City of Durham.

Mary Kelly Foy made headlines in April when she voted to refer Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the Privileges Committee over allegations he misled Parliament on the Peter Mandelson appointment -- one of the most provocative acts a backbencher can take against their own leader. That was the sharpest of five rebel votes since mid-2025. She also broke with Labour on the welfare cuts bill, university fee rises, expanded protest-targeting powers, and Lords amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill touching civil liberties. At 93.2% party alignment, she is not a serial rebel, but her defections cluster around a clear pattern: welfare, civil liberties, and scrutiny of the leadership.

Her voting record confirms that pattern. At 70% participation -- slightly below the Commons average -- she is not the most active division-lobby presence, but her stance profile is distinctive. She scores 100% on progressive taxation and is sharply out of step with Labour on disability benefits (100% vs the party's 12%) and welfare reform (29% vs 79%), putting her consistently to the left of the parliamentary party. She votes against tougher crime measures and is sceptical of immigration enforcement, while showing above-average support for armed forces welfare. Her 122 contributions span health, local government, economy and social care, with crime and housing also featuring.

Outside the chamber, recent local coverage highlights active constituency work: she championed Maya's Law on child safeguarding, lobbied the council on hospital parking, raised the SEND crisis at PMQs, and publicly defended Durham Pride after Reform-controlled Durham Council cut its funding. She sits on the Procedure Committee. News sentiment over the past 90 days is broadly neutral across a high volume of coverage, suggesting solid local visibility without major controversy.