South Shields / data
Emma Lewell · Labour Party · sitting since 02 May 2013 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
4740days
from 02 May 2013
Divisions
365
of 504 possible
Attendance
72%
139 absent / paired
Whip alignment
95%
vs party majority
Speeches
233
76 debates
Written Qs
66
60 answered
Committees
2
memberships
Expenses
£302k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 156 claims
Interests
11
2 categories
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 89 | |
| Economy | 88 | |
| Employment | 44 | |
| Education | 32 | |
| Crime & Policing | 32 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 24 | |
| Schools | 21 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 21 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 16 | 3,296 |
| Local Government | 13 | 2,803 |
| Social Care | 22 | 2,456 |
| Economy Jobs | 21 | 2,449 |
| Housing | 6 | 2,001 |
| Fiscal Policy | 8 | 1,084 |
| Crime | 6 | 913 |
| Defence | 10 | 718 |
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.
| Date | Division | Whip | MP voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09 Jul 2025 | Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill Committee: New Clause 8Vote on a technical amendment (New Clause 8) to ensure that Universal Credit payments for claimants in the Limited Capability for Work and W… | Rebelled | Aye |
| 09 Jul 2025 | Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill Committee: Clause 2, as amended, and Clause 3 stand partVote on whether Clauses 2 and 3 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill should remain part of the Bill. These clauses… | Rebelled | No |
| 09 Jul 2025 | Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill: Third ReadingMPs voted on whether to pass the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill at its final stage in the Commons. The Bill makes c… | Rebelled | No |
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Apr 2026 | Car Insurance Industry: FraudOrder. Could the hon. Member reassure me that there are no ongoing legal proceedings in relation to the case he is referring to? CrimeCost Of LivingTechnology | 23 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Mountain RescueThe sitting is resumed. The debate may now continue until 4.15 pm. I call Chris Kane. Social CareLocal GovernmentCost Of Living | 16 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Mountain RescueOn resuming— Social CareLocal GovernmentCost Of Living | 2 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Osteoporosis and Bone HealthSitting suspended for a Division in the House. HealthSocial Care | 8 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Mountain RescueSitting suspended for a Division in the House. Social CareLocal GovernmentCost Of Living | 8 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Osteoporosis and Bone HealthOn resuming— HealthSocial Care | 2 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Mountain RescueOrder. The sitting is suspended for a Division in the House. Social CareLocal GovernmentCost Of Living | 11 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Osteoporosis and Bone HealthOrder. The debate may now continue until 4.55 pm. HealthSocial Care | 9 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Osteoporosis and Bone HealthOrder. HealthSocial Care | 1 |
| 15 Apr 2026 | Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI thank the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention—possibly one of the nicest interventions I have ever had in this place. I hope that if those children I worked with are liste… EducationTechnologyHealth | 93 |
| 15 Apr 2026 | Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillA decade ago, I raised the heartbreak that siblings in the care system suffer when they are separated and have no contact with each other. My aim was simply to create parity in leg… EducationTechnologyHealth | 345 |
| 15 Apr 2026 | Strategic Defence Review: FundingI genuinely respect my friend the shadow Minister, but seriously, defence was hollowed out in his party’s time in government. Our safety is the primary responsibility of any Govern… DefenceFiscal PolicyEconomy Jobs | 91 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Defence Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 404)What does “walk out as part of a policy” mean? | 10 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Defence Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 404)And how would I do that? Can I leave whenever I want? Can I walk out whenever I want? | 19 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Defence Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 404)Is it a private phone, or are these phones all in public places? My understanding is that, initially when you join the college, you cannot leave for a number of days and you are re… | 68 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Social Care | 21 | 31.8% |
| Ministry of Defence | 20 | 30.3% |
| Department for Work and Pensions | 13 | 19.7% |
| Department for Education | 5 | 7.6% |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 3 | 4.5% |
