Bridget Phillipson Biography- Bridget Maeve Phillipson, born on December 19, 1983, is a British politician affiliated with the Labour Party. She has been the Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010 and has held the positions of Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2025.
Bridget Phillipson Biography
Bridget Phillipson has been nominated education secretary in Keir Starmer’s new government, as the country’s new prime leader has moved quickly to establish his cabinet. Other appointments made thus far include Rachel Reeves as the first female chancellor, Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister, and Yvette Cooper as home secretary. Phillipson was the first to declare for the Houghton and Sunderland South constituency last night, at approximately 11.15 p.m., just 75 minutes after the polls closed, with a 7,169 vote advantage. General Election 2025: Reaction from the Early Years and Children’s Secto She was first elected as a Member of Parliament for the constituency in the 2010 general election. Phillipson had been Shadow Education Secretary in Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet since November 2021.
Bridget Phillipson
Bridget Maeve Phillipson is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010. She has served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2025.
Born: 19 December 1983 (age 40 years), Washington, United Kingdom
Education: Hertford College, University of Oxford
Previous offices: Shadow Secretary of State for Education of the United Kingdom (2021–2025), MORE
Office: Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2010
Previous campaign: United Kingdom House of Commons election, 2019
Party: Labour Party
Nationality: British
Bridget Phillipson Biography 2025 Details
| Born |
Bridget Maeve Phillipson
19 December 1983 (age 40)
Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Political party |
Labour |
| Children |
2 |
| Alma mater |
University of Oxford |
| Category |
Politician Biography |
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Early life and education
Bridget Phillipson was born on December 19, 1983, in Gateshead. Her mother is Clare Phillipson, who created Wearside Women in Need, a Sunderland-based charity that offers refuge to women who have experienced domestic violence. She grew up in a depressed area of Washington, in a council house with no upstairs heating. Phillipson’s mother enrolled her in Saturday morning acting classes at the local community center, which led to her appearance as an extra on the children’s television series Byker Grove. She also learned how to play the violin. She attended St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Washington and went on to studies modern history and modern languages (French) at the University of Oxford, where she was a student at Hertford College.
Personal life
Phillipson met her husband in Newcastle upon Tyne after graduating from the University of Oxford, and they had two kids. She’s a Roman Catholic.
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Parliamentary career
Phillipson was chosen from an all-female shortlist as the Labour candidate for Houghton and Sunderland South in 2009. Phillipson was elected MP for Houghton and Sunderland South with 50.3% of the vote and a 10,990-vote majority in 2010. After entering parliament, she was assigned Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary at the time. She served as the Opposition Whip in the House of Commons from October 2013 to September 2015. She was elected to the Home Affairs Committee in July 2010 and served until November 2013.
From July 2010 until October 2011, she served on the Public Bill Committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014, as well as the Procedure Committee. She has also served on the Speaker’s Committee of the Electoral Commission since October 2010, as well as the Standards and Privileges Committees since October 2017. She was a member of both the Public Accounts and European Statutory Instruments Committees.
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Constituency campaigns
Phillipson has successfully campaigned on a variety of local problems, including getting the government to reverse course on rebuilding Hetton School after plans were rejected by the Conservative-led government in 2010. The school was ultimately restored and reopened in 2016. She also spearheaded a drive to enhance the quality and affordability of bus travel in Tyne and Wear, advocating for the creation of a quality contract system managed by Nexus, the North East Combined Authority’s passenger transport executive. The government-appointed review body eventually denied Nexus’s request to move forward with the program.
