Gill Furniss

Gillian Furniss (born 14 March 1957) is a British Labour Party politician and the member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

Early life and education
Furniss is the daughter of a Sheffield steel worker. She has lived in Sheffield for most of her life, working as a librarian and as an administrator at the Northern General Hospital. She was educated at the Chaucer School, Sheffield, and graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BA in Library and Information Studies as a mature student in 1998.

Political career
She was elected as a councillor on Sheffield City Council in 1999, representing the Southey ward. She stood for Labour in Sheffield Hallam in the 2001 general election and finished in third place.

She is the widow of Harry Harpham, MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, who employed her as a part-time researcher after his election in the 2015 general election.

After her husband's death in February 2016, she was selected as the Labour candidate at the Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough by-election which was held on 5 May 2016. She won the by-election with an increased share of the vote and a majority of 9,590 (42.5%) over the second-placed candidate representing UKIP.