| Treasury | 2 | 3.0% |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 1 | 1.5% |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 1 | 1.5% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 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 potential merits of a Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme replacement. | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the NHS Business Services Authority will begin writing proactively to eligible families about their NHS Healthy Start entitlement, encouraging them to apply and offering them su… | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of local authorities piloting community eligibility, or open access, for the Holiday Activities and Food programme in more deprived are… | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities in England have received from the Department for Education information on how they can implement the HAF Plus model of the Holiday Activities and Food programme. | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the eligibility criteria for NHS Healthy Start cards. | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Local Housing Allowance in helping low-income tenants meet their housing costs. | Pending |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when will the Children's Commissioner publish her report on the Army Foundation College in Harrogate. | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of families are eligible to participate in the Healthy Start scheme. | Answered |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the uptake figures were for the Healthy Start scheme in the latest period for which data is available. | Answered |
| 24 Feb 2026 | Ministry of Defence | To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the recent declassification of the Merlin database and file reference ES 38/ZGWGV, whether service personnel took part in a mission to sample the Soviet nuclear weapon known as Ts… | Answered |
| 24 Feb 2026 | Ministry of Defence | To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will instruct the UK Health and Security Agency to add service personnel (a) who flew atomic surveillance missions and (b) for whom he recently extended the eligibility criteria for the Nucle… | Answered |
| 20 Feb 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in South Shields con… | Answered |
| 20 Feb 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a respiratory Modern Service Framework, in the context of (a) NHS winter pressures and (b) health outcomes for long-term respir… | Answered |
| 20 Jan 2026 | Ministry of Defence | To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish all radiation research on British servicemen held by The Technical Cooperation Programme of the Ministry of Defence. | Answered |
| 18 Dec 2025 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the reasons why the recent business rates revaluation results in projected increases of up to 76 per cent in liabilities for pubs over the three-year revaluation period… | Answered |
E · Committees
| Committee | Role | House | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panel of ChairsSelect | Member | Commons | 27 Nov 2024 | present |
| Defence 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 | 41 | 20,257 | 6.7% |
| Office Costs | 92 | 29,193 | 9.7% |
| Staffing | 1 | 231,909 | 76.9% |
| Miscellaneous | 6 | 2,201 | 0.7% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 12,297 | 4.1% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 5,735 | 1.9% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel - London | Accommodation | 41 | 20,257 |
| Pooled staffing services | Staffing | 1 | 4,600 |
| Service charge & ground Rent | Office Costs | 6 | 3,451 |
| Website hosting and design | Office Costs | 2 | 1,800 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 14 | 1,734 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 8 | 1,721 |
| Equipment - hire | Office Costs | 11 | 1,682 |
| Waste disposal, confidential waste & rubbish collection | Office Costs | 6 | 1,373 |
| Removals | Miscellaneous | 3 | 1,338 |
| Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | Office Costs | 10 | 1,150 |
| Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | Office Costs | 5 | 1,057 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 16 | 925 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011782-381] | 42 | Paid |
| 07 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Waste disposal, confidential waste & rubbish collection | South Tyneside Trade Waste Services - Closure of Account Fees & Final Bill for former Const. Office [200011782-380] | 222 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-8255] | 622 | Paid |
| 27 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Office furniture | 499 | Paid |
| 27 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline & internet package | 85 | Paid |
| 27 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | VIKING [200011725-9415] | 22 | Paid |
| 25 Mar 2025 | Miscellaneous Moving Fees | Agency fees | 683 | Paid |
| 24 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-7597] | 612 | Paid |
| 19 Mar 2025 | Miscellaneous Removals | WESTOE REMOVALS [200011725-6350] | 300 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Other office equipment | 208 | Paid |
| 17 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Website hosting and design | https://lewellbuck.com/ | 900 | Paid |
| 17 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-8869] | 597 | Paid |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | EICR Report as requested by landlord 19 WR March 2025 | 490 | Paid |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Business rates | Business Rates 3 Feb to 31 March 2025 South Tyneside Council 2.20 | 284 | Paid |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Postage & couriers | Redirection of Business Post - constituency office relocation | 261 | Paid |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Business rates | Business Rates 3 Feb to 31 March 2025 South Tyneside Council 2.33 | 164 | Paid |
| 10 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-3026] | 796 | Paid |
| 03 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Hotel - London | [***][***][***] [200011725-2872] | 612 | Paid |
| 03 Mar 2025 | Office Costs TV licence | TVLICENSING.CO.UK [200011725-2871] [200011781-248] | 14 | Paid |
| 28 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | Electrical PAT testing of office equipment Feb 2025 [200011782-383] | 90 | 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.
