Folkestone and Hythe.

Tony Vaughan drew national attention in March when he organised roughly 100 Labour MPs to write to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper opposing her immigration reforms -- a significant show of internal pressure that generated extensive press coverage. He publicly described elements of the plan as "performative cruelty" and warned of economic disadvantage to constituencies like his. Yet when the asylum support regulations came to a vote in late April, Vaughan backed the government's position, supporting new powers to withdraw housing and financial assistance from failed asylum seekers who work illegally. That gap between his earlier public campaign and his eventual vote is the defining feature of his record right now.

At 83% participation -- slightly below the Commons average -- Vaughan is active but not exceptional on attendance. He has spoken across 76 debates, with defence, the economy, social care and health dominating, and sits on the Justice and Petitions committees. His stance data marks him out as strongly pro-workers' rights and pro-progressive taxation, and firmly against Lords scrutiny and parliamentary oversight measures, consistent with tight Labour discipline -- he has not cast a single rebel vote. Where he diverges from Labour's average, it is on assisted dying (less supportive of safeguards, more opposed to the principle) and slightly more aligned than his party on immigration control.

His most prominent local story is the successful campaign to reopen Folkestone Sports Centre, which he led publicly and which generated positive coverage. Immigration dominates his news profile overall, with 44 articles over 90 days averaging a notably positive sentiment score -- suggesting his earlier rebel posture played well in coverage terms even if it did not translate into a rebel vote. Full speech transcripts and committee contributions are available but were not analysed in depth for this briefing.