David Baines is the Labour Party MP for St Helens North, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Baines won 21,284 votes, representing 52.6% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Malcolm Webster, received 9,115 votes (22.5%), while the Conservative candidate, Jayne Rear, secured 4,507 votes (11.1%). Baines was duly elected with a majority of 12,169.

The St Helens North seat has been held by the Labour Party since its creation in 1983. Baines’ immediate predecessor was Conor McGinn, who was elected as Labour but later sat as an Independent after being suspended from the party. McGinn stood down at the 2024 general election.

Political Career

David Baines currently serves as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in 10 Downing Street. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. The role is widely regarded as the first step on the ministerial ladder. Although they cannot speak for the government in debates, a PPS is bound by collective responsibility and becomes part of the so-called “payroll vote”, expected to support the official line in all divisions. Baines was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

In May 2026, Baines publicly called for Keir Starmer, the prime minister, to step down/set out a timetable for his departure. The move followed the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru.

In January 2026, Baines was one of over 60 Labour MPs to sign a letter to the prime minister calling for the introduction of an Australia-style ban on social media access for children under the age of 16. Organised by Plymouth Moor View MP Fred Thomas, the initiative brought together a cross-factional coalition of backbenchers – spanning the Socialist Campaign Group, Tribune Group and Blue Labour – to demand action.

The letter called on Keir Starmer to “show leadership” by introducing a minimum age for social media access “to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms”.

It stated: “We are all strong supporters of technology, and of this Labour government’s ambition to use tech to improve lives. But successive governments have done far too little to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms.”

In June 2025, Baines was one of 22 newly elected Labour MPs who co-signed a letter to the leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) calling for improved paternity leave for parliamentary staff. The letter, organised in collaboration with the campaign group The Dad Shift, argued that the current provision of two weeks’ paid leave was “unfair” and left parliament trailing behind leading private and public sector employers.

The letter said current rules meant MPs were “unable to support our staff appropriately at some of the most important times of their lives”.

They added: “Dads in our offices get just two weeks off, a situation that is unfair and puts parliament many steps behind top employers across the country.”

In response, a government spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “We are committed to making sure parents receive the best possible support to balance their work and home lives as part of our Plan to Make Work Pay.”

Baines has sat as a member of the House of Commons work and pensions select committee (2025-2026), the petitions committee (2024-2025) and the procedure committee (2025).

Baines is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Liverpool City Region, local growth and the Rugby Football League (chair).

In a February 2025 session of commons business questions, Baines raised the fact that no rugby league player had ever been awarded a knighted or damehood.

Baines said: “In all this time, no one from the sport of rugby league has ever received the highest honour of a knighthood or a damehood.

“Not one person in 130 years. Despite having many worthy recipients and candidates for such honours, including the likes of Billy Boston, Alex Murphy and Kevin Sinfield.

“Does the leader [of the House of Commons Lucy Powell] share my dismay and frustration and surprise at this oversight?”

Lindsay Hoyle, the commons speaker and former president of the Rugby Football League, intervened. He said that “now is the time” to knight the former professional player Kevin Sinfield, who raised more than £10 million to combat motor neurone disease (MND).

In May 2025, Baines said the oversight amounted to a “scandal”.

He stated: “This, I suspect, is because they come from working class backgrounds, didn’t go to the right schools, and didn’t mix in the right social circles.”

On 9 June 2025, Billy Boston, the first non-white player selected for a Great Britain tour, was knighted.

Baines delivered his maiden speech on 26 July 2024 during a debate on making Britain a clean energy superpower.

In it, he said: “My home of St Helens North is made up of historic, distinctive villages around and including the towns of St Helens and Newton-le-Willows. The industrial revolution and all the advances made by our country in the 1800s and beyond simply would not have happened without the toil and ingenuity of working people in the communities that I am now proud to represent.”

He added: “My own children are now 11 and seven, and as their dad I am relieved for them that they will grow up under a Labour government who are passionate about improving life for them and their generation, creating opportunities, and rebuilding Britain brick by brick.

“I thank the voters of St Helens North for giving me the opportunity to serve, to be part of that change, and hopefully to prove that government and politics can be a force for good.”

Before entering parliament, Baines was the leader of St Helens Borough Council from May 2019 until May 2024. He was first elected as a Labour councillor for the Windle ward in 2013. He also served as deputy mayor of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority from June 2023 to July 2024.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Baines 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

Red Wall Caucus: Baines is a member of the Labour Red Wall Caucus, a parliamentary pressure group of Labour MPs representing constituencies in the Midlands and Northern England. Formed in November 2024 and led by Bassetlaw MP Jo White, the caucus serves as a voice for the so-called “red wall” seats that returned to Labour en masse at the 2024 general election.

In May 2025, following a series of disappointing local election results for the Labour Party, the caucus issued a statement calling for a shift in government strategy. The group argued that Keir Starmer’s “plan for change” messaging had “fallen on deaf ears”, inviting ministers to “visit our areas, listen and rebuild the social contract between government and the people.”

The statement added: “The demands raised by new MPs from post-industrial towns where infrastructure is poor with years of underinvestment must be taken off the too-difficult-to-do list.

“Breakaway from Treasury orthodoxy otherwise we will never get the investment we desperately need. The government needs to it improve messaging by telling our story and articulating our values in the language that resonates and is heard.”

In a subsequent letter to Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, on 27 August 2025, the MPs said they were elected “with commitments to destroy the criminal smuggling gang networks, ensure that our border is secure… and to quickly remove those who have no entitlement to be here.”

They went on to critique Farage’s deportations plan.

The MPs added: “We believe that migrants who pose a threat to public safety should be tagged, and that we should expand right-to-work checks to crack down on illegal working. We believe sex offenders should never get asylum in the UK. We believe that the criminal people smuggling gangs should be treated like terrorists.”

Labour Growth Group: Baines has been listed as a member of the Labour Growth Group (LGG) – a vocal faction of backbenchers committed to ensuring economic growth remains the central mission of the government. The group, largely composed of MPs from the 2024 intake, positions itself as the voice of “the builders, not the blockers” and provides organised support for ministers taking on politically difficult decisions in the name of economic expansion.

In an open letter addressed to Keir Starmer, issued upon the group’s founding in July 2024, LGG MPs said it was imperative that “the government grasps the nettle and goes for growth”.

They added: “This absolutely has to start with the sweeping planning reforms to get Britain building again. Under the Tories, planning permissions for new homes hit record lows and housebuilding cratered. Indeed, not once in their 14 years in power did the Conservatives meet their housing targets.

“Energy and transport projects were promised but not built. That’s why we are writing to you to make clear that it’s in the national interest to start delivering on our manifesto promise, including 1.5 million more homes across this parliament at the earliest opportunity.

“A failure to act will not be forgiven by the public. Britain has a housing crisis and a huge infrastructure deficit – without strong and immediate action, this will only worsen.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Baines 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

Baines 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 letter to constituents setting out his position, issued during the bill’s passage through parliament, Baines said: “We also have to consider that a survey by the British Medical Association which represents doctors found that 45% of their members said they would be unwilling to participate in the process in any way, and under the proposals in the bill they would, rightly, be under no obligation to be involved.

“The current health and care system is already stretched; to introduce new demands of staff is a challenge at any time, but when nearly half are unwilling to participate questions must be asked about its practicality.”

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Baines 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.

Before Politics

Born David Edward Baines on 25 June 1979, he grew up in Haydock, St Helens.

He previously worked as a primary school teacher.

Personal Life

Baines lives in the St Helens area.

He has two children.

Trivia

In 2025, Baines campaigned successfully for rugby league’s first ever knighthood.