Carolyn Harris MP
Deputy Leader, Welsh Labour
Carolyn Harris was born and raised in Swansea, in the same community she now represents and lives in with her family. She studied Social Policy at Swansea University, and after graduating continued to work in the local area, setting up two centres for disaffected young people.
She later became the Regional Manager of a children's cancer charity, before working for the then Member of Parliament for Swansea East, Sian James, for ten years. Carolyn has served as the MP for Swansea East since 2015.
Achievements
Carolyn has served in various shadow frontbench roles at a UK level – including Shadow Home Office Minister, Shadow Women and Equalities Minister and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Keir Starmer – and currently chairs the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Gambling-Related Harm, Beauty & Wellbeing, and Menopause. She also sit on the Women and Equalities and Home Affairs Select Committees and co-chairs the government’s Menopause Taskforce. In 2018, Carolyn was elected as the first ever Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour.
Carolyn is widely recognised as a tenacious campaigner, and has brought about significant local and national change, including establishing a UK-wide Children’s Funeral Fund and reducing the stakes on Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals. She is currently spearheading the campaign to improve support for the menopause, which has gained widespread support across Parliament and beyond. In her constituency, Carolyn’s ‘Everyone Deserves…’ initiative focuses on eliminating food poverty and holiday hunger, supporting families with food hampers and much more.