Congleton / data
Sarah Russell · Labour Party · sitting since 04 Jul 2024 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
659days
from 04 Jul 2024
Divisions
424
of 504 possible
Attendance
84%
80 absent / paired
Whip alignment
100%
vs party majority
Speeches
231
73 debates
Written Qs
21
21 answered
Committees
1
memberships
Expenses
£179k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 117 claims
Interests
2
2 categories
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 82 | |
| Taxation | 81 | |
| Employment | 46 | |
| Education | 41 | |
| Crime & Policing | 38 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 28 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 22 | |
| Schools | 21 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Economy Jobs | 21 | 8,779 |
| Crime | 19 | 5,534 |
| Social Care | 19 | 3,592 |
| Defence | 10 | 3,495 |
| Utilities | 4 | 2,445 |
| Health | 14 | 2,185 |
| Cost Of Living | 8 | 2,166 |
| Local Government | 9 | 1,989 |
B · Notable divisions
Free votes, rebellions and high-salience whipped votes — the moments that distinguish this MP from the party machine. The full division-by-division record will follow once the per-MP archive is wired.
No notable votes recorded for this MP yet.
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 2026 | Security VettingIt is accepted by many on the Government Benches that the Prime Minister did not know the outcome of the vetting, but the Cabinet Secretary came forward on Tuesday, having spent a … Mp PerformanceDefence | 105 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)In terms of the specific review about the information you had about PM Law, when will that be complete? | 19 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)What extent of protection do you think the public need from AI? | 12 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)When does that programme deliver? | 5 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)Have you done a review of what complaints you had about this organisation? It bought a lot of firms quite rapidly, didn’t it? Did you have ongoing complaints about it? | 30 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)PM Law unexpectedly closed on 2 February, putting millions of pounds of client funds at risk. What risks were the SRA aware of prior to its closure? | 27 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)What are you doing about costs? To put that comment into some context, I am a solicitor, but my experience of friends and family using law firms is that they have not received tran… | 115 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)You were established in 2007, so the SRA is a relatively recent organisation, but not that new. I got the impression from what you just said that it was probably quite innovative w… | 51 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)The reality is that if you have an ongoing legal matter and you need ongoing support, you do not want to upset your lawyer by putting in a formal complaint about them, let alone co… | 72 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)I would not disagree that it has potential. | 8 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)You just talked about Garfield AI, and that is an extremely interesting model. Do you feel that your regulatory framework works? | 21 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)Perhaps, but as a regulator, that is quite a big assumption. | 11 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)On that topic, I am a solicitor—I practised for nearly 14 years—and I have never heard of this website. I spent a year supervising in a law centre, and I am not aware of you having… | 107 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)Turning to regulatory failure, you have previously apologised for not acting more quickly in recent high-profile collapses of law firms such as SSB Law. How is the SRA changing how… | 41 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Justice Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 1247)It might be. It depends if the AI is hallucinating. It depends if the AI is trustworthy. | 17 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Social Care | 10 | 47.6% |
| Department for Business and Trade | 3 | 14.3% |
| Home Office | 2 | 9.5% |
| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 2 | 9.5% |
| Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 1 | 4.8% |
| Department for Work and Pensions | 1 | 4.8% |
| Department for Education | 1 | 4.8% |
| Women and Equalities | 1 | 4.8% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the long-term sustainability of the palliative care workforce. | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reductions in the social care workforce on the level of delayed discharges from hospitals. | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the General Dental Council on reducing the waiting time for fitness to practice cases to be heard. | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure the accessibility of new housing for people with disabilities. | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the sufficiency of the level of accessible homes for people with disabilities in the North West. | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Home Office's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, whether his Department has made an assessment of the… | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve the availability of domestic abuse services in semi-rural areas. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department for Business and Trade | To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress his Department has made on improving parental rights for workers in (a) Congleton constituency and (b) Cheshire. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department for Business and Trade | To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of increasing the statutory entitlement to paternity leave. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publication of the final findings of the independent maternity services investigation. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what measures her Department is taking to support women working in UK science technology, engineering and mathematic sectors. | Answered |
| 04 Mar 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made on the number of people with a Plan 3 student loan in England and Wales; and what is the total value of those loans. | Answered |
| 14 May 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will estimate how many four year-olds live in families that would be eligible for Healthy Start vouchers had their child not become ineligible on their fourth birthday. | Answered |
| 14 May 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the annual cost to the public purse of the Healthy Start scheme; and what proportion of this cost is attributed to (a) administration and (b) payments to families. | Answered |
| 14 May 2025 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children live in families eligible for Healthy Start vouchers; and how many and what proportion of those children are in receipt of those vouchers. | Answered |
E · Committees
| Committee | Role | House | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice CommitteeSelect | Member | Commons | 21 Oct 2024 | present |
F · Expenses
Every business-cost claim reimbursed by IPSA in the current financial year, grouped by category. “Aggregated” rows are IPSA’s own year-end totals for cost types like payroll and rent that aren’t itemised claim-by-claim.
