Bridget Phillipson[2] was born on 19 December 1983 in Gateshead.[1] Her mother is Clare Phillipson, who founded Wearside Women in Need, a charity based in Sunderland which provides refuge for women affected by domestic violence.[3][4][5][6][7] She grew up in a deprived part of Washington, in a council house with no upstairs heating.[8]
Phillipson's mother signed her up for Saturday morning drama lessons at the local community centre, which led to her being an extra on the children's TV programme Byker Grove. She also learnt to play the violin.[8] She attended St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Washington, and went on to read modern history and modern languages (French) at the University of Oxford, where she was a student at Hertford College, and graduated with upper second-class honours in 2005.[9] She joined Labour as a member at fifteen years old,[10] and was elected co-chair of the Oxford University Labour Club in 2003.[11] After university, she returned to the North East,[12] where she worked for two years in local government,[13] and then as a manager at Wearside Women in Need between 2007 and 2010.[1][5]
Parliamentary career
Backbencher
Phillipson was selected from an all-women shortlist as the Labour candidate for Houghton and Sunderland South in 2009.[14] At the 2010 general election, Phillipson was elected as MP for Houghton and Sunderland South with 50.3% of the vote and a majority of 10,990.[15] After entering parliament, she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jim Murphy, who was then the shadow defence secretary.[16] Between October 2013 and September 2015, she served as Opposition Whip in the House of Commons.[17]
At the 2015 general election, Phillipson was re-elected as MP for Houghton and Sunderland South with an increased vote share of 55.1% and an increased majority of 12,938.[22][23]
She was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 59.5% and a decreased majority of 12,341.[26][27] At the 2019 general election, Phillipson was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 40.7% and a decreased majority of 3,115.[28]
As shadow secretary of state for education, Phillipson set out Labour's plans for reform of the childcare and wider education systems, starting with plans for funded breakfast clubs for every primary school child in every school in England.[36] She called for reform of Ofsted, the inspectorate of school standards in England, to move away from simplistic one-word summary overall judgements,[37][8][13] the imposition of VAT on private schools to fund thousands more teachers in England's schools, a full curriculum and assessment review, including a focus on weaving speaking and listening skills through the curriculum, new incentives to retain teachers in the classroom, two weeks' worth of compulsory work experience for all young people, and improved access to careers guidance and mental health in schools.[38]
She spoke and wrote extensively about the particular importance of childcare for children, parents and families, and the need for a system that stretches from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.[13][39] She confirmed that the next Labour government would not abolish tuition fees altogether,[40] and called for far-reaching changes to the skills system in England, including the creation of a new body to be called 'Skills England', devolution of skills and adult education budgets, and greater flexibility with the existing Apprenticeship Levy.[41]
Secretary of State for Education (2024–present)
Following the Labour landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Phillipson was appointed as the Secretary of State for Education by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the lead up to the formation of the next government on 5 July.[42][43] She was appointed Minister for Women and Equalities on 8 July, with Anneliese Dodds as her junior minister.[44]
Phillipson has campaigned successfully on a number of local issues, including forcing a government U-turn on the rebuilding of Hetton School in Hetton-le-Hole, after plans to do so were cancelled by the Conservative-led government in 2010.[46] The school was eventually rebuilt and reopened in 2016.[47] She also led a campaign to improve standards and affordability of bus transport in Tyne and Wear, calling for the development of a quality contract scheme to be run by Nexus, the passenger transport executive for the North East Combined Authority.[48] The government-appointed review board eventually refused permission for Nexus to advance the scheme.[49]
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