Emma Elizabeth Reynolds(born 2 November 1977) is a British politician serving asMember of Parliament(MP) forWycombesince 2024. A member of theLabour Party,she previously served as MP forWolverhampton North Eastfrom 2010 to 2019. She has served asParliamentary Secretaryfor the Treasury andParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensionssince July 2024.[1]
Emma Reynolds | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Paul Maynard |
| Parliamentary Secretary for the Treasury | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | The Baroness Vere of Norbiton |
| Member of Parliament | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Baker |
| Constituency | Wycombe |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Purchase |
| Succeeded by | Jane Stevenson |
| Constituency | Wolverhampton North East |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 November 1977 Wolverhampton,West Midlands,England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Wadham College, Oxford(BA) |
Early life and career
editReynolds was born on 2 November 1977.[2]She was educated atCodsall High SchoolinCodsall,Staffordshire,followed byWulfrun Collegein nearbyWolverhampton.Reynolds studied atWadham Collegeat theUniversity of Oxford,where she readPolitics, Philosophy and Economics.[3]Her stepfather Kevin taught atConcord College,anindependentboarding school set in the grounds ofActon Burnell Castle,nearShrewsbury.
Reynolds set up alobbyingbusiness in Brussels to help British companies that wished to influenceEU laws.[4]
From 2001 to 2004, Reynolds worked in Brussels as a political adviser toRobin Cook,then President of theParty of European Socialists.[5]She later worked inDowning Streetand theHouse of Commons[6]as a special advisor to thenMinister for Europeand GovernmentChief WhipGeoff Hoon.[3]
In January 2009, Reynolds joined commercial public affairs consultancy Cogitamus, which gives advice to companies.[7]
Parliamentary career
editReynolds was selected as theLabourcandidate for the2010 general electionforWolverhampton North Eastin September 2008. Despite a 9% swing to theConservativesand a reduction in majority of more than 6,000, sheheld the seatfor Labour.[3][8][9]
Reynolds has spoken on many issues in theHouse of Commonsincluding questions onBuilding Schools for the Future,free school meals,human trafficking,cuts to police numbers and Mental Health Services.[10]In the summer of 2010 Reynolds was also elected to theForeign Affairs Select Committeeof the House of Commons.
In October 2010, Reynolds was promoted by Labour'snew leader,Ed Miliband,to theopposition frontbenchas a shadow junior Foreign Office Minister under the thenShadow Foreign Secretary,Yvette Cooper.[11]After the resignation of the Shadow ChancellorAlan Johnsonand resulting mini-reshuffle of posts, Reynolds continued working in her post under the new Shadow Foreign Secretary,Douglas Alexander.[12]In October 2011, Emma Reynolds was promoted by Labour leader, Ed Miliband, to the position of Shadow Europe Minister. In October 2013, Reynolds was promoted by Ed Miliband to the position of Shadow Housing Minister, replacingJack Dromey.In May 2015, after the2015 general election,Reynolds was promoted to the position ofShadow Communities and Local Government Secretarybyacting leader of theLabour PartyHarriet Harman,following the resignation of Ed Miliband.
Reynolds is formerTreasurerof the All-Party ParliamentaryChinaGroup[13]andVice Chairfor theAll-Party Parliamentary GroupforBritish Sikhs,[14]as well asSecretaryof the All-Party Parliamentary Group onHuman Trafficking.
Reynolds resigned asShadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Governmentfollowing theelectionofJeremy Corbynas leader of the Labour Party.[15]She later supportedOwen Smithin the2016 Labour Party leadership election.[16]
She wasdefeatedin the2019 electionby the Conservatives'Jane Stevenson.[17]
Views on the European Union
editIn an online article for theNew Labourpressure groupProgressin 2011, Reynolds asserted that "Britain's membership of theEuropean Unionis in our national interest ".[18]
In an October 2012 interview with theTotal Politicswebsite, Reynolds called for theeurozonecountries to integrate more closely. She also said she had differing opinions withJon Cruddas,Labour's policy review chief, on whether having a referendum on the EU was a priority.[19]In the run-up to the2016 EU referendum,Reynolds campaigned forBritain Stronger in Europe.[20]
Post-parliamentary career
editFollowing her departure from parliament in 2019, Reynolds was appointed as Managing Director of Public Affairs, Policy & Research atTheCityUK,a special interest group lobbying the UK Government on behalf of the financial sector.[21]
Return to Parliament
editOn 19 November 2022, Reynolds was selected to be the Labour Party's Parliamentary candidate forWycombeat the2024 general election.[22][23]
At the election, Reynolds was elected with a majority of 4,591 over the incumbent MP, former Conservative ministerSteve Baker.[24]She became the first Labour MP elected for the Wycombe constituency since1950as well as becoming the first female Labour MP for the constituency.
