Mary Kelly Foy (née McStea; born 27 February 1968)[1] is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the City of Durham since the 2019 general election.[2][3] She is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Mary Kelly Foy | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Member of Parliament for the City of Durham | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Roberta Blackman-Woods |
| Majority | 11,757 (28.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mary Kelly McStea 27 February 1968 Jarrow, County Durham, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Campaign Group |
| Website | maryfoy |
Early life and education
editFoy was born in Jarrow, County Durham, and grew up on a council estate. She is the second of five children and her grandparents were Irish immigrants.[4] Her father is a former shipyard worker who lost his job in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Foy has a degree in social sciences, which she gained as a mature student.[5]
Career
editFoy is a member of both UNISON and Unite the Union. She was a Community Development Worker in Durham from 2006 to 2013, and she also worked as a parliamentary assistant to former Jarrow MP Stephen Hepburn.
She was elected as a local Councillor to represent the Lamesley ward (named after the area of the same name on Gateshead Council Metropolitan Borough Council in 2006. She later became the cabinet member for health and wellbeing on the council in 2009, holding the post until she stood down from the council in 2019.[6] She was local party chair for Blaydon before moving to the City of Durham, and a regional representative of Labour's National Policy Forum.[2]
A socialist and on the left of the party, Foy's bid was backed by several unions. She stood down from Gateshead Council when elected as an MP for City of Durham in 2019, and joined the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary group.
Parliamentary career
editOn 15 October 2020, Foy resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Andy McDonald to vote against the proposed Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill, disagreeing with the Labour whip to abstain.[7]
In November 2020, Foy was involved in the saving of a local school, St Thomas More Primary School, Belmont. Foy had met with representatives of the diocese and the governing body, Durham County Council officers and elected officials, parents and the local community to listen to concerns and to help find a way to resolve the situation.[8]
Foy was part of the Committee which scrutinised the Health and Care Bill in Parliament. As part of this committee, Foy tabled several amendments relating to smoking health, including banning a loophole which enables vapes to be handed out for free to underage people and raising the age of sale of cigarettes to 21.[9][better source needed]
Foy held her seat in the 2024 general election, with 47.1% of the vote and a majority of 11,757 over the second-placed Reform UK candidate. There were six candidates, and a turnout of 58%.[10]
References
edit- ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
- ^ a b "Who is Mary Foy? Durham City's new Labour MP". Chronicle Live. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Durham, City of parliamentary constituency". BBC.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Mary Foy selected as Labour's candidate for City of Durham". Labour List. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home: The House. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ Pristley, Catherine (16 December 2019). "Labour confirms Mary Foy will stand as next Durham City MP". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Foy, Mary [@maryfoy] (15 October 2020). "Today I voted against the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill and resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Andy McDonald MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights. Please read my statement below" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Parents celebrate after 'adored' Catholic school is saved from threat of closure". The Northern Echo. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ Wearmouth, Rachel (4 August 2021). "Raising legal age for buying tobacco to 21 being looked at by health officials". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ "City of Durham - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
External links
edit