Natalie Fleet
Natalie Fleet | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait of Natalie Fleet, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Bolsover | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Fletcher |
| Majority | 6,323 (14.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1984 (age 39–40) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 4 |
Natalie Fleet (born 1984) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover since 2024.
Early life and career
[edit]Fleet was born in 1984 and raised in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.[1] Her mother is a former factory worker and her father and other family members were coal miners.[2]
As a child, she received free school meals and experienced homelessness.[3] Fleet left school at 16 after becoming pregnant, and commenced a university course in her early 20s before dropping out.
Fleet worked in the voluntary sector before working for trade unions, including the National Education Union.
Political career
[edit]Fleet joined the Labour Party as a teenager.[1]
She was the Labour candidate for Ashfield at the 2019 general election, finishing in third place in the seat Labour had won in 2017.[4] She received threats and her campaign office was vandalised during the election campaign and she chose not to contest the seat again due to safety concerns.[3]
Fleet was elected as the first female MP for Bolsover at the 2024 general election, defeating the incumbent Conservative Mark Fletcher.[5][6] She had failed to win Bolsover Labour's initial candidate selection,[7] and won the subsequent one following the winning candidate's resignation.
Personal life
[edit]Fleet is married with four children.[2] After her election as an MP in 2024, she said in an interview on GB News - conducted by her friend, former Ashfield MP Gloria De Piero[3] - that she had been groomed at the age of 15 by an older man, with whom she had sex (statutory rape), and subsequently became pregnant with her first daughter.[8]
Fleet has spoken of wanting to be a voice for other women who are victims of grooming and sexual violence.[9][10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Maguire, Patrick (2019-12-10). "On the road in Ashfield, the UK's most gambled-on constituency". New Statesman. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ a b Hinsliff, Gaby (2019-11-21). "'I'm not going to be bullied into silence.' The women defying abuse to stand as MPs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ a b c Belger, Tom (2024-07-03). "Bolsover: Labour's Natalie Fleet on death threats, Dennis Skinner and class today". LabourList. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ "'I'm sorry we've let some people down'". BBC News. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "Bolsover | General Election 2024". Sky News. July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "UK general election results live: Labour set for landslide as results come in across country". BBC News. July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ Neame, Katie (5 December 2022). "Four more Labour parliamentary candidates selected this weekend". LabourList. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ Mata, William (21 July 2024). "Labour MP Natalie Fleet reveals she was 'groomed' by older man who impregnated her at age 15". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ "New MP Natalie Fleet discusses being 'groomed' at 15 and wanting to be a voice for women". Sky News. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ Cole, Hollie (21 July 2024). "Labour MP Natalie Fleet says she was pregnant at 15 after being groomed". BBC News. Retrieved 21 July 2024.