Derby South.

One rebel vote defines Shanker's otherwise tight party record: in December 2024 he voted against a Liberal Democrat motion to introduce proportional representation, breaking with colleagues who backed it. On every other recorded vote he has followed the Labour line, making him a 99.8% party-line voter. Recent votes include backing government powers to withdraw housing support from failed asylum seekers who work illegally, and supporting the government's reserve power to direct pension fund investment -- the latter part of an ongoing Lords-Commons tussle the government eventually won.

At 83% participation -- broadly in line with Commons averages -- Shanker contributes actively in debates, with 139 contributions across 95 sessions. Economy and jobs dominate his speeches (51 debates), followed by local government, social care, cost of living, and health. His stance profile shows strong alignment with workers' rights (90%) and progressive taxation (97%), but low scores on parliamentary scrutiny (5%) and civil liberties (11%), both below the Labour average. He is notably more willing than most Labour MPs to override Lords amendments -- 24 percentage points above his party's average on that measure.

His most visible work has been constituency-focused. He called a Westminster Hall debate naming specific Derby car parks charging excessive fines, led parliamentary debates opposing the Sinfin waste plant, and claimed credit for brokering the "Team Derby" economic initiative with the Treasury -- though that scheme contained no new money. He is also backing Derby's bid to host Great British Railways headquarters. His seat on the Transport Committee provides a formal outlet for the transport themes running through his local campaigning. News data from the past 90 days leans towards crime and public order coverage, where his engagement score is modest.