Who is Rebecca Long-Bailey and when did she become a Labour MP?
SHADOW Business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey is a fierce Jeremy Corbyn supporter – and could now replace him as Labour leader.
Here’s what we know about the 40-year-old politician.
Who is Rebecca Long-Bailey?
Rebecca Long-Bailey is a Labour politician and Shadow Business Secretary.
She grew up in Old Trafford, Manchester, and worked as a customer service assistant in a pawn shop – something she says “taught me more about the struggles of life than any degree or qualification could”.
She also worked in various call centres, a furniture factory, and in postal delivery before eventually studying to become a solicitor.
On her website, she describes herself as a proud socialist and Manchester United fan.
She also says: “I love Star Wars (the old ones).”
A Roman Catholic, Long-Bailey is married and has one son.
When did she become a Labour MP?
On her website Long-Bailey says she became interested in politics “at an early age” after noticing the “struggles my parents and other local families faced”.
She writes: “I was angry at the inequality and unfairness I had seen and I wanted to do something about it.
“A society should be judged on how it treats the most vulnerable in the community and I believe that we should rebuild a British economy with the welfare of the British people at its very heart.
“The foundation stones of our economic policy should be prosperity and social justice not greed and despair.”
She was elected as MP for Salford and Eccels at the 2015 general election.
What is her constituency?
Rebecca Long-Bailey is MP for Salford and Eccles in Manchester.
The constituency consists of a working population whose income is “below the national average and higher than average reliance upon social housing”.
At the end of 201,2 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as five per cent of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 4.2 per cent.
The constituency voted to leave the EU.