Sharon Hodgson



Sharon Hodgson (born 1 April 1966) was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Washington and Sunderland West in 2010, but previously served as the MP for Gateshead East and Washington West.

Parliamentary career
In 2004, Hodgson was chosen as the official Labour candidate for Gateshead East and Washington West at the 2005 general election. Her selection followed the retirement of the sitting Labour MP Joyce Quin, and came about as a result of an All-Women Shortlist. Hodgson held the seat with a majority of 13,407 votes, and gave her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 25 May 2005.

Following boundary changes, the constituency of Gateshead East and Washington West was abolished and replaced by two new seats, Gateshead and Washington and Sunderland West at the 2010 general election. David Clelland, then MP for Tyne Bridge was chosen in December 2006 by Labour Party members to become the candidate for the Gateshead constituency at the next general election.

Following her failure to be selected for the Gateshead seat, Hodgson announced her intention to run for selection as the Labour Party candidate for the new Washington and Sunderland West seat in September 2007, and she was selected. She was elected as the MP for Gateshead in the 2010 general election.

In Parliament, she has served on several select committees since her election in 2005, including the North East Regional Committee and the Children Schools and Families Committee. She has also served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Liam Byrne in the Home Office, Bob Ainsworth at the Ministry of Defence and Dawn Primarolo at the Department of Health. In June 2009, Hodgson was promoted to the position of assistant Government Whip.

In opposition, the-then Leader of the Labour Party Edward Miliband, appointed Hodgson to the Shadow Children and Families Office in October 2010. Following Jeremy Corbyn's 2016 re-election as Leader of the Labour Party, she became the Shadow Minister for Public Health.