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Paula Sherriff

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Paula Sherriff
Sherriff in 2017
Shadow Minister for Social Care and Mental Health
In office
12 January 2018 – 6 November 2019
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byBarbara Keeley (2016)
Succeeded byLiz Kendall[a] (2020)
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
In office
17 October 2016 – 12 January 2018
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byCat Smith
Succeeded byNaz Shah
Member of Parliament
for Dewsbury
In office
7 May 2015 – 6 November 2019
Preceded bySimon Reevell
Succeeded byMark Eastwood
Member of Wakefield Council
for Pontefract North
In office
3 May 2012 – 20 August 2015
Preceded byPhilip Thomas
Succeeded byLorna Malkin
Personal details
Born (1975-04-16) 16 April 1975 (age 49)
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyLabour
WebsiteOfficial website

Paula Michelle Sherriff (born 16 April 1975) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury from 2015 to 2019.

Early life

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Prior to her election to Parliament, Sherriff worked in the police force, providing victim support, and in community care on the NHS frontline.[1] Her sister Lee Sherriff is a member of Carlisle City Council, and unsuccessfully contested the Carlisle constituency at the 2015 general election.[2][3]

Political career

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Sherriff served as a member of Wakefield District Council for Pontefract North from 2012, gaining the seat from the Conservatives, until her resignation 2015.[4][5]

In November 2013, Sherriff was selected from an all-women shortlist by the Dewsbury Constituency Labour Party (CLP) as their prospective parliamentary candidate.[6] She was elected to Parliament at the 2015 general election, gaining Dewsbury from incumbent Conservative Simon Reevell.

In July 2015, she was one of 48 Labour MPs who rebelled against the party whip to vote against the welfare bill.[7] Later in the same year, she nominated Yvette Cooper in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election.[8]

In September 2015, she secured an agreement from WHSmith to reduce the price of their goods in hospitals, against whom had she had launched a campaign for exploiting vulnerable patients and their families. Subsequently, the company agreed to match their high street prices in hospital stores.[9]

In 2015, Sherriff was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Jon Trickett, then Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary. On 11 January 2016, Sherriff resigned from this role to campaign against "Tory cuts" and to focus on her work on the health select committee.[10]

Sherriff became the first backbench MP in Parliamentary history to have an amendment to a government Budget resolution successfully adopted when her motion to abolish the "Tampon Tax" was passed. On 21 March 2016, the government acknowledged that the tax would be abolished. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Labour Party commended her work on the issue.[11]

She supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.[citation needed]

Sherriff secured a U-turn on planned reduction in bed numbers at Dewsbury hospital and has campaigned against the hospital being downgraded.[12] Sherriff also campaigned against proposed downgrades to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.[13][non-primary source needed]

Sherriff was Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Hate Crime and Women's Health.[citation needed]

Sherriff was re-elected at the 2017 general election with an increased majority.[14]

She was appointed Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care in January 2018 and has led on the Labour Party's efforts to secure additional funding for mental health services and provide early intervention with effective child and adolescent mental health services.[15]

In September 2019, Sherriff took part in the "humbug debate" and criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson for using inflammatory language.[16][17][18][19]

In 2018, Labour MP Barry Sheerman accused then Labour MP Chris Williamson of campaigning for the deselection of moderate incumbents including Sherriff.[20] Nevertheless, she was unanimously re-selected the following year.[21]

She lost her seat to the Conservative Party's Mark Eastwood at the 2019 general election.[22]

In 2020, Sherriff twice unsuccessfully stood for a seat on the Labour Party's National Executive Committee in a spring by-election and an autumn regular election.[23] She stood as an independent in the by-election, but was endorsed by the Tribune group of MPs in the subsequent contest alongside former MP Liz McInnes and former MEP Theresa Griffin.[24][25]

In 2020, Sherriff announced her candidacy to contend the Labour nomination for the new office of Mayor of West Yorkshire, however, she withdrew due to her breast cancer treatment.[26][27] LabourList listed her as a potential Labour candidate for the 2021 by-election in the neighbouring constituency of Batley and Spen, but she did not run.[28]

Personal life

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In March 2020, Sherriff was diagnosed with breast cancer.[29]

Notes

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  1. ^ As Shadow Minister for Social Care.

References

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  1. ^ "About". Paula Sherriff. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Labour selects former retail worker and City Councillor as candidate for Carlisle". LabourList. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  3. ^ Henley, Jon (15 May 2015). "'Better the devil you know': two towns that refused to ride with Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Councillor details - Councillor Ms Paula Sherriff". mg.wakefield.gov.uk. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Wakefield Council calls by-election after MP Paula Sherriff gives up councillor role". www.pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. ^ Shaw, Martin (6 November 2013). "Labour selects Paula Sherriff as Parliamentary candidate for Dewsbury". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Welfare bill: Labour in disarray as 48 MPs defy whips to vote no". The Guardian. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Who's backing whom and who did endorsers vote to be leader in 2010?". LabourList. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  9. ^ Sherriff, Paula. "Paula secures WH Smith climb down on hospital shop pricing". Paula Sherriff MP. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Labour's Catherine McKinnell quits shadow cabinet". BBC News. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  11. ^ Simons, Ned (22 March 2016). "MPs back abolition of tampon tax after Government accepts Labour amendment to budget". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  12. ^ "The Press - 'Politically speaking' by Paula Sherriff". The Press. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  13. ^ Sherriff, Paula (22 December 2018). "Proud to join phenomenal campaigners at HRI today. All standing together with a united message that this Government will not take our precious NHS services away! Hands off HRI @MattHancock! @HoHRIltd @HandsOffNHS_org @Thelma_WalkerMPpic.twitter.com/rO9dODx8QS". @paulasherriff. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Election 2017: Dewsbury Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Paula Sherriff promoted to Labour's front bench". Huddersfield Examiner. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  16. ^ Belam, Martin (26 September 2019). "'Surrender, humbug': key heated exchanges in Commons debate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  17. ^ "MPs' fury at PM's 'dangerous language'". BBC News. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  18. ^ Deacon, Michael (26 September 2019). "After those shocking scenes on Wednesday, the mood in the Commons has turned utterly rancid". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  19. ^ "'I'm sick of it': MP tears into Boris Johnson for 'inflammatory comments' while MPs receive death threats". uk.news.yahoo.com. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  20. ^ Guha, Tom (21 August 2018). "Chris Williamson denies targeting Labour MPs for deselection". LabourList. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  22. ^ Lavigueur, Nick (13 December 2019). "Conservatives take the Dewsbury constituency". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  23. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (4 April 2020). "Corbynsceptics sweep the board in Labour's ruling body by-elections". LabourList. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  24. ^ Mansell, Charlie (20 November 2020). "Everything we can learn about the Labour Party from 2020 NEC results". LabourList. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  25. ^ Griffin, Theresa; McInnes, Liz; Sherriff, Paula (27 May 2020). "We're standing for Labour NEC elections as socialists of the Tribunite left". LabourList. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  26. ^ Lavigueur, Nick (20 March 2020). "Former Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff announces she has breast cancer". YorkshireLive. Reach plc. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  27. ^ Sherriff, Paula (11 October 2020). "An update from me..." Twitter. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  28. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (10 May 2021). "Batley and Spen – runners and riders". LabourList. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  29. ^ Paula Sherriff [@paulasherriff] (20 March 2020). "So, it has now been confirmed that I have breast cancer, following discovery of a lump. My treatment plan will be determined after a few more tests. Yes I'm scared but I'm gonna kick cancer's a**e! Please, please examine your breasts and see a GP if anything seems unusual x" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dewsbury
2015–2019 		Succeeded by
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