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Bridget Phillipson

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The Right Honourable
Bridget Phillipson
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Secretary of State for Education
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byGillian Keegan
Minister for Women and Equalities
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byKemi Badenoch
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
In office
29 November 2021 – 5 July 2024
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byKate Green
Succeeded byDamian Hinds
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
6 April 2020 – 29 November 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byPeter Dowd
Succeeded byPat McFadden
Member of Parliament
for Houghton and Sunderland South
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byConstituency established
Majority7,168 (17.9%)
Personal details
Born
Bridget Maeve Phillipson

(1983-12-19) 19 December 1983 (age 40)
Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England
Political partyLabour
Children2
EducationSt Robert of Newminster Catholic School
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Websitewww.bridgetphillipson.com Edit this at Wikidata

Bridget Maeve Phillipson (born 19 December 1983) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010.[1]

Born in Gateshead, Phillipson attended St Robert of Newminster Catholic School. She went on to study at the University of Oxford before working in local government and then as a manager at Wearside Women in Need. Phillipson joined the Labour Party at the age of fifteen, and was elected the co-chair of Oxford University Labour Club in 2003. She was elected to the House of Commons at the 2010 general election as MP for Houghton and Sunderland South. She was reelected at the 2015 general election and campaigned to remain in the European Union (EU) in the 2016 Brexit referendum. She was reelected in both the 2017 and 2019 general elections.

Phillipson endorsed Keir Starmer's successful campaign in the 2020 Labour leadership election and subsequently joined his shadow cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. In the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was promoted to Shadow Education Secretary. After Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Phillipson was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities in the Starmer cabinet.

Early life and education

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Bridget Phillipson[2] was born on 19 December 1983 in Gateshead.[1] Her mother is Clare Phillipson, who founded Wearside Women in Need, a charity based in Sunderland which provides refuge for women affected by domestic violence.[3][4][5][6][7] She grew up in a deprived part of Washington, in a council house with no upstairs heating.[8]

Phillipson's mother signed her up for Saturday morning drama lessons at the local community centre, which led to her being an extra on the children's TV programme Byker Grove. She also learnt to play the violin.[8] She attended St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Washington, and went on to read modern history and modern languages (French) at the University of Oxford, where she was a student at Hertford College, and graduated with upper second-class honours in 2005.[9] She joined Labour as a member at fifteen years old,[10] and was elected co-chair of the Oxford University Labour Club in 2003.[11] After university, she returned to the North East,[12] where she worked for two years in local government,[13] and then as a manager at Wearside Women in Need between 2007 and 2010.[1][5]

Parliamentary career

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Backbencher

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Phillipson was selected from an all-women shortlist as the Labour candidate for Houghton and Sunderland South in 2009.[14] At the 2010 general election, Phillipson was elected as MP for Houghton and Sunderland South with 50.3% of the vote and a majority of 10,990.[15] After entering parliament, she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jim Murphy, who was then the shadow defence secretary.[16] Between October 2013 and September 2015, she served as Opposition Whip in the House of Commons.[17]

She was elected to the Home Affairs Committee in July 2010, and remained a member until November 2013. She was a member of the Public Bill Committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014, and of the Procedure Committee between July 2010 and October 2011.[18] She has also been a member of the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission since October 2010, and both the Committee on Standards and the Committee on Privileges since October 2017. She was a member of the Public Accounts Committee and the European Statutory Instruments Committee.[19] From 2010 to 2015, she was secretary to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Domestic and Sexual Violence, which published the report "The Changing Landscape of Domestic and Sexual Violence Services" in February 2015.[20][21]

At the 2015 general election, Phillipson was re-elected as MP for Houghton and Sunderland South with an increased vote share of 55.1% and an increased majority of 12,938.[22][23]

In the 2016 Brexit referendum, she campaigned for a Remain vote, and in 2018 was one of the first Labour MPs to call for a People's Vote on any eventual deal.[24][25]

She was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 59.5% and a decreased majority of 12,341.[26][23] At the 2019 general election, Phillipson was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 40.7% and a decreased majority of 3,115.[27]

In Labour Party leadership elections, she voted for David Miliband in 2010,[28] Yvette Cooper in 2015,[29] Owen Smith in 2016,[30] and Keir Starmer in 2020.[31]

