Laura Smith

Laura Smith is a British Labour Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Crewe and Nantwich at the 2017 general election, defeating the incumbent Conservative Edward Timpson by 48 votes.

Early life and career
Smith attended Brine Leas School in Nantwich, Cheshire and South Cheshire College in Crewe. She went on to study at Crewe campus of Manchester Metropolitan University, qualifying as a school teacher. She founded a tutoring business, called One-to-One Learning UK, based in Nantwich, where she worked with hundreds of schoolchildren in the local area.

Political career
Smith was involved in the campaign against school funding cuts in Cheshire East. She told the Crewe Chronicle: "I sat at home after going to a public meeting at Brine Leas School" about proposed education cuts "and I decided enough was enough regarding the funding for schools and I posted something on Facebook. From that, I got involved with the fairer funding".

Smith was announced as the Labour Party candidate for the Crewe and Nantwich constituency in the snap 2017 general election on 1 May 2017. She launched her campaign on 3 May, saying "What ordinary people need are decent well-paid jobs and greater job security. In this race locally, I am the only candidate committed to that." She also said that she was not a "natural-born politician" and promised to be a "different sort of MP if elected that remains accessible and up front with her constituents". In the election, Smith defeated incumbent Conservative junior minister Edward Timpson by 48 votes, overturning a majority of 3,620. She declared that the result "sent a message to the establishment and the elite", the seat having been held by the Conservatives in elections since Gwyneth Dunwoody died in 2008. The seat saw a 3.7% swing to Labour, and an increase in turnout of 3%, to just under 70%.