Vicky Foxcroft
MP
Official portrait, 2017
Member of Parliament
for Lewisham Deptford
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byJoan Ruddock
Majority32,913 (59.4%)
2020–presentDisabled People
2019–2020Civil Society
2015–2019Whip
Member of Lewisham Council
for Brockley
In office
6 May 2010 – 22 May 2014
Personal details
Born
Victoria Jane Foxcroft

(1977-03-09) 9 March 1977
Chorley, Lancashire, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materDe Montfort University (BA)
Websitewww.vickyfoxcroft.org.uk

Victoria Jane Foxcroft (born 9 March 1977) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham Deptford since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she is a former trade union official and was a Member of Lewisham Council from 2010 to 2014.

Early life and career

Victoria Jane Foxcroft was born on 9 March 1977 in Chorley, Lancashire.[1][2][3] She experienced abuse during her childhood.[4]

Foxcroft studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama and Business Studies at De Montfort University between 1996 and 2000.[3][5]

Foxcroft has been a Labour Party member since at least 1997,[5] and has sat on the Party's National Policy Forum.[5] From 2010 until May 2014 she was a local councillor for the Brockley ward on Lewisham Council.[6][7]

In 2002, Foxcroft became an officer at the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU), continuing through the merger of the AEEU into Amicus in 2001, and through the merger of Amicus into Unite the Union in 2007. She was a research officer from 2002 to 2005; a political officer from 2005 to 2009, and a finance sector officer from 2009 until 2015.[5]

Foxcroft has lived in Lewisham, Deptford since at least 2004.[5]

Parliamentary career

Foxcroft contested the Lewisham Deptford constituency for the Labour Party at the 2015 general election. She won with a 60.25% share of the vote.[8][9]

Foxcroft made her maiden speech in a debate on the Scotland Bill on 8 June 2015, in which she quoted lyrics from The Red Flag.[10] After the first election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader in September 2015, Foxcroft was appointed as a whip.[11]

She supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.[12]

Foxcroft was re-elected at the 2017 snap general election with a 77% share of the vote.

In June 2019 Foxcroft was promoted to become Shadow Minister for Civil Society.[13]

Foxcroft endorsed Lisa Nandy in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.[14]

Foxcroft asked what is thought to be the first ever question at Prime Minister's Questions in British Sign Language, bringing attention to the absence of a sign language interpreter at Boris Johnson's press briefings.[15] While press briefings are broadcast with an on-screen interpreter, Foxcroft expressed concern about the lack of an on-platform interpreter. There have been several legal challenges to this end claiming the government is violating human rights law.[16]

Views

In 2016, Foxcroft established the cross-party Youth Violence Commission,[17] which she continues to chair.

In November 2018, Foxcroft said, "Sadly, the increase (in the number of young people killed in knife attacks) does not surprise me. You can't cut police, Sure Start, essential services in schools, access to mental health services and youth work, and not expect there to be a consequence. And beyond the tragic fatalities, there's an exponentially larger number of knife attacks that don't kill children but do create a climate of fear."[18]

Foxcroft supports lowering the voting age to 16, co-chairing the APPG for Votes at 16.[19]

She supported Remain in the EU referendum in June 2016 and voted against the triggering of Article 50 in February 2017.

References

  1. ↑ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9116.
  2. ↑ "Vicky Foxcroft". LinkedIn. Retrieved 5 June 2015. Birthday: March 9
  3. 1 2 "SLP Column on Further Education Cuts". Vicky Foxcroft's website. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2019. Without that second chance, I would not have been able to go on to study Drama and Business Studies at DeMontford University
  4. ↑ Vicky Foxcroft MP speaks about her experiences with abuse, retrieved 6 September 2021
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Dale, Iain; Callus, Greg; Hamilton, Daniel; Waller, Robert (2014), The Politicos Guide to the 2015 General Election
  6. ↑ "Vicky Foxcroft, MP for Lewisham Deptford". Labour Party. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Vicky Foxcroft- Your Labour Candidate for Lewisham Deptford". Labour Party. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Vicky Foxcroft MP". parliament.uk. Parliament UK. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Lewisham Deptford Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Daily Hansard - Debate". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 8 June 2015. col. 967–970.
  11. ↑ Chakelian, Anoosh (18 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet: the full list of ministers". New Statesman. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  12. ↑ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Labour frontbench update: Reed and Foxcroft reshuffled". Labour List. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  14. ↑ "I'm proud to throw my support behind @lisanandy to be our next leader. She has what it takes to reunite our movement & bring together people in seats like mine with seats like hers". Twitter. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  15. ↑ "Boris Johnson challenged on lack of sign language at press conferences – in sign language". NewStatesman. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Legal threat to PM over lack of BSL interpreter in £2.6 million briefing room". Disability News Service. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "The Youth Violence Commission website". Youth Violence Commission website. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  18. ↑ Surge in young knife deaths amid police cuts and 'a climate of fear' The Guardian. 29 November 2018.
  19. ↑ "House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups as at 1 July 2020: Votes at 16". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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