Sarah Smith

MP for Hyndburn

Labour

Sarah Smith is the Labour MP for Hyndburn, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Smith won 12,186 votes, representing 33.5% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Sara Britcliffe, received 10,499 votes (28.9%), while the Reform UK candidate, Richard Oakley, secured 7,541 votes (20.7%). Smith was duly elected with a majority of 1,687.

The Hyndburn constituency is located in Lancashire, North West England. Created in 1983, the seat has historically swung between Labour and the Conservatives.

Political Career

Smith 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. Smith was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

In May 2026, Smith was among the group of Labour MPs who publicly called for the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to resign or set out a clear timetable for his departure. The move followed the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru.

In a statement, Smith said: “The truth is, people are still not convinced that we are on their side.

“We have been too slow in too many areas, whether on industrial strategy, protecting our children online, or tackling big tech and its growing influence over our democracy.

“The public has also clearly demonstrated a deep frustration that the system is not managing migration into the country fairly or with sufficient control.”

She added: “Keir Starmer is a good man who succeeded where others have failed, delivering the Labour Party to a historic victory in 2024, but I have regretfully concluded that he is unable to lead us into future elections.

“I urge the prime minister to set out a timetable for an orderly transition by the end of 2026.”

In June 2025, Smith 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.”

In the wake of the 2024 general election, which saw Labour returned to power after 14 years in opposition, Smith was appointed by 10 Downing Street as a “national mission champion” for opportunity – 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.

Smith was one of five national mission champions alongside Linsey Farnsworth (crime), Tom Hayes (energy), Dan Tomlinson (growth) and Laura Kyrke-Smith (health).

Smith has sat as a member of the House of Commons housing, communities and local government select committee (2024-2026).

Smith is also a member of the joint ecclesiastical committee (since November 2024). The committee. The committee examines draft measures presented to it by the Legislative Committee of the General Synod of the Church of England.

Smith has been listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the furniture industry.

Smith delivered her maiden speech on 21 October 2024 during a debate on the Employment Rights Bill.

In it, she said: “I want to put on record how grateful I am to my parents, Rosemary and Gary, to my brother Mark, and to Margaux, James, Ellie and both the Ruths for believing in me and standing by me every step of the way.

“As a Christian, I also give thanks to Jesus for giving me this opportunity. As I go on this journey, I will remember always the verse in Micah and aim to carry out justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God throughout my time here.”

She added: “I first got involved in politics because I think it is wrong that, far too often, the postcode where people are born determines so many of their life outcomes.”

Before entering parliament, Smith was elected as a Labour councillor on Blackpool Council in May 2023. She resigned as councillor in August 2024.

Political views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Smith 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

Get Britain Working Group: Smith has been listed as a member of the Get Britain Working Group of Labour MPs – a caucus supportive of the Starmer leadership’s position on welfare. The group argues for a “new social contract built on employment and opportunity”, focusing on the rising number of people out of the workforce due to long-term sickness.

In an open letter, issued upon the group’s founding in March 2025, the group expressed its support for the government’s welfare measures set out in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. The bill was subject to a significant revolt of over 120 Labour MPs – which forced ministers into a series of concessions shortly before its first vote in the House of Commons.

Ahead of the bill’s fraught second reading debate, the MPs wrote: “Our Labour values are built on a simple but powerful idea: that every individual, regardless of background or circumstance, should have the support they need to make the most of their lives.

“Everyone who is capable of working deserves the security, dignity and agency that employment offers. Of course, there are some people who are not able to work and they must be treated with compassion and respect. But for those that can, we must restore the pathways to opportunity which are currently so sparse for millions of people.

“It is exactly what a Labour government exists to do.”

Living Standards Coalition: Smith is a member of the Living Standards Coalition. Established in July 2025, the group’s stated aim was to develop and promote policy ideas that directly reduce everyday costs for households, particularly in areas such as food, energy, housing and childcare. In an open letter published upon its founding, addressed to Keir Starmer, the MPs wrote: “Our constituents will ask one question at the next election: did this Labour government make me better off?”

They added: “To raise living standards, we support government interventions that will help to increase incomes and lower costs.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Smith 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

Smith 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): Smith 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, Smith 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.