Julie Elliott

Personal life

Elliott, youngest of three children, was born in Whitburn, Sunderland, in July 1963. Her father, Harold, served as an apprentice joiner at Sunderland Shipbuilders before working as a blacksmith striker at Wearmouth Colliery.

She was educated at Seaham Northlea Comprehensive, later gaining a degree in Government and Public Policy at Newcastle Polytechnic – now known as Northumbria University.

Elliott, a mother-of-four, served as a school governor for Whitburn Comprehensive from 1991-2004, including a stint as chair. She also served as a governor at primary schools across Sunderland and South Tyneside.

She joined the National Asthma Campaign in 1998 as a regional organiser and, in 1999, became a regional organiser for the GMB Trade Union. Her work with the union included responsibility for political matters, representing members in employment tribunals and regional pay negotiations.

Outside of her parliamentary duties, Elliott enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren, walking the coastline of her constituency and watching International Rugby Union.

Political life

Elliott joined the Labour Party in 1984 and worked as a regional organiser from 1993-1998. In 1997, she served as the agent for Tynemouth and played a key role in winning the seat for Labour for the first time since 1948.

She was elected as MP for Sunderland Central in May 2010 and went on to serve on the European Scrutiny Committee and the Business and Skills Select Committee. She was also Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Primary Care and Public Health.

In October 2013, Elliott became a Shadow Minister in the Shadow Department for Energy and Climate Change, with specific responsibility for renewable energy. She also served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Caroline Flint

Elliott was re-elected as MP for Sunderland Central in May 2015 with 20,959 votes and, after leaving the Front Bench in September 2015, she became a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

She was elected as Chair of the PLP Backbench Housing and Planning Committee in November 2015, and served as a member of the National Policy Forum. In addition to these roles, Elliott served as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Rugby Union and Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infant Feeding and Inequalities.

Elliott was re-elected as MP for Sunderland Central in June 2017. She won 25,056 votes on a 62.1% turnout, although her majority fell by a few hundred seats compared to 2015. In July 2017 she was named Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women – a forum which campaigns on state pension age issues. She has also been re-elected as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Rugby Union.

Elliott has consistently voted in favour of the removal of hereditary peers from the House of Lords, equal gay rights and same-sex marriage. She has also voted against university tuition fees, proposed reductions in spending on welfare benefits and culling badgers to tackle bovine tuberculosis. She has spoken in more than 20 debates in the last year and received answers to almost 100 written questions.

Campaigns

Elliott has taken an active role in several campaigns over the decades, both before and after becoming an MP.

One of the first, while working with the National Asthma Campaign in 1998, involved urging the Government to ban smoking in public places. She later worked with the GMB to change the law around compensation paid to victims of asbestos-related diseases.

Since becoming an MP Elliott has joined forces with the Sunderland Echo to successfully campaign against the closure of Sunderland Central Fire Station in 2014. She also led a campaign against the use of zero hour contracts in 2013.