Dame Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Chi Onwurah has been an MP since 2010. Currently: Liaison Committee (Commons); Science and Technology Committee (Commons).
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Minister (Science, Research and Innovation) (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) | 2023 to 2024 | |
| Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) | 2020 to 2021 | |
| Shadow Minister (Science, Research and Innovation) (Department for Business and Trade) | 2020 to 2023 | |
| Shadow Minister (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) (Industrial Strategy) (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) | 2016 to 2020 | |
| Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills) (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) | 2015 to 2016 | |
| Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport) (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) | 2015 to 2016 | |
| Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office) (Cabinet Office) | 2013 to 2015 | |
| Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills) (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) | 2010 to 2013 |
Committees
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Liaison Committee (Commons) | 2024 to now | Now |
| Science and Technology Committee (Commons) | 2024 to now | Now |
| Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill | 2023 | |
| Powers of Attorney Bill | 2023 | |
| Professional Qualifications Bill [HL] | 2022 | |
| Science and Technology Committee (Commons) | 2020 | |
| Business, Innovation and Skills Committee | 2010 |
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.
Chi Onwurah has 14 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP | BornGood Rebuyer Ltd. - £1,200.00 | 14 Jul 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Newcastle Eagles Basketball Ltd - £336.00 | 13 Jan 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Newcastle College - £500.00 | 13 Jan 2026 |
| Visits outside the UK | International visit to South Korea between 13 December 2025 and 17 December 2025 | 8 Jan 2026 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Cristina Caffarra - £169.00 | 11 Nov 2025 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Newcastle City Council - £275.00 | 7 Nov 2025 |
| Visits outside the UK | International visit to Brunei between 25 May 2025 and 30 May 2025 | 7 Nov 2025 |
| Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources | Cristina Caffarra - £406.00 | 21 Mar 2025 |
| Miscellaneous | Member of the Board of the Hamilton Commission, a standalone piece of research in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering, that will work to improve the representation of black people in UK motorsport. | 23 Nov 2020 |
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Residential in Unspecified | 7 Nov 2016 |
Show the other 4
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Residential in Northumberland | 2 Nov 2016 |
| Miscellaneous | Director of the Foundation for Science & Technology. | 12 Aug 2016 |
| Miscellaneous | Honorary Vice President of ACTSA (Action for South Africa). | 17 Dec 2015 |
| Miscellaneous | Chartered engineer (non-practising). | – |
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.
Chi Onwurah asked 122 written questions in the last 12 months.
Who they asked
Latest questions
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.
112 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
Chi Onwurah represents Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West. 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
Chi Onwurah won with 46% of the votes, and Ashton Muncaster (Reform UK) came second with 19%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chi Onwurah | Labour | 18,875 | 45.6% |
| Ashton Muncaster | Reform UK | 7,815 | 18.9% |
| Frances Lasok | Conservative | 4,228 | 10.2% |
| Yvonne Ridley | Independent | 3,627 | 8.8% |
| John Pearson | Green Party | 3,228 | 7.8% |
| Ali Avaei | Liberal Democrat | 1,946 | 4.7% |
| Habib Rahman | Independent | 1,636 | 4.0% |
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 Chi Onwurah took part in 186 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
Chi Onwurah voted the same way as their party in 184 of the 184 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 |
| 11 Sep | A vote to end a debate | Against | Free vote |
| 10 Sep | Social housing: an attempt to block it | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | 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% |
| Sep 26 | 100% | 100% |
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