Andy McDonald is the Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, having first been elected for the predecessor seat of Middlesbrough in a by-election on 29 November 2012.

In the 2024 general election, McDonald won 16,238 votes, representing 47.2% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Patrick Seargeant, received 7,046 votes (20.5%), while the Conservative candidate, Kiran Fothergill, secured 6,174 votes (17.9%). McDonald was duly elected with a majority of 9,192 votes.

The Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency was newly created for the 2024 election, primarily formed from the abolished Middlesbrough seat and parts of the former Stockton South seat in North Yorkshire/Tees Valley. It includes central Middlesbrough and eastern parts of Thornaby-on-Tees. The area is considered a safe Labour seat.

McDonald succeeded the late Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell. Bell’s death triggered the 2012 Middlesbrough by-election.

Political Career

McDonald served in the shadow cabinet as shadow secretary of state for employment rights from April 2020 until September 2021. He resigned from this post during Labour’s annual conference in 2021.

In his resignation letter, addressed to Keir Starmer, McDonald claimed his position was “untenable” after the leader’s office instructed him to go to a meeting at Labour’s party conference and “argue against a national minimum wage of £15 an hour and against statutory sick pay at the living wage”.

He added: “I joined your frontbench team on the basis of the pledges that you made in the leadership campaign to bring about unity within the party and maintain our commitment to socialist policies.

“After eighteen months of your leadership, our movement is more divided than ever and the pledges that you made to the membership are not being honoured. This is just the latest of many.”

In a short response on Monday, Starmer referred to his own work on employment rights. “Labour’s comprehensive new deal for working people shows the scale of our ambition and where our priorities lie”, he said. “My focus and that of the whole party is on winning the next general election so we can deliver for working people who need a Labour government.”

Prior to this, McDonald was shadow secretary of state for transport (2016-2020) and shadow minister for transport (2016).

McDonald had the Labour whip suspended between October 2023 and March 2024 following a speech at a pro-Palestine rally where he used the phrase “between the river and the sea”. Labour stated the comments were “deeply offensive”.

McDonald told the pro-Palestine rally: “We won’t rest until we have justice. Until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea, can live in peaceful liberty.”

The whip was restored in March 2024 after a lengthy investigation.

A Labour party spokesperson said: “The chief whip has today restored the Labour whip to Andy McDonald MP. This follows a full investigation by the Labour party into complaints received about public remarks that he made in October 2023.

“The investigation concluded that he had not engaged in conduct that was against the party’s rulebook but reminded him of the importance of elected representatives being mindful not only of what they say in public but how their words may be interpreted, especially in reference to controversial or emotive issues.”

In a statement, McDonald said: “It was never my intention to use words that would cause anyone distress or anguish and I bitterly regret the pain and hurt caused. Accordingly, I will not use that phrasing again.

“I was disappointed that the reason for my suspension was misreported in some quarters and that this has caused reputational damage to myself and further pain and suffering to others.

“I will continue to denounce the abominations of antisemitism and Islamophobia wherever they raise their ugly heads. These are key reasons why I joined the Labour Party 45 years ago.”

In February 2013, McDonald was appointed as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Emily Thornberry as shadow attorney general. Some months later in October, he was appointed as the PPS to Chuka Ummuna as shadow business secretary. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs.

McDonald was a member of the House of Commons business and trade committee (2022-2024), and the justice committee (2012-2016).

McDonald is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for acquired brain injury, Chagos (British Indian Ocean Territory), medical cannabis under prescription, Palestine, and spinal cord injury.

McDonald delivered his maiden speech during a debate on the economy in December 2012.

In it, he said: “In a town where more than 10 people currently chase each and every job that comes along, it is a most cruel slight and insult to say, as some assert with unremitting regularity, that all such people are somehow by definition scroungers. To all those who would say such things, I make this plea: if they are fortunate enough to be in employment or to have other means and if they can heat their homes and support their families, they should tread carefully on the sensitivities of those who cannot make such boasts.”

He added: “I am greatly honoured and feel immensely humbled and privileged to be in this place, representing the town of my birth. The circumstances that have caused me to be here were of course most tragic and sudden and I wish to make some comment about my immediate predecessor Sir Stuart Bell, who sadly died on 13 October 2012. Sir Stuart became MP for Middlesbrough in 1983 after beating a certain Tony Blair in the selection process and represented the Middlesbrough constituency for almost 30 years until 2012.”

Before entering parliament, McDonald served as a Labour councillor on Middlesbrough Council for the Westbourne ward from 1995 to 1999.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: McDonald was one of 24 Labour MPs who nominated Bell Ribeiro-Addy 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.

Ribeiro-Addy, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG), was seen as the candidate on the left of the party. She secured only 24 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), far short of the 80 required under rules introduced in 2021.

Labour leadership 2020: McDonald was one of 33 Labour MPs who nominated Rebecca Long-Bailey 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.

Long-Bailey, then the shadow business secretary, was widely regarded as the continuity candidate for the party’s left/Corbynite wing. Long-Bailey finished second with 27.6% of the vote, losing to Keir Starmer, who won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2%.

Labour leadership 2015: McDonald was one of 68 Labour MPs who nominated Andy Burnham for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Burnham, the shadow health secretary, was initially considered the frontrunner. He secured 68 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. He ultimately finished second in the contest with 19% of the vote, losing to Jeremy Corbyn in the first round.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, McDonald was labelled as “core group” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty. This label suggested the Corbyn leadership viewed McDonald as among its closest allies, even as an inner circle member.

