Chesterfield.

Toby Perkins is most visible right now as Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, where he has launched an inquiry into whether the Treasury is blocking progress on climate and nature targets -- a direct challenge to his own government's priorities. He has also led committee scrutiny of PFAS "forever chemicals" and their links to cancer in firefighters, calling for tougher regulations aligned with European standards. In Parliament, he broke with Labour twice: voting against a government crime bill package in June 2025, and backing a pro-autonomy amendment to the assisted dying bill where most Labour MPs did not.

At 76% participation -- slightly below the Commons average -- and 99.5% party-line voting, Perkins is broadly a loyal Labour MP whose distinctiveness lies in his committee work rather than rebel votes. His 166 contributions across 84 debates are spread heavily across economy and jobs, environment, local government, and energy. His stance data flags notable gaps from his party: he scores 31 points below Labour's average on anti-sexual-exploitation votes and 21 points below on football regulation, though the reasons behind those deviations are not clear from available data. He scores 100% on progressive taxation votes and 93% on housing development -- both above Labour's average.

Perkins has held the Chesterfield seat since 2010 and sits on both the Environmental Audit Committee (as Chair) and the Liaison Committee, which scrutinises select committee chairs. Local news coverage over the past 90 days is largely neutral, with no significant positive or negative stories attaching to him directly. His committee chairmanship provides the clearest window into his current priorities; his voting record, beyond two deviations, offers few surprises.