Toby Perkins | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Chair of theEnvironmental Audit Select Committee | |
| Assumed office 11 September 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Philip Dunne |
| Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs | |
| In office 5 September 2023 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Shadow Minister for Apprenticeships and Lifelong Learning | |
| In office 9 April 2020 – 5 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Seema Malhotra |
| Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces | |
| In office 14 September 2015 – 27 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Alison Seabeck |
| Succeeded by | Wayne David |
| Shadow Minister for Small Business | |
| In office 7 October 2011 – 14 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Chuka Umunna |
| Succeeded by | Bill Esterson |
| Member of Parliament forChesterfield | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Holmes |
| Majority | 10,820 (26.1%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1970-08-12)12 August 1970 (age 55) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Chesterfield,Derbyshire, England |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
Matthew Toby Perkins (born 12 August 1970) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forChesterfield since2010. He was elected as chair of theEnvironmental Audit Select Committee in September 2024.
Matthew Perkins was born on 12 August 1970 inReading.[1] He is the son ofV. F. Perkins and Tessa Pudney (daughter of the poetJohn Pudney). He has a sister, Polly. He is a grandson of the poetJohn Pudney and a great-grandson ofA. P. Herbert, Independent Member of Parliament forOxford University (1935–1950). Perkins attendedTrinity Catholic School inLeamington Spa, andSilverdale Comprehensive School inSheffield. He worked in the private sector from 1987 until he was elected to Parliament in 2010. He was in IT Sales as a consultant and Regional Manager for the Prime Time Recruitment organisation, and subsequently set up a rugby product business.[2] Perkins was a councillor for Rother Ward on Chesterfield Borough Council from 2003 to 2011.[3]
At the2010 general election, Perkins was elected as MP forChesterfield, defeating the incumbentLiberal DemocratPaul Holmes, and winning with 39% of the vote and a majority of 549.[4] Following Perkins' election to Parliament in 2010, he asked a question inDavid Cameron's firstPrime Minister's Questions as Prime Minister and was named by theFinancial Times as one of the best six newcomers of the first 100 days of the 2010 parliament.[5]
He backedDavid Miliband for the Labour leadership. UnderEd Miliband, Perkins became the first of the 2010 intake of new members[6] to speak from the front bench when becoming a Shadow Education Minister in September 2010 underAndy Burnham. He was moved into the Shadow Business team as Shadow Minister for Enterprise and Small Business in 2011, underChuka Umunna. As Shadow Business Minister he was responsible for Labour's policies on Access to Finance, Small Businesses, Regulation and de-regulation, Insolvency, Procurement, Pubs and the High Street.
In July 2014,Douglas Alexander appointed Perkins one of three Labour Party Deputy Chairs for the 2015 general election campaign, alongsideGloria De Piero andJonathan Ashworth. He had previously run Labour'sby-election campaign inWythenshawe and Sale East. He also worked on by-election campaigns in Corby, Bradford West and Eastleigh.
At the2015 general election, Perkins was re-elected as the MP for Chesterfield with an increased vote share of 47.9% and an increased majority of 13,598.[7][8]
Perkins belongs toLabour Friends of Israel andLabour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.[9][10] He is the current chair of the All Party Parliamentary Pub Group, the All Party Parliamentary group on Tennis and was chair of the Labour Friends of the Forces from January 2016 to October 2020.
In Parliament Perkins has led Opposition Day debates for Labour on pub company regulation, Sunday trading laws for the Olympics, and on the Deregulation Bill alongsideChi Onwurah. He has secured adjournment debates against Derbyshire fire station closures, which led to a U-turn on plans to close 18 Derbyshire fire stations, and against the sale of legal highs.
Perkins proposed in 2016, via a 10-minuteprivate members' bill, that "God Save the Queen" should cease to be the anthem used by English teams at international sporting fixtures. The second reading was due for 4 March,[11][12] but was cancelled.[13]
Perkins was Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces in the Shadow Cabinet ofJeremy Corbyn.[14] However, he resigned on 27 June 2016, along with many of his colleagues.[15] He then supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replaceJeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour leadership election.[16] He nominatedKeir Starmer in the 2020 Labour Party leadership contest.[17][18]
He campaigned for the UK to remain a member of theEuropean Union ahead of theEU Referendum on 23 June 2016.[19]
In October 2016, Perkins supported theSaudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war against the ShiaHouthis.[20]
At the2017 general election, Perkins was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 54.8% and a decreased majority of 9,605.[21][22] He was again re-elected at the2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 40.2% and a decreased majority of 1,451.[23][24]
In April 2020, Perkins was appointed asShadow Minister for Apprenticeships and Lifelong Learning by new party leaderKeir Starmer.[25] In the2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he became Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs.[26]
Perkins was again re-elected at the2024 general election, with an increased vote share of 46.5% and an increased majority of 10,820.[27][28]
On 11 September 2024, Perkins was elected as chair of theEnvironmental Audit Select Committee.[29]
Perkins was married in 1996 and separated in 2018, after it was revealed he had been having an affair with his aide, Amanda Collumbine, whom he has lived with in Chesterfield, Derbyshire since January 2019.[30]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forChesterfield 2010–present | Incumbent |
