Michael Shanks.

Rutherglen's MP has staked out one of the clearest positions on assisted dying of any Labour backbencher — voting against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Second Reading, Report Stage, and Third Reading, defying his party each time. Those three rebel votes are the most distinctive feature of his parliamentary record to date. Beyond that issue, he has kept closely to the Labour line, voting with the party majority on 98.9% of divisions, including backing the Immigration and Asylum Bill and employment tribunal reforms extending claim windows to six months.

Michael Shanks participates in 61% of votes — below the Commons average — though his 864 contributions across 139 debates suggest he is active in debate if not always present for divisions. Energy dominates his speech topics (134 contributions), followed by economy and jobs (89) and environment (86), a pattern that likely reflects his ministerial or shadow brief rather than pure backbench interest. His stance profile shows strong alignment with workers' rights and progressive taxation, and he sits notably below his party average on assisted dying access (-58 percentage points) and immigration control (-33 points).

Shanks won Rutherglen in October 2023 at a by-election, overturning a large SNP majority in a result that drew national attention. Recent local coverage — largely positive — includes a petition he launched to save a local bus route and a school-pupil podcast, both pointing to active constituency work. He holds no select committee seat. Voting data runs through mid-2026; speech and news data provide reasonable coverage of his record since election.