Sunderland Central.

A steady, loyalist MP whose most visible recent work has been pushing hard on Sunderland's infrastructure. He has sustained a public campaign against Network Rail over the city's station -- writing directly to the chief executive, demanding an apology, and organising passenger consultations -- and has separately lobbied for Crown Works Studios, a proposed film production facility that would bring significant jobs to the area. His parliamentary voting rate of 90% sits above the Commons average, and he has not once broken with Labour across 462 recorded votes.

His speeches concentrate heavily on health and social care -- together accounting for nearly two-fifths of his 257 contributions -- which maps onto a reported NHS background. He votes reliably for workers' rights (94% aligned) and progressive taxation (97%), and is noticeably hostile to Lords amendments, sitting at 0% on pro-Lords-scrutiny votes and near the bottom of his party on parliamentary scrutiny more broadly. Where he diverges from Labour colleagues, the clearest signal is on pensions: he votes with a pro-pension-protection position far more consistently than the party average. On assisted dying he leans against, again slightly above the party mean on anti-assisted-dying votes.

His committee roles span the Home Affairs Committee, the Petitions Committee, and the Statutory Instruments Select Committee -- a spread that reflects breadth rather than deep specialism. Local press coverage is high in volume but low in controversy, dominated by culture, sport, and community topics; the more substantive pieces centre on transport accountability and the studios project. He is a first-term MP elected in July 2024, so the full voting record covers less than two years.