Introduction
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (born 19 December 1983) is a British Labour Party politician who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Houghton and Sunderland South. She was the first MP to be declared to be elected to the 2015 Parliament, with an increased majority of 12,938.
Early life
She was educated at St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Washington, Tyne and Wear, and from there went on to study Modern History at Hertford College, Oxford. She joined the Labour Party at age 15. In 2003 she was elected Co-Chair of the Oxford University Labour Club. and in 2005 graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in Modern History.
Between 2007-2010 she was a manager for Wearside Women in Need, a charity refuge for women affected by domestic violence.
Political career
After entering Parliament in 2010, she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jim Murphy, then Shadow Secretary of State for Defence.
Between October 2013 and September 2015 she served as Opposition Whip in the British House of Commons.
She was elected to the Home Affairs Committee in July 2010, and remained a member until November 2013. She is currently a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
From 2010 to 2015, she was Secretary to All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Domestic and Sexual Violence, which published the report The Changing Landscape of Domestic and Sexual Violence Services in February 2015.
She was also a member of the Public Bill Committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014, and of the Procedure Committee between July 2010 and October 2011. Since October 2010, she has been a member of the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission.
Personal life
Phillipson is married with two children, and enjoys reading, music and dog-walking.