Ruth Cadbury

Ruth Cadbury is the Labour MP for Brentwood and Isleworth. She was raised and has always been a Quaker. She was previously a trustee of the Barrow Cadbury Trust, an organisation founded by her great-great-grandparents. The trust states it is “inspired by Quaker beliefs and a vision for a more just society”. In her maiden speech, Cadbury said of her ancestors: “the Cadburys of the first half of the 20th century ​knew that we could not expect working people to be productive, healthy and fulfilled unless the whole person and their family are supported with good pay, good training, decent housing and adequate welfare support.” Considering this, it is unsurprising that Cadbury’s special interests revolve around the protection of the welfare state and the rights of working people. When talking to students at a school in her constituency, Cadbury stressed two pieces of advice: “don’t let your background hold you back and be passionate.”In October 2016, Jeremy Corbyn appointed Cadbury as Shadow Housing Minister, despite the fact that she supported Owen Smith in his attempt to replace Corbyn as leader earlier that year. Cadbury supported Sadiq Khan in his pledge to build 12,000 properly affordable homes across the London. In June 2017, Cadbury was one of three Labour shadow ministers sacked as a result of voting against the party in favour of an amendment calling for Britain to remain within the customs union and single market. Cadbury has been a member of the Select Committee on Transport since 2018, serves as a co-chair of the All Parliamentary Group on Cycling and has campaigned for “a better not bigger Heathrow”. She is also private parliamentary secretary (PPS) to David Lammy (Shadow Secretary of State for Justice) and to Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Shadow Attorney General). Despite being a Quaker, Cadbury is not a teetotaller and says she can “categorically state that London Pride is the best bitter brewed in the UK”.