Fleur Anderson is the Labour Party MP for Putney. She was first elected to parliament in December 2019, gaining the seat from the Conservative Party.

In the 2024 general election, Anderson received 24,113 votes, representing 48.9% of the vote share. The Conservative candidate, Lee Roberts, came second with 11,625 votes (23.6%), while the Liberal Democrat candidate secured 5,943 votes (12.1%). Anderson was elected with a majority of 12,488 votes.

The Putney constituency is situated in South West London, following the Thames riverbank southwards and incorporating areas like Putney town centre, Roehampton, Southfields, and parts of Wandsworth.

The constituency includes affluent residential areas alongside student populations from Roehampton and Kingston universities. It recorded one of the highest votes to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum (approximately 72%). Anderson’s 2019 victory was the Labour Party’s only gain from the Conservatives in that election.

Notable previous MPs for Putney include former Conservative cabinet ministers David Mellor (1979-1997) and Justine Greening (2005-2019). Labour held the seat between 1997 and 2005.

Political Career

Anderson is a member of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee (since October 2025) – the committee responsible for examining the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other associated bodies.

Anderson was parliamentary under-secretary of state for Northern Ireland from July 2024 to September 2025.

Prior to the 2024 general election, Anderson served as shadow paymaster general from December 2021 to September 2023, having briefly held a more junior shadow Cabinet Office post (January 2021 – December 2021). In the September 2023 shadow frontbench reshuffle, Labour leader Keir Starmer appointed her to be shadow minister for Northern Ireland.

Anderson previously served as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Preet Gill as shadow secretary of state for international development. A PPS acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. She ceased to hold this role in 2021, upon her promotion to the shadow Cabinet Office team.

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Anderson has voiced opposition to expanding Heathrow airport, claiming further development would mean unacceptable levels of noise and air pollution for her constituents beneath airport’s flight path.

In a 2023 Westminster Hall debate, Anderson warned that any move to expand Heathrow Airport would present “a serious health issue” for her constituents.

She said: “There is no version of an expanded Heathrow which is compatible with climate targets.

“There is no version of an expanded Heathrow that does not reduce the quality of the lives of 650,000 people in my constituency and beyond, who live under the flight path.

“And there is no version of an expanded Heathrow that does not make the air our children breathe even more polluted.

“I implore you, put the quality of life and the planet first, and the profits of your shareholders second.”

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Anderson added: “The cost to the quality of life of Putney residents cannot be underestimated. The noise is constant. It affects sleep, and physical and mental health. We cannot have it any more. I am here to ask the government to rethink the plans and say a definitive no to Heathrow expansion.”

She was a member of the education select committee from March 2020 to May 2020 and again from September 2020 to July 2021.

She delivered her maiden speech on 9 January 2020 during a debate on the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill.

Commenting on Brexit, she said: “It was the main issue of the election in Putney: 74% of Wandsworth residents voted to remain – an even higher figure than in Scotland. More than one in 10 constituents in Putney are from other EU countries and are a very welcome part of our community.

“I believe that Brexit is an act of monumental self-harm. In Putney, I have spoken to people who have burst into tears on the doorstep, not just from seeing me, but because of their heightened anxiety about their rights and status as EU citizens, no matter how many years they have been here.”

From 2014 to 2021, Anderson served as a Labour councillor on Wandsworth Borough Council, representing Bedford ward. She also held the position of deputy leader of the council’s Labour group.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Anderson was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was support by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Labour leadership 2020: Anderson was one of 82 Labour MPs who nominated Keir Starmer for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Starmer’s 82 nominations were the highest of any candidate. The shadow Brexit secretary won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Factional identity and party tradition

SERA: Anderson is a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) – a socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. Founded in 1973, SERA is the party’s official environmental campaign group. The organisation campaigns on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, biodiversity, air quality and the transition to a green economy. SERA describes its member MPs as “champions for the environment”.

Brexit and Europe

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, Anderson was one of 193 Labour candidates to sign the anti-Brexit “Remain pledge”, drawn up by the campaign group Remain Labour.

It stated: “Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU.”

Anderson described the 2019 election as the “last chance to stop Brexit”.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Anderson voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Electoral reform

Electoral reform amendment: In May 2026, Anderson was one of over 70 Labour MPs who signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Anderson voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Anderson voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

In a statement setting out her position in November, Anderson said: “I have also reviewed how similar legislation has been implemented in other countries and remain deeply concerned about the risks of coercion. If this law is passed, a prognosis of six months to live could become tied to the option of assisted dying.

“While this may provide comfort to some, it could also create undue pressure on others—particularly those who are vulnerable due to financial hardship, dependency on family because of ill-health, or other circumstances.”

In a further statement published after the bill received its commons third reading, Anderson added: “On balance, I remain deeply concerned about the risks and implications for vulnerable people…

“The limited number of amendments voted on and the small amount of time allocated for debate made me more concerned about the bill rather than reassured.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Anderson voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Palestine

LFPME: Anderson has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Before Politics

Born on the island of Jersey in 1971, Anderson attended the University of York, where she studied politics.

Anderson was elected president of the University of York Students’ Union (YUSU) for the 1993/94 academic year.

Before entering parliament, she worked for over two decades in the charity sector for organisations including CAFOD, Christian Aid, and WaterAid, focusing on international development and campaigning against poverty.

During the 1990s, she spent time working in Bosnia, assisting with post-war reconstruction efforts.

Personal Life

Anderson is married and has four children.

Trivia

Anderson was the only Labour MP to gain a seat from the Conservatives at the 2019 general election.