Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson, MP for Houghton and Sunderland South
Bridget Phillipson has been an MP since 2010. Currently: Minister for Women and Equalities.
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In government
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Minister for Women and Equalities (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) | 2026 to now | Now |
| Minister for Women and Equalities (Department for Education) | 2024 to 2026 | |
| Secretary of State for Education (Department for Education) | 2024 to 2026 |
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Secretary of State for Education (Department for Education) | 2021 to 2024 | |
| Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (HM Treasury) | 2020 to 2021 | |
| Opposition Whip (Commons) (Whips Office (Commons)) | 2013 to 2015 |
Committees
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Public Accounts Committee | 2020 | |
| Committee on Standards | 2020 | |
| Committee of Privileges | 2020 | |
| Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission | 2020 | |
| European Statutory Instruments Committee | 2018 to 2019 | |
| Committee on Standards | 2017 to 2019 | |
| Committee of Privileges | 2017 to 2019 | |
| Public Accounts Committee | 2017 to 2019 |
Show the other 5
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission | 2017 to 2019 | |
| Public Accounts Committee | 2015 to 2017 | |
| Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission | 2010 to 2017 | |
| Procedure Committee | 2010 to 2011 | |
| Home Affairs Committee | 2010 to 2013 |
Political Interests
Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page
Declared interests
MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.
Bridget Phillipson has 13 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Jim Murphy - £10,000.00 | 12 Nov 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | 89Up Ltd - £1,500.00 | 31 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Baron Sainsbury of Turville (David Sainsbury) - £20,000.00 | 28 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Baron Sainsbury of Turville (David Sainsbury ) - £20,000.00 | 28 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Francesca Perrin - £15,000.00 | 28 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Fast Foster & Company Ltd - £2,000.00 | 28 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Labour First - £3,923.00 | 23 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Iain Simpson - £5,000.00 | 23 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | 89up Ltd - £5,268.97 | 6 Oct 2025 |
| Miscellaneous | I am the beneficiary of the work of Bridget Phillipson Campaigns Ltd, which is a private company limited by guarantee without share capital. | 6 Oct 2025 |
Show the other 3
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Culture Quarter Ventures Ltd - £1,531.20 | 6 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Paul Callaghan - £4,000.00 | 6 Oct 2025 |
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | Paul Callaghan - £6,000.00 | 2 Oct 2025 |
Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page
Questions
MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.
Bridget Phillipson has not asked any written questions in the last 12 months. Government ministers cannot ask them, so this can simply reflect an MP’s role.
Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026
Expenses
MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.
123 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.
Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data
Election result and area
Bridget Phillipson represents Houghton and Sunderland South. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.
Labour
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
Bridget Phillipson won with 47% of the votes, and Sam Wood-Brass (Reform UK) came second with 29%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridget Phillipson | Labour | 18,837 | 47.1% |
| Sam Wood-Brass | Reform UK | 11,668 | 29.1% |
| Chris Burnicle | Conservative | 5,514 | 13.8% |
| Paul Edgeworth | Liberal Democrat | 2,290 | 5.7% |
| Richard Bradley | Green Party | 1,723 | 4.3% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
How they vote
In the last 12 months Bridget Phillipson took part in 107 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
Bridget Phillipson voted the same way as their party in 106 of the 106 votes where parties gave instructions (100%), and went the other way in 0.
What does this mean?
Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it
Recent votes
| Date | Vote | They voted | Compared with party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep | End of life for terminally ill adults: the first main vote | Against | Free vote |
| 14 Jul | Accountability of public officials: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 14 Jul | Accountability of public officials: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 14 Jul | Accountability of public officials: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 13 Jul | Immigration and asylum: the first main vote | For | Same as party |
| 13 Jul | Immigration and asylum: an attempt to block it | Against | Same as party |
See every vote on Parliament’s site
Has this changed over time?
View data table
| Month | This MP | Party average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Nov 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Dec 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Jan 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Feb 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Mar 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Apr 26 | 100% | 100% |
| May 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jun 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jul 26 | 100% | 99% |
Source: Commons Votes API
This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this