Gavin Shuker

Gavin Shuker
Official portrait, 2017
Convener of Change UK[1]
In office
25 February 2019 – 4 June 2019
LeaderHeidi Allen (Acting)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Member of Parliament
for Luton South
In office
6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byMargaret Moran
Succeeded byRachel Hopkins
Personal details
Born (1981-10-10) 10 October 1981 (age 43)
Luton, England
Political partyParliamentary affiliation:
The Independents (2019)
Party membership:
Independent (2019–present)
Other political
affiliations
Change UK (Feb–Jun 2019)
Labour and Co-operative (Until Feb 2019)
SpouseLucie Shuker (Divorced 2016)
Children1 daughter
EducationGirton College, Cambridge
WebsiteOfficial website

Gavin Shuker (born 10 October 1981)[2] is a British former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South from 2010 to 2019. Shuker was a Labour and Co-operative Party MP before defecting to form Change UK. He then left Change UK to become an Independent politician and was defeated at the 2019 election, coming third with 9.3% of the vote.

Shuker successfully defended the seat as the Labour candidate in 2010, after his predecessor Margaret Moran stood down following controversy over her expenses.[3] Shuker was appointed as a Shadow International Development Minister by Ed Miliband in 2013.[4] He left the Opposition Frontbench in September 2015, with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Party Leader, citing "political differences" with him.[5] In 2018, he lost a motion of no confidence by his constituency party. Shuker resigned from Labour on 18 February 2019 with six other MPs, and they formed Change UK.[6] In June 2019, he left Change UK to sit as an independent MP.[7] He stood as an independent in the 2019 United Kingdom general election but lost his seat.[8]

  1. ^ The Independent Group (March–April 2019)
  2. ^ "Democracy Live: Gavin Suker MP". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Luton South". BBC News. 7 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Confirmed: Labour's new frontbench team in full - LabourList". 8 October 2013.
  5. ^ Adam Parris-Long (18 September 2015). "Gavin Shuker steps back from Labour frontbench due to political differences with Jeremy Corbyn". Luton Today. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Seven MPs leave Labour Party in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership". BBC News. 18 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Change UK loses six of its 11 MPs". BBC News. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Luton South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 23 December 2019.