Labour leadership 2016: McDonald was one of the minority of Labour MPs who endorsed Jeremy Corbyn during his successful defence of the party leadership in September 2016. The election was triggered following a period of intense tension after the EU referendum, which saw a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs.

Corbyn, who was automatically included on the ballot as the incumbent, was challenged by Owen Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary. Corbyn won the election with an increased mandate, securing 61.8% of the vote compared to 38.2% for Smith.

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialism26: In May 2026, McDonald was a signatory of Socialism26, a political initiative and pressure group launched by a coalition of Labour MPs and general secretaries from several major affiliated trade unions, including Unison, Aslef, the CWU, the TSSA and the FBU. The group described itself as advocating a “programme for change” intended to facilitate a “progressive political reset” within the Labour Party. It called for a return to traditional socialist values and greater internal party democracy.

The initiative was built upon a set of policy demands, including urging the government to “recognise the genocide in Gaza”, deliver full compensation for the “Waspi” women affected by state pension age changes, protect civil liberties and embrace intervention to lower energy bills.

Socialism26 described this programme as “the bare minimum to ensure that the public can see and feel the difference a socialist government makes to their lives.”

Socialist Campaign Group: McDonald has been listed as a member of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) – the standard-bearer of the left wing within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Founded in 1982 by followers of Tony Benn, the group has traditionally advocated policies such as widespread public ownership, wealth redistribution and strengthened trade union rights.

Trade Union Group: McDonald is a member of the Trade Union Group of Labour MPs. This long-standing group, founded in 1926, serves as a link between the Labour party and the trade union movement, aiming to ensure that the voices of working people and their unions are represented in parliament.

Momentum endorsement: McDonald was endorsed by the left-wing campaign group Momentum in the 2024 general election. Momentum was founded in 2015 to support the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and to campaign for socialist policies within the Labour party.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: McDonald supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of his constituents, 66.1% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, McDonald voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): McDonald was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

In May 2025, McDonald had signed a letter warning the government that the cuts were “impossible to support” and calling for a change in direction.

The letter, signed by 42 Labour MPs, read: “The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over 3 million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.

“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”

Welfare vote (July 2025): McDonald went on to vote against the 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.

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, McDonald signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Welfare vote (July 2015): Alongside almost one quarter of his colleagues, McDonald voted against the Conservative government’s Welfare Reform and Work Bill at second reading – defying the party whip which instructed Labour MPs to abstain. This decision to abstain, taken by interim Labour leader Harriet Harman, caused a furious backlash within the party, particularly from its left wing. It became a defining issue in the ongoing leadership contest. Jeremy Corbyn was the only candidate to vote against the bill. Overall, 48 Labour MPs voted against the proposed legislation.

Assisted dying

McDonald 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).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): McDonald 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.

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, McDonald voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at its second reading. The landmark piece of legislation, which received its second reading by 400 votes to 175, legalised marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

Foreign policy and security

Syria airstrikes (2015): McDonald voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Syria airstrikes (2013): McDonald voted against the government’s motion on the principle of military intervention in Syria in August 2013. The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, a move which effectively ruled out UK participation in any US-led military strikes.

Palestine

LFPME: McDonald 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.

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, McDonald was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): McDonald was among 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the King’s Speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza – defying the instruction set out by the party’s frontbench. Labour had tabled its own motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict and ordered its representatives to support that stance.

Palestinian recognition vote (2014): In October 2014, McDonald was one of 192 Labour MPs who voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. The motion, passed by 274 votes to 12, called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

Before Politics

Andrew Joseph McDonald was born in Acklam, Middlesbrough on 8 March 1958.

He attended local Catholic schools including St. George’s secondary school (now Trinity Catholic college) and St. Mary’s sixth form college. He studied law at Leeds polytechnic (now Leeds Beckett university).

He worked as a solicitor for over 25 years, specialising in personal injury law at Thompsons solicitors in Middlesbrough. He led the firm’s serious injury unit for the region and was head of military claims.

He served as an adviser to the defence select committee in 2003 regarding armed forces pensions and compensation. He was involved with the association of personal injury lawyers’ military special interest group and the Royal British Legion’s solicitors group.

Personal Life

In December 2013, McDonald was reported to live with his wife, Sally. They have four children.

They sadly lost a son, Rory, 16, in 2006.

In December 2021, McDonald called on ministers to investigate whether medical cannabis could have saved Rory, who died with epilepsy.

McDonald told the commons: “We were confronted with our beloved Rory locked in status and I recall so vividly calling the ambulance and having him whisked off to hospital where a consultant told us that we had better call a priest.”

He added: “Then for all of us, my wife Sally, my son Paddy, and my daughter Rosie, holding Rory as he died. I never want to have any of those families to suffer such an outcome. I just bitterly regret that I have not shown the courage and the determination of people like Hannah Deacon in securing that medication for her child.

“Oh how I wish I had been as wise as she.”

McDonald was a governor of Middlesbrough College from July 2012 to October 2015. He stepped down to take up the role of honorary governor.

Trivia

McDonald has been a member of the Labour Party since 1979.