Category breakdown
| Category | Claims | Paid (£) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | 19 | 25,534 | 14.3% |
| Office Costs | 81 | 17,369 | 9.7% |
| Staffing | 5 | 123,297 | 68.9% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 8,012 | 4.5% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 3,978 | 2.2% |
| Dependant Travel | 0 | 671 | 0.4% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | Accommodation | 8 | 23,195 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 8 | 3,743 |
| Pooled staffing services | Office Costs | 1 | 3,000 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 26 | 2,450 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 10 | 1,974 |
| Rent | Office Costs | 4 | 1,908 |
| Training - staff | Staffing | 5 | 1,877 |
| Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Office Costs | 22 | 1,514 |
| Council tax | Accommodation | 1 | 1,297 |
| Moving Fees | Office Costs | 1 | 900 |
| Hotel - London | Accommodation | 4 | 825 |
| Training - staff | Office Costs | 1 | 546 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011782-12] | 40 | Paid |
| 09 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Advertising and contact cards | L AND J PRINT LTD [200011782-9] | 356 | Paid |
| 09 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011782-8] | 60 | Paid |
| 01 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Rent | Rent | 954 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -954 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -955 | Paid |
| 29 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | repairs and painting to previous office as per contract [200011782-6] | 350 | Paid |
| 29 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011782-11] | 51 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | SQSP [***] [200011725-9881] | 245 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | KAPWING PRO PLAN [200011725-9880] [200011781-576] | 2 | Paid |
| 26 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Internet | 33 | Paid |
| 25 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Other office equipment | 3,524 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Banner March 2025 | 20 | Paid |
| 17 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | DNH GODADDY [***] [200011725-4753] | 105 | Paid |
| 14 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011725-5712] | 162 | Paid |
| 12 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Training - staff | PARLI-TRAINING [200011725-6193] | 546 | Paid |
| 11 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | Rent | 3,450 | Paid |
| 04 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Rent | Rent | 954 | Paid |
| 01 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | TIMETASTIC | 12 | Paid |
| 26 Feb 2025 | Accommodation Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Internet | 33 | Paid |
G · Register of interests
Every financial interest declared by the MP, grouped under the Register’s official categories. Retracted entries are hidden but counted above.
1. Employment and earnings1 entry
01 Apr 2026
Role, work or services: Consultant Solicitor
Payer: Fox Whitfield (Specialist employment law firm), Unit 10, Wealden Forest Park, Herne Common, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 7QL
(Registered 2 August 2024)
8. Miscellaneous1 entry
16 Aug 2024
Member of the Executive Committee of the Fabian Society. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 16 July 2024
(Registered 31 July 2024)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 10 wards, 18 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alsager | Brian Thomas Drake | Labour Party | 1,326 | 04 May 2023 |
| Alsager | Reg Kain | Liberal Democrats | 1,281 | 04 May 2023 |
| Alsager | Rod Fletcher | Liberal Democrats | 1,653 | 04 May 2023 |
| Brereton Rural | John Wray | Conservative and Unionist Party | 841 | 04 May 2023 |
| Congleton East | Dave Brown | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,151 | 04 May 2023 |
| Congleton East | Rob Moreton | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 1,322 | 04 May 2023 |
| Congleton East | Sally Anne Holland | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,297 | 04 May 2023 |
| Congleton West | Emma Louise Hall | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,207 | 04 May 2023 |
| Congleton West | George Hayes | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,183 | 04 May 2023 |
| Congleton West | Heather Seddon | Labour Party | 1,179 | 04 May 2023 |
| Dane Valley | Andrew Kolker | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,616 | 04 May 2023 |
| Dane Valley | Russell George Chadwick | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,394 | 04 May 2023 |
| Odd Rode | Liz Wardlaw | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,131 | 04 May 2023 |
| Odd Rode | Patrick Redstone | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,152 | 04 May 2023 |
| Sandbach Elworth | Nicola Katie Cook | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 718 | 04 May 2023 |
| Sandbach Ettiley Heath Wheelock | Laura Elisabeth Crane | Labour Party | 715 | 04 May 2023 |
| Sandbach Heath East | Sam Corcoran | Labour Party | 563 | 04 May 2023 |
| Sandbach Town | Mike Muldoon | Conservative and Unionist Party | 688 | 04 May 2023 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 89,610 | Electorate 74,243 (2024) |
| Median age | 47 | years |
| Degree-educated | 37.5% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 96.8% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 77.8% | households |
| Private-rented | 11.5% | households |
| Social-rented | 10.7% | households |
| Employment rate | 57.5% | 16-64 in work |
J · Public spending
HMT publishes headline spending identifiable by region in PESA. Constituency-level capital allocations (Levelling-Up Fund, Towns Fund, UKSPF, transport capital, BEIS R&D) are published as separate departmental datasets. We are evaluating the cleanest reconciliation for a per-constituency view.