Kirsteen Sullivan is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Sullivan received 19,774 votes, representing 47.0% of the vote. The Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate, Martyn Day, came second with 11,451 votes (27.2%), while the Reform UK candidate, Jamie McNamee, secured 3,524 votes (8.4%). Sullivan was duly elected with a majority of 8,323.

The Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency is located across West Lothian and Falkirk. It was newly created ahead of the 2024 general election, drawing on the former Linlithgow and East Falkirk seat, alongside minor additions from the Livingston constituency.

Political Career

Sullivan is a member of the House of Commons Scottish affairs select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for scrutinising the expenditure, administration and policies of the Scotland Office and its associated bodies. The committee also examines the wider UK government, assessing policies and legislation that are relevant to Scotland.

Sullivan is a member of the administration committee (since April 2025) – the committee responsible for overseeing the internal running of the House and the services provided to its members and their staff. Its primary role is to ensure that the facilities and administrative support on the parliamentary estate are effective, efficient, and meet the needs of a modern legislature.

In May 2026, Sullivan was among the over 100 Labour MPs who signed a joint statement insisting it was “no time for a leadership contest.” The letter was an intervention in the political crisis engulfing Keir Starmer’s premiership, after Labour suffered heavy losses in the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru. It was organised as a counterweight to a mounting rebellion that had seen high-profile figures, including some ministers, call for Starmer’s resignation.

The statement read: “Last week we had a devastatingly tough set of election results. It shows we have a hard job ahead to win back trust from the electorate.

“That job needs to start today – with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs.

“We must focus on that. This is no time for a leadership contest.”

In February 2026, Sullivan expressed reservations about the government’s proposed overhaul of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) guidelines in a Westminster Hall debate. The session, which was triggered by two public petitions signed by over 330,000 people, focused on Home Office proposals to replace the established five-year pathway to permanent residency (also known as indefinite leave to remain or settlement) with a 10-year baseline under an “earned settlement” model.

In the debate, Sullivan suggested that the proposed reforms would amount to pulling the rug from under families.

She stated: “Now the goalposts are potentially being moved. Will the Minister commit to protecting those already on the five-year route to indefinite leave to remain from retrospective changes?”

She added: “I am not arguing that immigration policy can never change; I think most people here agree that it can and must change.

“However, there is a fundamental issue of fairness when changes are applied to people who are already here, already contributing to local and national economies and our public services and already well along a pathway that was clearly set out to them. We should not and must not pull the rug from under them now.”

In January 2026, Sullivan 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.”

Sullivan was appointed as a government “business champion” for finance in Scotland – a role established in February 2025 to facilitate engagement between the Labour administration and the private sector. The position was part of a network of approximately 40 MPs appointed by the Department for Business and Trade to act as conduits for industry views on government policy. The grouping operated under the oversight of Dan Tomlinson, the national “mission champion” for growth.

The selection of champions was designed to leverage the professional expertise of the 2024 intake of MPs, and the role was seen as an early step on the Westminster ladder. However, the scheme was reportedly scrapped in July 2025 following a meeting at 10 Downing Street. According to a Guido Fawkes report, the business champions were told that their services were no longer required.

Sullivan is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for endometriosis (chair) and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Sullivan delivered her maiden speech on 26 July 2024 during a debate on making Britain as a clean energy superpower.

In it, she said: “With the beauty of the Bathgate hills on my doorstep, as well as the Beecraigs and Polkemmet country parks, the Kinneil local nature reserve and the shorelines at Bo’ness and Blackness, I am never far from stunning and tranquil countryside. We must seek to protect and preserve this natural beauty for future generations.

“Key to this are our efforts to reach our net-zero targets and combat climate change, which is causing significant damage to our environment, but let us be clear that our natural environment also has a key role to play in achieving our goals, so it is in our interests to do all we can to protect it.”

She added: “While the increase in women members to 40% of this place is hugely welcomed, we still have much work to do to achieve 50:50 representation. As a councillor, I worked to remove barriers to participation, doing my bit to ensure that council chambers started to reflect the communities that we represent. I pledge to continue that work with hon. Members in and across this Chamber.

“Finally, I think most people here would agree that our politics has been mired by division and scandal in recent years, and that has undermined public trust in politicians. We have a duty to restore that trust, which is key to our democracy.”

Before entering parliament, Sullivan was elected as a Labour councillor on West Lothian Council in 2017. She stood down as a councillor in 2024.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Sullivan 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 ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Sullivan 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.

Welfare vote (July 2025): Sullivan 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

Sullivan 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).

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Sullivan 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

Sullivan was born in Glasgow in July 1975. She attended St Ninian’s High School.

Sullivan studied French and politics at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a master of arts degree in 1998. She completed a master’s degree in business information technology systems at the Strathclyde Business School in 1999.

Sullivan’s career before entering frontline politics centred on business analyst roles, including at Prudential PLC and Scottish Widows.

Personal Life

Sullivan lives in her Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency. She is married and has three children.

Trivia

Sullivan signed the June 2025 welfare bill reasoned amendment.