At the 2024 general election, Philipson was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 47.1% and an increased majority of 7,169.[32]

Opposition frontbencher (2020–2024)

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Following Keir Starmer's leadership election victory in April 2020, Phillipson was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet for the first time, as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.[33] She served in that role under successive Shadow Chancellors Anneliese Dodds and Rachel Reeves. On 29 November 2021 she was moved to the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Education, responsible for Labour's education policy in England.[34]

As shadow secretary of state for education, Phillipson set out Labour's plans for reform of the childcare and wider education systems, starting with plans for funded breakfast clubs for every primary school child in every school in England.[35] She called for reform of Ofsted, the inspectorate of school standards in England, to move away from simplistic one-word summary overall judgements,[36][8][13] the imposition of VAT on private schools to fund thousands more teachers in England's schools, a full curriculum and assessment review, including a focus on weaving speaking and listening skills through the curriculum, new incentives to retain teachers in the classroom, two weeks' worth of compulsory work experience for all young people, and improved access to careers guidance and mental health in schools.[37][non-primary source needed]

She spoke and wrote extensively about the particular importance of childcare for children, parents and families, and the need for a system that stretches from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.[13][38] She confirmed that the next Labour government would not abolish tuition fees altogether,[39] and called for far-reaching changes to the skills system in England, including the creation of a new body to be called 'Skills England', devolution of skills and adult education budgets, and greater flexibility with the existing Apprenticeship Levy.[40]

Secretary of State for Education (2024–present)

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Following the Labour landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Phillipson was appointed as the Secretary of State for Education by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the lead-up to the formation of the next government on 5 July.[41][42] She was appointed Minister for Women and Equalities on 8 July, with Anneliese Dodds as her junior minister.[43]

Phillipson was sworn of the Privy Council on 10 July 2024, entitling her to be styled "The Right Honourable" for life.[44]

After the treasury minister, James Murray, rejected calls to delay the introduction of VAT on private school fees in October 2024, Phillipson was criticised by multiple MPs after she posted on X "Our state schools need teachers more than private schools need embossed stationery. Our children need mental health support more than private schools need new pools. Our students need careers advice more than private schools need AstroTurf pitches." Conservative MP Graham Stuart described her post as "malicious and spiteful", and called for an apology. Opposition whip, Luke Evans, said the post "reeks of prejudice and propagates a class war” and shadow treasury minister, Nigel Huddleston, said of it "Parents who send their children to independent schools, who pay twice on their children’s education, deserve better than to be treated with contempt by their government’s education secretary.[45]

Constituency campaigns

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Phillipson has campaigned successfully on a number of local issues, including forcing a government U-turn on the rebuilding of Hetton School in Hetton-le-Hole, after plans to do so were cancelled by the Conservative-led government in 2010.[46] The school was eventually rebuilt and reopened in 2016.[47] She also led a campaign to improve standards and affordability of bus transport in Tyne and Wear, calling for the development of a quality contract scheme to be run by Nexus, the passenger transport executive for the North East Combined Authority.[48] The government-appointed review board eventually refused permission for Nexus to advance the scheme.[49]

