Paula Sherriff

Paula Michelle Sherriff (born 16 April 1975) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury from 2015 to 2019. She won the seat from the Conservatives at the 2015 general election, was re-elected in 2017,[1] but was defeated at the 2019 general election. Sherriff was previously a councillor for Pontefract North in Pontefract on Wakefield District Council.

Paula Sherriff
Shadow Minister for Social Care and Mental Health
In office
12 January 2018 – 6 November 2019
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLiz Kendall
Member of Parliament
for Dewsbury
In office
7 May 2015 – 6 November 2019
Preceded bySimon Reevell
Succeeded byMark Eastwood
Personal details
Born (1975-04-16) 16 April 1975
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyLabour
WebsiteOfficial website

Personal life

Before being elected as a Member of Parliament, Sherriff worked in the police force, providing victim support, and on the frontline of the National Health Service in community care.[2] Her sister Lee Sherriff was an unsuccessful candidate for Carlisle in the 2015 general election.[3]

In March 2020, Sherriff was diagnosed with breast cancer.[4]

Parliamentary career

Following her election, in September 2015 Sherriff 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.[5]

In 2015, Sherriff was appointed as a ministerial aide to shadow local government and communities secretary Jon Trickett. 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.[6]

Paula 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 "Tampon Tax" would be abolished. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Labour Party commended her work on the issue.[7]

She supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.[8]

Sherriff secured a U-turn on planned reduction in bed numbers at Dewsbury hospital and has campaigned against the hospital being downgraded.[9] Sherriff has also campaigned against proposed downgrades to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.[10]

Sherriff is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Hate Crime and Women's’ Health and has secured millions of pounds of funding for endometriosis research.

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.[11]

In September 2019, Sherriff took part in the "humbug debate" and criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his inflammatory language.[12][13][14][15]

References
  1. "Election 2017: Dewsbury Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  2. "About". Paula Sherriff. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  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. 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.
  5. "Paula secures WH Smith climb down on hospital shop pricing". Paula Sherriff. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  6. "Labour's Catherine McKinnell quits shadow cabinet". BBC News. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  7. Simons, Ned (22 March 2016). "MPs back abolition of tampon tax after Government accepts Labour amendment to budget". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  8. Smith, Mikey; Bloom, Dan (20 July 2016). "Which MPs are nominating Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest?". Mirror. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  9. "The Press - 'Politically speaking' by Paula Sherriff". The Press. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  10. 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.
  11. "Paula Sherriff promoted to Labour's front bench". Huddersfield Examiner. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  12. Belam, Martin (26 September 2019). "'Surrender, humbug': key heated exchanges in Commons debate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  13. "MPs' fury at PM's 'dangerous language'". BBC News. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  14. 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.
  15. "'I'm sick of it': MP tears into Boris Johnson for 'inflammatory comments' while MPs receive death threats". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Simon Reevell		 Member of Parliament for Dewsbury
2015–2019		 Succeeded by
Mark Eastwood
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