Laura Moffatt - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

Moffatt stood in Crawley at the 1992 general election, but lost out to the sitting Conservative MP Nicholas Soames. For the following election she was again selected as the Labour candidate, though this time through an all-women shortlist.

At the 2005 general election she was elected to the Commons on the smallest majority in the country with 37 votes, with her share of the vote falling by over 10 percent from the 2001 general election result. After an epic count, and numerous re-counts, Moffatt broke down in tears after being returned to Parliament.

In the Commons, Moffatt has served variously as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine (2001–03); the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Charles Falconer (2003–05); the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions David Blunkett (2005); the Minister of State at the Department for Education and Skills Jacqui Smith (2005–06), and since 2006 has served as the PPS to Alan Johnson initially as Secretary of State for Education and Skills and since 2007 as Secretary of State for Health. From 1997-2001 she served as a member of the Defence Select Committee.

On 15 March 2010, Moffatt announced her intention to stand down at the 2010 General Election because the job had taken a toll on her family life.