Valerie Vaz is the Labour MP for Walsall and Bloxwich, having first been elected to parliament for the predecessor seat of Walsall South at the 2010 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Vaz won 12,514 votes, representing 33.6% of the vote. Independent candidate Aftab Nawaz received 7,600 votes (20.4%), while the Reform UK candidate, Elaine Williams, secured 7,293 votes (19.5%). Vaz was duly elected with a majority of 4,914 votes.  

The Walsall and Bloxwich constituency was newly created for the 2024 election, primarily from the abolished Walsall South seat and parts of Walsall North. It covers parts of the West Midlands including Walsall town centre and Bloxwich. The area is considered a safe Labour seat.  

Political Career

Vaz is a member of the panel of chairs (since November 2023). The panel of chairs is made up of MPs chosen by the House of Commons speaker, typically at the beginning of every parliament, to chair public bill committees and other commons general committees. In this capacity, Vaz also chairs debates in Westminster Hall and may also act as temporary chair during a committee of the whole House.

Vaz served in the shadow cabinet as shadow leader of the House of Commons from October 2016 until May 2021. She was initially retained in the role after Keir Starmer’s election as Labour leader.

Vaz was dismissed as part of the May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle.

In a statement at the time, Vaz said: “It has been an honour to serve as shadow leader of the house for over four-and-a-half years. I wish Keir and my successor all the best for the future.”

Vaz was previously a member of the panel of chairs from 2015 to 2016, the environmental audit committee (2022), the environment, food and rural affairs committee (2016), the science, innovation and technology committee (2015-2016), the health and social care committee (2010-2015) and the regulatory reform committee (2010-2015).

Vaz is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for classical musical gardening and horticulture, parkrun, Portugal and publishing.

Vaz delivered her maiden speech on 2 June 2010 during a debate on education and health.

In it, Vaz said: “Members will have noticed that I share the same surname [Keith Vaz]. There has already been some confusion, as some members think I am his daughter, while others think I am his wife. Thankfully, no one has suggested yet that I look like his mother, but that may be to come.

“For the record, I am his sister, and I have had congratulations and commiserations in equal numbers for that.”

She added: “Let me end by saying that there is a strong feeling among members to whom I have spoken, new and old, that we will do good work together in the House, and go some way towards restoring trust in parliament. I pledge that to the House, and to the people of Walsall South.”

Before entering parliament, Vaz served as a Labour councillor on Ealing London Borough Council from 1986 to 1990, including time as deputy leader. She unsuccessfully contested the Twickenham constituency at the 1987 general election.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Oppose leadership election: In May 2026, Vaz 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.”

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Vaz was one of 175 Labour MPs who nominated Bridget Phillipson 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.

Phillipson, the serving education secretary, was widely viewed as the candidate favoured by Downing Street and the party leadership. She secured 175 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 80 required to reach the final ballot. She was ultimately defeated by Lucy Powell.

Labour leadership 2020: Vaz 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: Vaz was one of 68 Labour MPs who nominated Andy Burnham 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.

Burnham, the shadow health secretary, was initially considered the frontrunner. He secured 68 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. He ultimately finished second in the contest with 19% of the vote, losing to Jeremy Corbyn in the first round.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Vaz 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 Vaz as a reliable supporter.

Labour leadership 2010: Vaz was one of 81 Labour MPs who nominated David Miliband for the party’s leadership in May 2010. The election followed the resignation of Gordon Brown, who stepped down as prime minister and Labour leader after the 2010 general election.

Miliband, the former foreign secretary, was seen as closely aligned with the New Labour project – a Blairite figure. He secured 81 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 33 required to reach the final ballot, but was narrowly defeated by his brother, Ed Miliband, in the final round by 50.7% to 49.3%.

Factional identity and party tradition

Usdaw: Vaz is a member of the Usdaw Union Parliamentary Group – a group of MPs who are members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and work generally to represent the union’s interests within parliament.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Vaz supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of her constituents, 61.6% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Vaz 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.

Electoral reform

Electoral reform amendment: In May 2026, Vaz was one of over 70 Labour MPs who signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

Assisted dying

Vaz 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

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, Vaz voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at its second reading. The landmark piece of legislation, which received its second reading by 400 votes to 175, legalised marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Vaz voted in favour of 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): Vaz 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.

Syria airstrikes (2013): Vaz voted against the government’s motion on the principle of military intervention in Syria in August 2013. The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, a move which effectively ruled out UK participation in any US-led military strikes.

Palestine

LFPME: Vaz has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Vaz 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.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Vaz was among 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the King’s Speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza – defying the instruction set out by the party’s frontbench. Labour had tabled its own motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict and ordered its representatives to support that stance.

Palestinian recognition vote (2014): In October 2014, Vaz was one of 192 Labour MPs who voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. The motion, passed by 274 votes to 12, called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

Before Politics

Born Valerie Carol Marian Vaz in Aden (now Yemen) on 7 December 1954. Her family originates from Goa, India. She moved to the UK aged 10.

Vaz’s father died by suicide when she was aged 16.

She attended Twickenham County Grammar School. She studied biochemistry at the University of London.

Vaz qualified as a solicitor in 1984. She worked in local government law, set up her own firm and sat as a deputy district judge on the Midland and Oxford Circuit.

She later joined the government legal service, working at the Treasury Solicitor’s Department and the Ministry of Justice. She also briefly worked as a presenter for BBC TV Network East in 1987.  

Personal Life

Vaz is married to Paul Townsend. They have one daughter.

Her brother is the former Labour MP Keith Vaz, who served as chair of the House of Commons home affairs committee from 2007 to 2016. He was also minister of state for Europe from 1999 to 2001.

She is Roman Catholic.

Trivia

Vaz’s hobbies include music and gardening.

She is a distant relative of Saint Joseph Vaz, a 17th-century missionary who was canonised in January 2015 by Pope Francis.