Labour Party MP for Watford.
Watford's Labour MP has been most visible raising constituent cases — most notably at PMQs in March, when Matt Turmaine pressed Keir Starmer on child abuse law reform and secured a commitment from the Prime Minister to review the legislation and meet to discuss changes. He has also championed local SEND funding, crediting a £6m boost that he says will allow more children with special educational needs to attend schools closer to home. His speech activity spans economy and jobs, health, social care, and cost-of-living debates, suggesting a constituency-facing focus rather than a narrowly ideological one.
His parliamentary engagement is solid — a 91% voting participation rate, above the Commons average — and he is a 100% party-line voter with no rebel votes to date. His stance profile broadly follows Labour's direction: strongly aligned on workers' rights, progressive taxation, and housing development. Two deviations stand out: he votes more consistently for welfare reform than most Labour MPs (+21 percentage points above the party average), and he sits noticeably below his colleagues on assisted dying access and end-of-life autonomy (around 12--15 points below). He sits on the Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises government spending.
The available news coverage — 106 articles over 90 days — is largely neutral in tone, dominated by culture, community, and crime stories rather than controversy. Some articles reference his predecessor Dean Russell, so coverage attribution is occasionally mixed. Speech data runs to March 2026; more recent committee or chamber activity may not yet be captured here.
Matt Turmaine is the Labour MP for Watford, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024.
Top eight by total divisions voted, this parliament. Volume measures engagement, not direction — see Notable Votes for free-vote moments and rebellions.
Source · The Public Whip · Hansard
Moments where the whip was free, or where Turmaine broke ranks. Free votes are the truer signal of personal stance.
No rebellions or free votes recorded yet.
Source · Hansard
“Digital public services are beneficial but must include protections for those without digital skills to ensure equitable access.”
“Constituents and faith congregations in Watford support campaigns like Open Doors; the world watch list published in Parliament is an important tool to identify persecution hotspot…”
“Staffing is crucial to magistrates and family courts functioning effectively, and the government should provide further support in this area.”
“Aligning safety standards and cutting red tape represents the pro-growth, pro-business support promised by the government at election.”
Select, joint and other committees Turmaine currently sits on. Committee work is where much of the line-by-line scrutiny of bills and departments happens, away from the chamber.
| Committee | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|
| City of London (Markets) Bill | Chair | Select |
| City of London (Markets) Bill | Member | Select |
| Public Accounts Committee | Member | Select |
Source · UK Parliament Committees API
Turmaine chairs a committee — an elected position with real agenda-setting power over what gets scrutinised.
| Department | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet Office | 2 | 22.2% |
| Women and Equalities | 2 | 22.2% |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 1 | 11.1% |
| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 1 | 11.1% |
| Northern Ireland Office | 1 | 11.1% |
| Home Office | 1 | 11.1% |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 1 | 11.1% |
What steps she is taking to help tackle pay disparities for ethnic minority people.
A person’s race or ethnicity should never be a barrier to opportunity. In March, we published the ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting consultation response and will bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows. We p…read full →
What progress he has made on establishing the National School of Government and Public Services.
The National School of Government and Public Services is on track to launch this year.We will be moving away from outsourced government training contracts and, as we promised at the last General Election, provide better value for money for …read full →
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the outcome of the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 on energy security.
Allocation Round 7 secured over 14 GW of new low carbon electricity including over 8 GW of offshore wind. This homegrown generation boosts energy security by reducing exposure to volatile international gas markets, providing long term price…read full →
What discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on support for the film industry in Northern Ireland.
This Government knows how important the film industry is, and that is why it is at the heart of our Industrial Strategy.Northern Ireland has world class creative talent - I got to see that up close at the recent Netflix premiere of How to G…read full →
Elected Councillor, Watford Borough Council. This is an unpaid role.
Elected Councillor, Watford Borough Council. This is an unpaid role.
(Registered 30 July 2024) |
Source · Members API · Last amended 16 Aug 2024
| Category | £ | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Staffing | 118,116 | 78.4% |
| Office Costs | 32,503 | 21.6% |
| Total · 65 claims | 150,619 | 100% |
Source · IPSA · FY 24_25
| Date | Item | Type | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 15 Jul | If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 15 July. | Tabled | Prime Minister |
| Year | Constituency | Votes | Share | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Watford | 15,708 | 35.3% | Won |
| 2019 | Chesham and Amersham | 7,166 | 12.9% | Lost |
| 2015 | Watford | 14,606 | 26.0% | Lost |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt TurmaineWON | Lab | 15,708 | 35.3 |
Showing the MP’s own row only. Full result table: see Watford →