Peter Dowd

Peter Dowd has had a long history of activism, both within the Labour Party and in Bootle. His family has also had a long history of activism for the party, and two of his great-uncles were Labour MPs. Dowd, a qualified social worker, worked in health and social care in Merseyside for over 35 years, first being elected as a Merseyside County councillor in the early 1980s. He is especially interested in education, children’s social care and mental health services. He was elected leader of Sefton’s Labour group in 2008 and later assumed leadership of Sefton Council between 2011 and 2015. In October 2016, Dowd was appointed shadow financial secretary before being promoted to shadow chief secretary to the Treasury in February 2017 to 2020. Dowd is seen as an ally of Jeremy Corbyn, defending him during the Labour leadership contest of 2016 against contestant Owen Smith. Correspondingly, he supported Rebecca Long-Bailey in her unsuccessful bid to be Labour leader. Since June 2020, he has been a member of the Panel of Chairs. Dowd is on the APPG for transport across the north, air pollution and co-chairs the APPG on health.