Lancaster and Wyre.

Cat Smith has broken with Labour on three significant issues over the past year. Most strikingly, she voted in April 2026 to refer Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the Privileges Committee -- only a handful of Labour MPs backed that motion -- over allegations he misled Parliament on the Peter Mandelson appointment. In July 2025 she also voted against the government's welfare reforms at Second Reading, supporting an opposition amendment to block the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. On assisted dying, she backed amendments at Report Stage that the party majority opposed, making her one of the more consistent pro-assisted-dying voices in the Labour group, voting 100% in favour compared to a party average of 48%.

Her participation rate of 69% sits below the Commons average, but when she does vote she tracks Labour on workers' rights and progressive taxation. She deviates notably on parliamentary accountability, scoring 20% against a party average of 1%, and on disability benefits, where she is more protective than most Labour MPs. Her 87 contributions across 45 debates concentrate heavily on social care, the local economy, health, and local government. She chairs the Procedure Committee and sits on the Liaison Committee -- roles that put scrutiny of parliamentary process at the centre of her work, which helps explain her accountability votes.

Local coverage over the past year has been dominated by her campaign against the closure of Lancaster's Vale View Day Centre: she launched a petition, held public meetings, and lobbied ministers directly. She also joined cross-party calls for a social media ban for under-16s. News sentiment across 117 recent articles is broadly neutral, with culture and sport generating the most coverage. Speech and voting data are available from 2015; news data covers the past 90 days.