Anneliese Midgley, one of the key figures in Andy Burnham’s leadership campaign, has been promoted to the cabinet in the role of chief whip.
She has only been the MP for Knowsley, not far from Makerfield, since 2024 but she has been an influential force in the Labour movement for much longer than that, working for both Sir Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn in opposition, following stints at the TUC.
She has spoken about how, when she was growing up, her family’s life was changed by the “secure, well-paid, unionised job” her father got at a car factory.
Before her political career, music lover Midgey ran club nights in Liverpool, worked in record shops and helped bands including Pulp with press.
She was briefly married to Bob Stanley, a member of indie group Saint Etienne, and has told how the couple shared their first kiss on hearing that Tory grandee and TV personality Michael Portillo had lost his seat in the 1997 election.
