Elsie Blundell is the Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton North, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Blundell won 15,069 votes, representing 40.6% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Steve Potter, received 8,987 votes (24.2%), while the Conservative candidate, Laura-Beth Thompson, secured 6,423 votes (17.3%). Blundell was duly elected with a majority of 6,082.

The Heywood and Middleton North constituency is located in Greater Manchester in North West England.

The constituency, known as Heywood and Middleton before recent boundary changes, was held by Labour from its creation in 1983 until 2019. Blundell’s immediate predecessor was Chris Clarkson of the Conservative Party.

Political Career

Blundell currently serves as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Department for Education. 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. Blundell was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

Blundell has sat as a member of the House of Commons transport select committee (2024-2026).

Blundell has been listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for babies (pregnancy to age 2) and women in transport (chair).

Blundell delivered her maiden speech on 19 July 2024 in a debate on planning, the green belt and rural affairs.

In it, she said: “People from my constituency have long shaped our parliamentary democracy. Heywood is the birthplace of Peter Heywood, famous for apprehending Guy Fawkes in the cellar beneath parliament in 1605.”

She added: “For the past seven years, I have enjoyed a career in transport planning. I am incredibly pleased by the measures set out in the king’s speech to accelerate infrastructure delivery and to improve our transport network.

“Unfortunately, many people in my constituency do not have access to the opportunities and jobs they need, as Heywood and Middleton – despite their location in the great, modern city region of Greater Manchester – are two of the largest towns in the north-west of England not to be served by a rail station or Metrolink tram stop.”

Before entering parliament, Blundell served as a Labour and Co-operative councillor on Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council from 2019. She stood down from the council in 2025.

Blundell was elected to Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF) as a North West representative in 2022.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Blundell 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.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Blundell 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

Blundell 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, Blundell said: “I can’t personally see a way in which taking a life could be aligned with my Christian faith. I know that some other people of faith might feel differently.

“I am also concerned that if the law was changed, some of the most vulnerable people in society – including the poor, and mentally ill – would feel ‘browbeaten’ into ending their lives, or like a burden to others.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Blundell 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.

Before Politics

Born Elsie-Jane Wraighte in August 1990 in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, she attended Ulverston Victoria High School and Barrow Sixth Form College.

She studied politics and international relations at the University of Manchester, graduating in 2012.

She worked for Transport for Greater Manchester from 2017 to 2024.

Personal Life

Blundell moved to Rochdale in 2015.

She married John Blundell, who has also served as a Labour councillor on Rochdale Council. They welcomed their first child in 2024.

Trivia

Blundell identifies as a Christian.