Sarah Edwards is the Labour MP for Tamworth, and was first elected to parliament in a by-election on 19 October 2023,.

In the 2024 general election for Tamworth, Edwards received 15,338 votes, representing 35.0% of the vote share. The Conservative candidate, Eddie Hughes, came second with 13,956 votes (31.9%), while the Reform UK candidate, Ian Cooper, secured 11,004 votes (25.1%). Edwards was duly elected with a majority of 1,382.

Hughes, the Conservative candidate in 2024, was previously the MP for Walsall North before that seat was abolished in boundary changes.

The Tamworth constituency is located in Staffordshire within the West Midlands region.

The constituency was recreated in 1997. Following the resignation of the former Conservative MP Chris Pincher, Edwards won the seat at a by-election, becoming the first Labour MP to represent the constituency since 2010.

The constituency of Tamworth was represented by Robert Peel from 1830 to 1850. Peel’s Tamworth manifesto, issued during his shorter first stint as prime minister, laid the foundation of the modern Conservative Party. In her maiden speech, Edwards described Peel as a “visionary who sought to improve the social system that supported communities, establishing the Metropolitan police on the principles of policing by consent and its place within the community.”

Political Career

Edwards is a member of the House of Commons business and trade select committee (since October 2024). The committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Business and Trade.

Edwards won the 2023 Tamworth by-election with a 23.9 point swing – the second largest from Conservative to Labour since the 1945 general election. The by-election was precipitated by the resignation of Chris Pincher, the incumbent MP.

Pincher’s resignation followed allegations that he had drunkenly groped two men at the Carlton Club in London. Initially, Downing Street insisted that the prime minister considered the matter closed and that Pincher would remain a Conservative MP, having lost only his government job as deputy chief whip. As Downing Street’s initial position unravelled, Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak resigned as health secretary and chancellor respectively. The wave of resignations that followed forced Johnson to announce his own departure, against his obstinate wish to remain in office, on 7 July.

Edwards delivered her maiden speech on 27 November 2023 during a debate on the autumn statement.

In it, she said: “Tamworth has a rich, strong history, and my constituents are rightly proud of it. However, reflecting on the current cost of living crisis and the desire for the opportunity to live a life less burdened, they rightly want where they live, and the community they are part of, to thrive.

“The people of Tamworth voted for a fresh start and a positive vision for their town and villages.

“During the campaign, they were clear in setting out their priorities for change, and having spent over a decade giving working people a voice in the workplace, I intend to be their voice and champion in the constituency and here at Westminster.”

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Edwards 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 supported 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.

Factional identity and party tradition

Usdaw: Edwards is a member of the Usdaw Union Parliamentary Group – a group of MPs who are members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and work generally to represent the union’s interests within parliament.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Edwards 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

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

Before Politics

Born Sarah Siena Edwards on 17 June 1988 in Moseley, Birmingham, Edwards studied at Central Saint Martins in London. She graduated with a degree in spatial design in 2010.

Edwards worked for Oxfam between 2010 and 2012. She then moved back to Moseley to work as a union organiser for Unite the Union in the West Midlands.

Prior to entering parliament, Edwards served as a governor in the NHS. In this role, she led a campaign to protect cancer services across Staffordshire.

Personal Life

Edwards’ father worked as an English teacher. Her mother and brother have both worked for the NHS.

Trivia

Edwards completed the Uprising leadership course in 2012. She later joined the US Ambassadors Young Leaders Programme in 2015.