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources1 entry
17 Sept 2025
Name of donor: The Great Run Company /Film Nova
Address of donor: Tyne Bridge House, Bottle Bank, Gateshead, NE8 2AR
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Hospitality and VIP access to event for the Member of Parliament and one guest, value £400
Date received: 7 September 2025
Date accepted: 7 September 2025
Donor status: company, registration 03300783
(Registered 10 September 2025)
8. Miscellaneous10 entries
16 Aug 2024
Unpaid Board Member, Sea Change Cafe, South Shields (Sea Change Cafe is a Community Interest Company)
Date interest arose: 23 March 2023
(Registered 2 August 2024)
31 Oct 2024
Patron of Forward Assist - a military veterans charity
Date interest arose: 1 January 2018
(Registered 22 October 2024)
17 Sept 2025
Patron of NAIRO - National Association of Independent Reviewing Officers. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 15 May 2019
Date interest ended: 9 September 2025
(Registered 22 October 2024; updated 10 September 2025)
31 Oct 2024
Member of the Advisory Council, Sea Power Laboratory at the Council on Geostrategy. This is an unpaid role
Date interest arose: 22 October 2024
(Registered 22 October 2024)
16 Aug 2024
Attendee of the Royal College of Defence Studies Global Strategy Programme '25
Date interest arose: 16 July 2024
Date interest ended: 18 July 2025
(Registered 2 August 2024)
16 Aug 2024
Chair of the Labour Friends of Kosovo group
Date interest arose: 23 July 2024
(Registered 2 August 2024)
18 Apr 2024
Deputy Convenor of the Catholic Legislators Network.
Date interest arose: 12 July 2017
(Registered 19 July 2017)
18 Apr 2024
A patron of the Social Care Worker of the Year Awards.
Date interest arose: 1 July 2016
(Registered 18 July 2016)
18 Apr 2024
A patron of the Every Child Leaving Care Matters organisation.
Date interest arose: 1 January 2016
(Registered 18 July 2016)
18 Apr 2024
Honorary member of the Catholic Union.
(Registered 15 September 2015)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 10 wards, 11 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon Bents | Sue Stonehouse | Green Party of England and Wales | 1,762 | 02 May 2024 |
| Biddick All Saints | Chris Davies | Green Party of England and Wales | 1,006 | 02 May 2024 |
| Cleadon East Boldon | Rhiannon Sian Curtis | Green Party of England and Wales | 1,520 | 02 May 2024 |
| Cleadon Park | Steven Alexander Harrison | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 917 | 02 May 2024 |
| Harton | Karen Myers | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 846 | 02 May 2024 |
| Horsley Hill | Phil Brown | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 887 | 02 May 2024 |
| Simonside Rekendyke | Kenneth George Wood | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 750 | 02 May 2024 |
| Westoe | Kate Owens-Palmer | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 1,316 | 02 May 2024 |
| Westoe | Nicky Gynn | Green Party of England and Wales | 1,013 | 02 May 2024 |
| Whitburn Marsden | Tracey Allison Dixon | Labour Party | 1,115 | 02 May 2024 |
| Whiteleas | Robin Anthony Coombes | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 815 | 02 May 2024 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 93,433 | Electorate 68,366 (2024) |
| Median age | 44 | years |
| Degree-educated | 27.3% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 93.0% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 58.5% | households |
| Private-rented | 14.2% | households |
| Social-rented | 27.3% | households |
| Employment rate | 50.2% | 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.