Liz Twist

Liz Twist was first elected as the Labour MP for Blaydon in 2017. She began her career as a trade union official at Unison. Before entering parliament, Twist represented Ryton, Crookhill and Stella ward on Gateshead Council, where she was a cabinet member with the brief for housing. She was also a caseworker for the former Blaydon MP Dave Anderson. As a local campaigner, Twist was one of more than 300 people who pooled their resources to purchase community shares in the local pub, Ye Olde Crosse. After Anderson announced he was standing down ahead of the 2017 general election, Twist was elected as his replacement, holding the seat for Labour with a majority of 13,477. She was praised for her maiden speech, in which she revealed her husband had committed suicide, and called for action to reduce rates of suicide. Twist volunteers as a listener with the Samaritan’s and has chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Suicide and Self-Harm. She also chaired APPGs on Phenylketonuria and Third World Solidarity. Twist has served on the Committee on Privileges, the Committee on Standards, the Petitions Committee, and the European Statutory Instruments Committee.