Louise Haigh

Louise Margaret Haigh (born 22 July 1987) is a British Labour politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley at the May 2015 general election, and was the youngest Labour member of that parliament.

Early life
Haigh grew up on Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, and now lives in Norfolk Park, Sheffield. She was educated at Sheffield High School and studied politics at the University of Nottingham. Her grandfather and uncle were trade union officials.

After graduating, Haigh worked for the local council youth service between 2006 and 2008. She then began working in Parliament, where she was the co-ordinator of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Corporate Responsibility. During this time, she was also a Unite shop steward and volunteered as a Special Constable.

From 2012, Haigh worked for Aviva as Public Policy Manager, responsible for corporate governance and responsible investment policy.

Political career
Haigh was selected to stand for the Labour in Sheffield Heeley in May 2014, and was elected to Parliament at the May 2015 general election.

Haigh was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015.

In September 2015, Haigh was appointed Shadow Minister for Civil Service and Digital Reform. The role, newly expanded under Jeremy Corbyn, covers the Government's digital strategy, the Freedom of Information Act, data security and privacy. In this role, Haigh was critical of a 2016 reshuffle of Permanent Secretaries which saw two fewer women as departmental heads. She opposed the closure of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office in Sheffield City Centre, saying the decision demonstrated "contempt" for the city.

On 10 October 2016, she was made Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy. Haigh served in this role during the passage of the Digital Economy Act (2017) and introduced a number of amendments, including an obligation for television broadcasters to include subtitles and closed captioning in on-demand content online which was adopted by a subsequent Government amendment. She has repeatedly raised concerns about child protection online, including calling for social media companies to recognise “that alongside their new-found power, they have responsibilities” in dealing with harmful and illegal content.

She also called for compulsory online education alongside sex and relationships education in schools, citing an 800% increase in children contacting the NSPCC about online abuse.

On 3 July 2017, she was made Shadow Policing Minister. Haigh has called for greater protection for police officers involved in vehicle pursuits, saying the current rules are "hampering the ability of the police to apprehend very serious offenders".

Haigh was declared the "most hard-working" new MP in February 2016 after a study of the activity of MPs elected in 2015.

Haigh campaigned for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. In the 2016 Labour leadership election, Haigh supported Owen Smith.

Haigh was instrumental in revealing that hundreds of women had their tax credits stopped in error by US company Concentrix. The revelation led to an announcement that their HMRC contract would not be renewed. Panic alarms have been installed in Haigh's office and home by South Yorkshire Police after she received death threats for calling for a debate on the banning of Britain First, the far-right group. South Yorkshire Police have provided her with uniformed and undercover protection as she attends to her constituency activities.

In November 2016 Haigh introduced a Private Members’ Bill calling for statutory leave from work for living organ donors, after a constituent complained of being given three days’ unpaid holiday after donating bone marrow.

Haigh is a member of a number of All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including the APPGs on Corporate Governance, Refugees, Colombia and Looked After Children. In July 2017 she was elected Vice Chair of the APPG on State Pension Inequality.