Emma Reynolds | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Economic Secretary to the Treasury City Minister | |
| Assumed office 14 January 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Tulip Siddiq |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions | |
| In office 9 July 2024 – 14 January 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Paul Maynard |
| Succeeded by | Torsten Bell |
| Parliamentary Secretary for the Treasury | |
| In office 9 July 2024 – 14 January 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | The Baroness Vere of Norbiton |
| Succeeded by | Torsten Bell |
| Member of Parliament | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Baker |
| Constituency | Wycombe |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Purchase |
| Succeeded by | Jane Stevenson |
| Constituency | Wolverhampton North East |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1977-11-02)2 November 1977 (age 47) Wolverhampton,West Midlands, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Wadham College, Oxford (BA) |
Emma Elizabeth Reynolds (born 2 November 1977) is a British politician serving asMember of Parliament (MP) forWycombe since 2024. A member of theLabour Party, she previously served as MP forWolverhampton North East from 2010 to 2019. She served asParliamentary Secretary for the Treasury andParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions from July 2024[1] until January 2025, when she becameEconomic Secretary to the Treasury.[2]
Reynolds was born on 2 November 1977.[3][unreliable source?] She was educated atCodsall High School inCodsall,Staffordshire, followed byWulfrun College in nearbyWolverhampton. Reynolds studied atWadham College at theUniversity of Oxford, where she readPolitics, Philosophy and Economics.[4] Her stepfather Kevin taught atConcord College, anindependent boarding school set in the grounds ofActon Burnell Castle, nearShrewsbury.
Reynolds set up alobbying business in Brussels to help British companies that wished to influenceEU laws.[5]
From 2001 to 2004, Reynolds worked in Brussels as a political adviser toRobin Cook, then President of theParty of European Socialists.[6] She later worked inDowning Street and theHouse of Commons[7] as a special advisor to thenMinister for Europe and GovernmentChief WhipGeoff Hoon.[4]
In January 2009, Reynolds joined commercial public affairs consultancy Cogitamus, which gives advice to companies.[8]
Reynolds was selected as theLabour candidate for the2010 general election forWolverhampton North East in September 2008. Despite a 9% swing to theConservatives and a reduction in majority of more than 6,000, she held the seat for Labour.[4][9][10]
Reynolds spoke on many issues in theHouse of Commons including questions onBuilding Schools for the Future,free school meals,human trafficking, cuts to police numbers and Mental Health Services.[11] Shortly after her election in 2010 Reynolds was also elected to theForeign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons.
In October 2010, Reynolds was promoted by Labour'snew leader,Ed Miliband, to theopposition frontbench as a shadow junior Foreign Office Minister under the thenShadow Foreign Secretary,Yvette Cooper.[12] After the resignation of the Shadow ChancellorAlan Johnson and resulting mini-reshuffle of posts, Reynolds continued working in her post under the new Shadow Foreign Secretary,Douglas Alexander.[13] In October 2011, Emma Reynolds was promoted by Labour leader, Ed Miliband, to the position of Shadow Europe Minister. In October 2013, Reynolds was promoted by Ed Miliband to the position of Shadow Housing Minister, replacingJack Dromey. In May 2015, after the2015 general election, Reynolds was promoted to the position ofShadow Communities and Local Government Secretary byacting leader of theLabour PartyHarriet Harman, following the resignation of Ed Miliband.
Reynolds is formerTreasurer of the All-Party ParliamentaryChina Group[14] andVice Chair for theAll-Party Parliamentary Group forBritish Sikhs,[15] as well asSecretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group onHuman Trafficking.
Reynolds resigned asShadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government following theelection ofJeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.[16] She later supportedOwen Smith in the2016 Labour Party leadership election.[17]
She wasdefeated in the2019 election by the Conservatives'Jane Stevenson.[18]
In an online article for theNew Labourpressure groupProgress in 2011, Reynolds asserted that "Britain's membership of theEuropean Union is in our national interest".[19]
In an October 2012 interview with theTotal Politics website, Reynolds called for theeurozone countries to integrate more closely. She also said she had differing opinions withJon Cruddas, Labour's policy review chief, on whether having a referendum on the EU was a priority.[20] In the run-up to the2016 EU referendum, Reynolds campaigned forBritain Stronger in Europe.[21]
Following her departure from parliament in 2019, Reynolds was appointed as Managing Director of Public Affairs, Policy & Research atTheCityUK, a special interest group lobbying the UK Government on behalf of the financial sector.[22] While working for TheCityUK, Reynolds lobbied the UK government to avoid placing China in the strictest category of rules for the registering foreign influence,[23][24] but denied representing Chinese businesses or the Chinese government.[25]
On 19 November 2022, Reynolds was selected to be the Labour Party's Parliamentary candidate forWycombe at the2024 general election.[26][27]
At the election, Reynolds was elected with a majority of 4,591 over the incumbent MP, former Conservative ministerSteve Baker.[28] She became the first Labour MP elected for the Wycombe constituency since1950 as well as becoming the first female Labour MP for the constituency.
Reynolds participates in sports such asrunning and used to playfootball. She also enjoyspubs and going to thecinema.[29]
Reynolds married solicitor Richard Stevens in April 2016.[30] They had a son on 14 April 2017.[31] They had a second son in May 2019.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWolverhampton North East 2010–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWycombe 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Europe 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Housing 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2015 | Succeeded by |
