Louise Haigh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louise Haigh
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Secretary of State for Transport | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 July 2024 – 28 November 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mark Harper | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Heidi Alexander | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Sheffield Heeley |
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| Assumed office 7 May 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Meg Munn | ||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 15,304 (39.8%) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Louise Margaret Haigh
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
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| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Nottingham | ||||||||||||||||||
Louise Margaret Haigh is a British politician for the Labour Party. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Sheffield Heeley area since 2015. An MP's job is to represent the people of their local area in the UK Parliament.
From July to November 2024, she served as the Secretary of State for Transport. This is a very important job in the government, making her responsible for England's roads, railways, and airports. Before this, she held several important roles in the Shadow Cabinet. The Shadow Cabinet is the team of senior politicians from the main opposition party who "shadow" the government's ministers.
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Early Life and Career
Louise Haigh was born in Sheffield, England. She went to Sheffield High School and later studied politics at the University of Nottingham.
After university, she worked for a local council's youth service. She then worked in the Parliament as a coordinator for a group focused on how large companies act around the world. During this time, she also volunteered as a special police officer.
From 2012 to 2015, Haigh worked for the insurance company Aviva. She was a public policy manager, which means she helped the company with its rules on how to be a responsible business.
Parliamentary Career
In 2015, Louise Haigh was elected as the MP for Sheffield Heeley. She won with a large number of votes. She has been re-elected several times since then, in 2017, 2019, and 2024.
First Roles in Parliament
Soon after becoming an MP in 2015, Haigh was given her first role in the Shadow Cabinet. She became the Shadow Minister for the Civil Service and Digital Reform. In this job, she looked at the government's plans for technology and information.
In 2016, she became the Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy. She helped shape new laws about the internet and TV. She worked to make sure that on-demand TV shows had subtitles for people who need them. She also spoke about the importance of keeping children safe online.
In 2017, she became the Shadow Policing Minister. In this role, she called for better support for police officers' mental health. She also argued that cutting government spending on police and other services had led to more crime.
Shadow Cabinet Secretary
In 2020, the leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, asked Haigh to join his main team as the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. She was only the second woman to ever hold this role.
In November 2021, she was moved to a new position: Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. In this role, she developed Labour's plan to bring the country's railway system back into public ownership. This means the government would run the trains instead of private companies.
Secretary of State for Transport
After the Labour Party won the 2024 general election, Louise Haigh was appointed the Secretary of State for Transport. This made her a member of the Cabinet, the group of the most senior ministers in the government.
As Transport Secretary, she put her plans into action. A new law was passed that allows the government to take control of passenger train services as the private contracts end. She also worked on giving local areas more power over their bus services.
In October 2024, she announced that the government would spend over £1 billion to improve bus services across the country. This included money to keep the price of a single bus ticket capped at £3 until the end of 2025.
Resignation
In November 2024, an issue from before she became an MP came to public attention. Haigh decided it would be best for the government if she stepped down from her role as Transport Secretary.
In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, she said she did not want the issue to be a distraction from the government's work. Starmer thanked her for her work and said she had made "huge strides" as Transport Secretary. She was replaced by Heidi Alexander. Haigh continues to serve as the MP for Sheffield Heeley.
Political Views
- In 2015, Haigh nominated Jeremy Corbyn to be a candidate for the Labour Party leader, but she supported a different candidate, Andy Burnham, in the election.
- She supported the campaign for the UK to remain in the European Union during the 2016 referendum.
- In the 2020 Labour leadership election, she supported Lisa Nandy.
- She has called for education about online safety to be a required part of school lessons.
Images for kids
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MP portrait, 2019
