Margaret Greenwood

Before entering politics, Margaret Greenwood was a secondary school teacher, web editor and a travel writer. In 2015, she unseated the Conservative employment minister Esther McVey by 417 votes. Shortly after her election she joined the Environmental Audit Committee and became PPS to shadow secretaries of state for work and pensions, Debbie Abrahams and Owen Smith. She was made a shadow employment minister in 2016 then, in 2018, joined the shadow cabinet as shadow work and pensions secretary. She is strongly opposed to private sector involvement in the National Health Service and is a founder member of Defend our NHS, a Merseyside-based campaign group. Greenwood introduced a private members’ bill in 2016 which sought to remove the internal market from the NHS and address PFI debt. Left-leaning, she nominated Rebecca Long-Bailey for the Labour leadership in 2020.In 2020, Greenwood resigned as shadow schools minister, just six months into the role, in order to abstain from the whip on a vote that would allow spies to commit criminal acts. Greenwood is vice chair of the Liverpool City Region APPG.