Personal life
editReynolds participates in sports such asrunningand used to playfootball.She also enjoyspubsand going to thecinema.[25]
Reynolds married solicitor Richard Stevens in April 2016.[26]They had a son on 14 April 2017.[27]They had a second son in May 2019.
References
edit- ^"Ministerial Appointments: July 2024".GOV.UK.Retrieved10 July2024.
- ^"Emma Reynolds MP".myparliament.info.MyParliament.Archivedfrom the original on 15 August 2017.Retrieved14 August2017.
- ^abcStaff writer (29 September 2008)."Labour candidate selected".Express & Star.Retrieved12 April2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^Reynolds, Emma."Biography".emmareynolds.org.uk.Emma Reynolds.Archivedfrom the original on 15 August 2017.Retrieved15 August2017.
- ^"Emma Reynolds MP".parliamentaryrecord.Westminster Parliamentary Record. Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2012.Retrieved13 April2011.
- ^"Emma Reynolds: biography".politics.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 21 September 2013.Retrieved1 November2012.
- ^Staff writer (14 January 2009)."Labour candidate takes Cogitamus role".Public Affairs News.Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011.Retrieved24 April2011.
- ^Dunn, Ray (7 May 2010)."General Election 2010: Full Midland results and stats".Birmingham Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 17 September 2011.Retrieved13 April2011.
- ^"Meet the new MPs: watch video interviews with the new intake at Westminster".Sky News.Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2010.Retrieved12 April2011.
- ^"Emma Reynolds".theyworkforyou.TheyWorkForYou.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2010.Retrieved14 September2010.
- ^"Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet and ministerial teams".BBC News.12 October 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 13 October 2010.Retrieved13 October2010.
- ^"Alan Johnson 'to quit front-line politics'".BBC News.20 January 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 21 January 2011.Retrieved11 February2011.
- ^"Register Of All-Party Groups as at 14 October 2012: China".parliament.uk.House of Commons.Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2012.Retrieved13 April2011.
- ^"Register Of All-Party Groups as at 30 July 2015: Sikhs".parliament.uk.House of Commons.Archived fromthe originalon 2 July 2016.Retrieved13 April2011.
- ^Staff writer (12 September 2015)."WATCH: Black Country MP Tom Watson named deputy leader of Labour Party – while Wolverhampton MP Emma Reynolds resigns from shadow cabinet".Express & Star.Archivedfrom the original on 12 September 2015.Retrieved12 September2015.
- ^Smith, Mikey; Bloom, Dan (20 July 2016)."Which MPs are nominating Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest?".Mirror.Retrieved10 November2018.
- ^"Wolverhampton North East parliamentary constituency – Election 2019 – BBC News"– via bbc.
- ^Reynolds, Emma (6 October 2011)."David Cameron's eurosceptic containment strategy is failing".progressonline.org.uk.Progress.Archivedfrom the original on 8 October 2011.Retrieved6 October2011.
- ^Staff writer (1 October 2012)."TP JRF coffee club interview: Emma Reynolds".Total Politics.Archivedfrom the original on 18 October 2012.Retrieved1 November2012.
- ^"Launch of Britain Stronger in Europe".Twitter.12 October 2015.Retrieved17 November2022.
- ^"TheCityUK appoints former MP to head up Public Affairs, Policy & Research".TheCityUK.21 May 2020.Retrieved23 May2020.
- ^"Emma Reynolds for Wycombe".Emma Reynolds.October 2022.Retrieved17 November2022.
- ^"Congratulations to @EmmaEReynolds, selected tonight as Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Wycombe".Twitter.19 November 2022.Retrieved19 November2022.
- ^Smith, Charlie (5 July 2024)."Labour's Emma Reynolds beats Steve Baker in Wycombe".Bucks Free Press.Retrieved24 July2024.
- ^Brar, Gurpreet (16 October 2009)."Breaking politics and political news for Westminster and the UK - PoliticsHome".PoliticsHome.Archived fromthe originalon 22 January 2013.Retrieved12 April2011.
- ^"Love is in the air: Wolverhampton MP ties the knot".Express & Star.20 April 2016.Retrieved27 May2018.
- ^"'I campaigned with a newborn,' says Labour's Emma Reynolds ".BBC News.1 February 2018.Retrieved27 May2018.