Personal life

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Phillipson met her husband in Newcastle upon Tyne after she graduated from the University of Oxford,[50] and has two sons.[10][1] She is a Roman Catholic.[51]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Anon (2017). "Phillipson, Bridget Maeve". Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U251090. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "List of Members Returned to Serve in Parliament at the General Election in 2010". the gazette.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  3. ^ "PoliticsHome". 23 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Wearside Women in Need, a registered and accredited charity was set up in 1983 as a member of the Women's Aid Federation" (PDF). Sunderland University. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Hunt, Liz (14 April 2010). "General Election 2010: Female politicians are doing too much posing". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Chronicle". 21 February 2017.
  7. ^ Green, Nigel (7 February 2013). "Double Standards in council charity funding probe". Dundee: Sunday Post. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Sylvester, Rachel; Thomson, Alice (28 July 2023). "Is Bridget Phillipson Labour's rising star?". The Times. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  9. ^ "The Hertford College Magazine" (PDF). The Hertford College Magazine. No. 85. Hertford College. 2005. p. 48.
  10. ^ a b "Bridget Phillipson". labour.org.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Labour select Bridget Phillipson for Houghton and Sunderland South". Labour North. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  12. ^ Nick Robinson (16 November 2022). "The Bridget Phillipson One". Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (Podcast). BBC. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Williams, Zoe (21 March 2023). "Interview: 'I grew up at the margins': Bridget Phillipson on teachers' strikes, Ofsted, Brexit and Corbyn". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  14. ^ "House of Commons library All-women shortlists" (PDF). parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Houghton & Sunderland South". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  16. ^ "Bridget Phillipson MP: parliamentary activities". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Bridget Phillipson MP: Biography". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  18. ^ "House of Commons Public Bill Committee on the Defence Reform Bill 2013-14". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Bridget Phillipson MP: Biography". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Register Of All-Party Groups [as at 30 March 2015]: Domestic and Sexual Violence". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  21. ^ Hawkins, Siân; Taylor, Katy. The Changing Landscape of Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (PDF). Bristol: Women's Aid. ISBN 9780907817970. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  23. ^ a b "Houghton & Sunderland South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News.
  24. ^ "Sunderland - Labour city putting the wind up remain campaign". The Guardian. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  25. ^ Watts, Joe (9 May 2018). "Labour Brexit row explodes as northern MPs break ranks with Corbyn and demand new referendum". The Independent. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  27. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations (UK Parliamentary Election)" (PDF). Sunderland City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  28. ^ "North MPs back David Miliband for Labour leadership". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  29. ^ "Who's backing whom and who did endorsers vote to be leader in 2010?". LabourList. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  30. ^ Smith, Mikey; Bloom, Dan (20 July 2016). "Which MPs are nominating Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest?". Mirror. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  31. ^ BBC Politics [@BBCPolitics] (7 January 2020). "Labour MP Bridget Phillipson supports Keir Starmer for leader saying he has the "authority and credibility to take the party forward"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ "Houghton and Sunderland South - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Her Majesty's Official Opposition: The Shadow Cabinet - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  34. ^ Whittaker, Freddie (30 November 2021). "Who is Bridget Phillipson? 8 facts about the new shadow education secretary". Schools Week. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  35. ^ Elgot, Jessica (28 September 2022). "Labour promise of free breakfasts 'first step on the road to rebuilding childcare'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  36. ^ Clarence-Smith, Louisa (14 July 2023). "Bridget Phillipson interview: Tax breaks for private schools can't be justified". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  37. ^ "Mission driven government: breaking down the barriers to opportunity" (PDF). The Labour Party website. The Labour Party. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  38. ^ "Bridget Phillipson MP speaks at Onward about families and childcare". Bridget Phillipson MP website. Bridget Phillipson. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  39. ^ Phillipson, Bridget (2 June 2023). "Graduates, you will pay less under a Labour government". The Times. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  40. ^ Boycott-Owen, Mason (26 April 2023). "Labour pledges 'apprenticeships renaissance' as part of new national mission". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  41. ^ "North East MP appointed Education Secretary as Starmer appoints cabinet". Yahoo News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  42. ^ O, Gavin (5 July 2024). "Bridget Phillipson is confirmed as the new Secretary of State for Education - Sector Reaction". FE News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  43. ^ "Minister for Women and Equalities". gov.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  44. ^ "List of Business – 10 July 2024" (PDF). Privy Council Office. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  45. ^ Weale, Sally (8 October 2024). "Plans to add VAT to private school fees won't be delayed, says minister". The Guardian.
  46. ^ "Hansard, 9 June 2010". theyworkforyou.com. UK Parliament. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  47. ^ "New school buildings finally open after several setbacks". The Northern Echo. 19 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  48. ^ Phillipson, Bridget; Gilfillan, Scott (2015). "Route-masters: the re-regulation of bus services". Renewal. 23 (1&2): 17–29. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  49. ^ "Bus devolution hangs in the balance after North East ruling". Transport-Network.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  50. ^ Diver, Tony (12 August 2022). "Blair era university admission targets wrong admits Labour/". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  51. ^ Ceridwen Lee (27 August 2015). "Fall in number of Catholic MPs in the House of Commons ahead of landmark debate on assisted dying". The Tablet. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridget Phillipson.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
2020–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Education
2021–2024 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Education
2024–present 		Incumbent
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