Marie Rimmer is the Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston, having first been elected to parliament at the 2015 general election.  

In the 2024 general election, Rimmer won 18,919 votes, representing 49.7% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Raymond Peters, received 6,974 votes (18.3%), while Independent candidate James Tasker secured 4,244 votes (11.2%). Rimmer was duly elected with a majority of 11,945 votes.  

The St Helens South and Whiston constituency is located in Merseyside and includes the centre of St Helens and parts of Knowsley including Prescot and Whiston. It is considered a safe Labour seat, held by the party since its creation in 2010; the party also held its predecessor, St Helens South, from 1983 to 2010.

Political Career

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw Labour returned to power after 14 years in opposition, Rimmer served as an opposition whip from April 2020 until December 2021. She was briefly shadow minister for disabled people from February to October 2017 under Jeremy Corbyn.

In 2021, Rimmer introduced an amendment to the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 to give ministers the power to introduce regulations to ensure that human tissues, organs and cells imported from overseas that may have been forcibly harvested are not allowed to enter the UK for use in medicine. The amendment was defeated in the commons but reintroduced successfully in the House of Lords.

At the time, Rimmer stated that “our nation and the people who live here must not be complicit in the brutal acts of the Chinese communist regime.”

In 2023, Rimmer said that “stopping forced organ harvesting in China and around the world is an issue I care deeply about.”

Rimmer was a member of the House of Commons public accounts committee (2024) and the justice committee (2015-2017 and 2018-2020).

Rimmer is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for industrialised construction, Magnitsky sanctions and reparations and rugby football league.

Rimmer delivered her maiden speech on 9 July 2015.

In it, she said: “My constituency has always been at the heart of industrial change, and its heart has suffered from that change. Losing so many jobs from our economy crippled many families and tore not only the heart but the soul from their lives.

“My constituents literally lived through industrialisation and de-industrialisation. My hope is that they will live through further advanced manufacturing and industrialisation.”

She added: “My constituents and I believe that government should encourage and support such economic growth by investing in infrastructure and incentivising the private sector to invest to do what Britain is best at – innovating, producing, and exporting – thereby reducing the trade deficit and increasing revenues so that all people may benefit.

“This is my focus and my firm intent during this parliament. I will not let my constituents be let down.”

Before entering parliament, Rimmer had a long career in local government, serving as a Labour councillor on St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council from 1978 to 2014. She served as leader of the council three times during this period.

Rimmer was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005 for services to local government.  

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Rimmer 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.

Labour leadership 2020: Rimmer was one of 82 Labour MPs who nominated Keir Starmer 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.

Starmer’s 82 nominations were the highest of any candidate. The shadow Brexit secretary won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Labour leadership 2015: Rimmer nominated Yvette Cooper 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.

Cooper, the shadow home secretary, secured 59 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. She ultimately finished third in the contest with 17% of the vote.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Rimmer was labelled as “core group plus” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty. This label suggested the Corbyn leadership viewed Rimmer as a reliable supporter.

Labour leadership 2016: Rimmer was one of 162 Labour MPs who nominated Owen Smith for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The election was triggered by a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn following the EU referendum, which led to a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs. Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, was ultimately defeated by Corbyn, who won with an increased mandate of 61.8% of the vote.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Rimmer supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of her constituents, 56.1% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Rimmer 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): Rimmer 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): Rimmer 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.

In a statement setting out her reason to vote against the bill, Rimmer said that the confusion around the revised bill’s contents meant it was “absolutely necessary to vote against the bill entirely at its second reading.”

She stated: “I didn’t take the decision to vote against this bill lightly. I was well aware of the significance of such an action but that is the decision I believe I had to take: to do the right thing for vulnerable people and ensure the government reconsider further. To work with people who live with disabilities and their representatives and to affect legislation that will bring along a sustainable, long-term welfare system that is inclusive and enables a life of choice, quality and dignity.”

Welfare vote (July 2015): Alongside almost one quarter of her colleagues, Rimmer 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

Rimmer 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): Rimmer voted against 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.

Foreign policy and security

IPAC: Rimmer is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – an international, cross-party network of legislators from democratic countries focused on relations with the People’s Republic of China. The alliance, established on 4 June 2020, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, was formed to unite “lawmakers worldwide, promoting democracy and addressing threats to the rules-based and human rights systems posed by the rise of China.”

Trident renewal (2016): Rimmer voted against a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons. Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Rimmer 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.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Rimmer 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 Marie Elizabeth Rimmer in St Helens on 27 April 1947.  

After leaving school, she worked at the Pilkington Glass manufacturing plant in St Helens, first as a comptometer operator and later as a buyer. She subsequently returned to Pilkington as a health and safety advisor until leaving the role after being re-elected council leader in 1999.

Personal Life

Rimmer’s sister, Marlene Mary Quinn, has also stood as a council candidate in St Helens.

Rimmer lives with osteoarthritis and is also deaf.

Trivia

In November 2016, Rimmer joined a cross-party group of politicians and musicians to record a charity cover of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in memory of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox. The recording marked the launch of the Jo Cox Foundation, with Rimmer participating alongside members of the Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Chorus.

Organisers hoped that the project would be “uplifting and remind people of [Cox’s] values, about social cohesion and about working as a community.”