Natasha Irons is the Labour Party MP for Croydon East, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election for the Croydon East constituency, Irons won 18,541 votes, representing 42.4% of the vote. The Conservative Party candidate, Jason Cummings, received 11,716 votes (26.8%), while the Reform UK candidate, Scott Holman, secured 5,862 votes (13.4%). Irons was duly elected with a majority of 6,825 votes.

The Croydon East constituency, located in Greater London, was re-established ahead of the 2024 election. It is formed from the former Croydon Central and Croydon South seats

Croydon Central was represented by Labour’s Sarah Jones before the 2023/2024 boundary changes, while Croydon South was represented by Chris Philp of the Conservative Party.

Political Career

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

In January 2026, Irons 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 December 2025, Irons introduced a private member’s bill (PMB) under the 10-minute rule procedure to place duties on local authorities to properly plan, deliver and resource youth services.

Irons argued that while councils have an existing legal duty under the Education Act 1996 to provide leisure-time activities, a lack of legislative definition for “sufficient” provision had left services vulnerable, resulting in a £1.2 billion funding cut since 2010.

She told the commons: “I have seen at first hand the impact that a lack of statutory protection and the defunding of youth services can have on a community. In Croydon, London’s youngest borough, we have lost our council-run youth engagement team.

“That team of youth workers provided a critical link between the council, the voluntary sector and vulnerable young people across the borough…

“The aim of the [Youth Services Bill] is to make youth services a core part of the local safety net, not an optional extra that disappears when finances are tight. That is important because youth services sit at the point where opportunity meets prevention.”

In the wake of the 2024 general election, which saw Labour returned to power after 14 years in opposition, Irons was appointed by 10 Downing Street as a “mission champion” for London – a role intended to cut across departmental boundaries and support Labour’s programme for “national renewal”. These “missions”, first set out in 2023 and subsequently given less prominence, included boosting economic growth, reducing NHS waiting times, tackling crime, establishing a publicly owned clean energy company and expanding educational opportunity.

Irons has sat as a member of the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee (2024-2026). The committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Irons has been listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for London, play, Southeast and Gatwick diamond growth gateway and youth affairs (chair).

Irons delivered her maiden speech on 2 September 2024 during a debate on technology in public services.

In it, she said: “As someone who grew up in south London in a family that was always political but did not think that politics was for people like us, I know that the decisions that we make in this place have the power to change lives for the better.

“Choices that have been made in this room took my family from sleeping on our living room floor to decent social housing.

“They enabled my mother to go back to university to retrain and to get a better job. And they gave me the opportunity to go to university, to get a career in public service broadcasting, to serve my community as a local councillor and to make my way to these benches.”

She added: “As an MP in London’s youngest borough, I want to spend my time here putting the wellbeing of our young people back on the political agenda. There is no longer-term plan than ensuring that our young people have the opportunities they deserve, so that they can go on to live the successful lives that we want them to.

“We need a national plan for what it is to be a young person in this country, and I look forward to showing how Croydon stands ready to lead that vital work.”

Before entering parliament, Irons served as a Labour councillor on Merton Council from 2018 to 2024.

Political views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Irons 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

SERA: Irons has been listed as a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) – a socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. Founded in 1973, SERA is the party’s official environmental campaign group. The organisation campaigns on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, biodiversity, air quality and the transition to a green economy. SERA describes its member MPs as “champions for the environment”.

Labour Movement for Europe: Irons was endorsed by the Labour Movement for Europe (LME) in the 2024 general election. Founded in 1981, LME is a pro-European socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. It campaigns for a close relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The organisation refers to itself as the “home of the pro-Europeans in the Labour and trade union movement”.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Irons 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

Irons voted in favour of 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 issued shortly after the bill’s second reading, Irons said: “The stark reality is that 650 terminally ill people in England end their own lives every year. Often these deaths are violent and traumatising for friends and family and have no protection from coercion.

“This bill aims to provide choice and dignity to those who are wishing to shorten their death, whilst ensuring the most vulnerable are protected from abuse.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Irons 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.

Palestine

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

Irons grew up in South London. She studied film and television at university.

She worked as a media planning manager at Channel 4 Television.

Personal Life

Irons is of Jamaican-Jewish heritage.

In an October 2024 commons debate on Black History Month, Irons told the House: “I think I am the first Jamaican-Jewish member of this House.”

Her grandparents, Ruby and Egbert Napolean Irons, emigrated from the parish of St Thomas in Jamaica. Her grandmother worked as a district nurse and her grandfather as a painter-decorator.

Trivia

Irons is Croydon’s first Black MP.