder of the position is Keir Starmer, who was elected to the position on 4 April 2020, following his vic ...

, she was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Fisheries, Water and Flooding as part of Labour's Shadow

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

team. Peacock endorsed

Lisa Nandy Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British Labour Party politician serving as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since 2024. She has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wigan constituency since 2010. Nandy previ ...

in the

2020 Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership elections were held in the following countries in 2020: * 2020 Labour Party leadership election (Ireland) *2020 Labour Party leadership election (UK) The 2020 Labour Party leadership election was triggered after Jeremy C ...

. In February 2020, Peacock campaigned to change the maximum sentences for

causing death by dangerous driving Causing death by dangerous driving is a statutory offence in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as Hong Kong. It is an aggravated form of dangerous driving. In the UK, it was created by section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 198 ...

from fourteen years to life, as well as reforming the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme to get more money for retired miners. On 14 May 2021, Peacock was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Veterans following a reshuffle.

3rd term (2024–)

Due to the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, Peacock's constituency of Barnsley East was abolished, and replaced with

. At the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, Peacock was elected to Parliament as MP for Barnsley South with 46.7% of the vote and a majority of 4,748.

Personal life

In 2013 it was reported that Peacock was in a relationship with Tom Watson, then Deputy Chair of the National Executive Committee.

References

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Stephanie 1986 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2017–2019 21st-century British women politicians Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education GMB (trade union) people Trade unionists from Birmingham, West Midlands UK MPs 2019–2024 21st-century English women 21st-century English politicians UK MPs 2024–present