Louise Haigh

Louise Haigh (born 22 July 1987) is a British Labour politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley at the May 2015 general election, and is the youngest Labour MP.^[1]

Early life

Haigh grew up on Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, and now lives in Norfolk Park, Sheffield.^[2] She was educated at Sheffield High School and the University of Nottingham.^[3] Her grandfather and uncle were trade union officials.^[4]

After graduating Haigh worked for the local council youth service between 2006 and 2008. She then began working in Parliament, where she was the co-ordinator of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Corporate Responsibility.^[4] During this time she was also a Unite shop steward and volunteered as a Special Constable.^[5]

From 2012 Haigh worked for Aviva as Public Policy Manager, responsible for corporate governance and responsible investment policy.^[6][7][8]

Political career

Haigh was selected to stand for the Labour in Sheffield Heeley in May 2014,^[9] and was elected to Parliament at the May 2015 general election.

Haigh was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015.^[10]

In September 2015 Haigh was appointed Shadow Minister for Civil Service and Digital Reform.^[11][12] The role, newly expanded under Jeremy Corbyn,^[13] covers the Government's digital strategy, the Freedom of Information Act, data security and privacy.^[14] On 10 October 2016, she was made Shadow Minister for Digital Economy.^[15]

Haigh was declared the "most hard-working" new MP in February 2016 after a study of the activity of MPs elected in 2015.^{[16][17] [18]}

In the 2016 Labour leadership election, Haigh supported Owen Smith.^[19]

Haigh was instrumental in revealing that hundreds of women had their Tax Credits stopped in error by US company Concentrix.^[20] The revelation led to an announcement that their HMRC contract wouldn't be renewed.^[21]

References