Liz Kendall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Liz Kendall
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mel Stride | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for Leicester West |
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| Assumed office 6 May 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Patricia Hewitt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 8,777 (24.8%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born |
Elizabeth Louise Kendall
11 June 1971 Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, England |
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| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elizabeth Louise Kendall (born 11 June 1971) is a British politician. She is a member of the Labour Party. Since July 2024, she has been the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This means she is in charge of government policies about jobs and financial support.
Liz Kendall has also been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West since 2010. An MP is a person elected to represent a local area in the UK Parliament. She studied at the University of Cambridge. From 2011 to 2015, she was a Shadow Minister for Care and Older People. This role meant she was part of the main opposition party's team, challenging the government.
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Liz Kendall's Early Life and Education
Elizabeth Kendall was born on 11 June 1971. Her birthplace was Abbots Langley, in Hertfordshire, England. She went to Watford Grammar School for Girls.
Her father, Richard, worked at the Bank of England. Her mother was a primary school teacher. Liz and her brother were encouraged to talk about politics. They also got involved in community activities. For example, Liz's first political campaign was for a local zebra crossing. After school, she studied history at Queens' College, Cambridge. She graduated with top marks in 1993.
Starting a Career in Politics
Liz Kendall joined the Labour Party in 1992. After university, she worked at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). There, she focused on child development.
In 1996, she became an adviser to Harriet Harman. Harriet Harman was a senior Labour politician. After the 1997 general election, Labour won. Liz then became a special adviser in the Department for Social Security.
In 1998, Liz left government work. She received a fellowship from the King's Fund, a health charity. She also wrote research papers for the IPPR. She became the Director of the Maternity Alliance. This charity helps pregnant women.
Later, in 2001, she returned to government. She worked for Patricia Hewitt in two different departments. First, the Department for Trade and Industry. Then, the Department for Health. While there, she helped bring in the smoking ban in 2006. Before becoming an MP, she was the Director of the Ambulance Services Network until 2010.
Becoming a Member of Parliament
In the 2010 general election, Liz Kendall was elected as the MP for Leicester West. She won with 38.4% of the votes. Her first speech in Parliament was about tackling poverty.
She was briefly part of the Education Select Committee. This committee looks at education policies. In 2010, she supported David Miliband to become the leader of the Labour Party.
In October 2010, she joined the Opposition frontbench. This is the team of leading politicians from the main opposition party. She became a Shadow Junior Health Minister. In 2011, she wrote a chapter in The Purple Book. This book had ideas from Labour MPs. Later that year, she became the Shadow Minister for Care and Older People. She also attended meetings of the shadow cabinet.
Liz Kendall was re-elected as MP for Leicester West in the 2015 general election. She won with even more votes.
Running for Labour Party Leader
On 10 May 2015, Liz Kendall announced she would run for leader of the Labour Party. This was after the party lost the 2015 general election. Many in the media saw her as a "modernising candidate."
Her campaign was supported by several other Labour politicians. Some newspapers also praised her. They said she was the candidate the Conservatives would "fear the most." This meant they thought she would be a strong opponent. However, she finished in fourth place in the election. She received 4.5% of the votes.
After the Leadership Election
After Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader in September 2015, Liz Kendall left the Shadow Cabinet. She later supported Owen Smith in his attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in 2016.
She was re-elected as an MP in the 2017 general election. She won with an even larger majority. In 2017, a former government official suggested she should lead a new centrist political party. Liz Kendall was also a regular guest on a BBC TV show called This Week.
She was re-elected again in the 2019 general election.
Return to the Frontbench
Keir Starmer became the new Labour leader in 2020. He then appointed Liz Kendall back to the frontbench. She became the Shadow Minister for Social Care. In November 2021, she took maternity leave. Her duties were covered by another MP.
On 4 September 2023, she was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This meant she was the main opposition spokesperson for work and pensions issues.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2024–Present)
In the 2024 general election, Liz Kendall was re-elected as MP for Leicester West. She won with an increased majority. After the election, the Labour Party formed the government. Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed her as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This is a very important government job. She was also made a member of the Privy Council on 6 July. This is a group of senior advisors to the King.
Liz Kendall's Political Views
Economy and Money
During her leadership campaign, Liz Kendall supported the living wage. This is a wage high enough for a basic standard of living. She wanted to encourage more companies to pay it. She also wanted to stop companies from unfairly deducting costs from care workers' wages. She supports having workers represented on company boards. This means employees would have a say in how companies are run.
Defence and Foreign Policy
Liz Kendall is in favour of the European Union. She believes it should be reformed. She supported a public vote on Britain's membership in the EU. She also wanted the Labour Party to lead a campaign to stay in Europe. She supports spending at least 2% of the country's money on defence. She also supports renewing Britain's Trident nuclear submarines. These are part of the UK's nuclear defence system.
Kendall supports a two-state solution for peace between Israel and Palestine. She is a member of Labour Friends of Israel.
Education
Liz Kendall believes education can help reduce inequality. She supports expanding the academies programme and keeping free schools. She thinks the quality of education is more important than how schools are structured. She also believes investing in early years education is very important. This means supporting children's learning from a young age. She also wants to raise hopes for young people from white working-class backgrounds.
Health and Welfare
Liz Kendall supports giving patients more choice in the NHS (National Health Service). She believes private and charity groups can help the NHS. In 2015, she supported a limit on welfare benefits. In 2024, as Work and Pensions Secretary, she suggested that job coaches could visit people in mental health hospitals. She also stated that the WASPI women (a group affected by changes to state pension age) would not be compensated.
Immigration
Liz Kendall supported some ideas to limit benefits for EU migrants. She supports the current points-based immigration system. This system gives points to people based on their skills and other factors. She also supports strict rules against misusing the immigration system. However, she has also spoken about the benefits that immigration brings.
Devolution
Liz Kendall supports "radical devolution" to England. This means giving more power to local areas in England. She believes power should be shared with communities and individuals. She also supported English Votes for English Laws. This means only English MPs would vote on laws that only affect England.
Trade Unions
Liz Kendall supports the Labour Party's links with trade unions. Trade unions are groups that protect workers' rights. However, she believes both the unions and the Labour Party need to change. She has said she would reverse any changes to trade union and employment rights made by the previous government.
Social Issues
Liz Kendall supports LGBT rights. She voted for same-sex marriage in 2013. She wants the Labour Party to work with other parties to end the criminalisation of homosexuality worldwide.
In November 2024, she said she was in favour of laws on assisted dying.
Personal Life
Liz Kendall was in a relationship with actor and comedian Greg Davies. They ended their relationship before the 2015 general election. In November 2021, Liz Kendall announced she would take maternity leave. She was having a baby through surrogacy. Her son, Henry, was born in January 2022.
She was sworn into the Privy Council on 6 July 2024. This means she can use the title "The Right Honourable". Liz Kendall also enjoys running five mornings a week.
Images for kids
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Kendall speaking at a meeting during her campaign for Labour Party leadership in 2015
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Kendall at a People's march for the NHS in 2014
