Emily was elected to Parliament as Islington South & Finsbury's MP in the General Election on 5 May 2005.

Emily has lived in Islington for 12 years and has three young children who attend state schools. Raised by a single parent living on a council estate, her early experiences as a child have always motivated her both personally and politically. Her mother has been a lifetime Labour supporter and Emily joined the Labour Party aged 17.

Emily has a strong sense of justice and traditional Labour values. She has been active in anti-racist campaigns across London. She campaigned successfully at the national level with trade unions and parents’ groups for more family-friendly employment policies and access to childcare – particularly for women. She is backed by the TGWU and has strong links with other trade unions.

As a human rights lawyer in the chambers of Mike Mansfield QC, she has many years’ experience of representing people as a criminal lawyer, working to achieve greater justice, equality and human rights.

Most of all, Emily cares about poverty and disadvantage in our Borough and across London.

She says “Life for the people of Islington is getting better because we have a Labour government. Our economy is stronger and the money that the government is investing in Islington is making real improvements. Half of Islington has benefited enormously from the economic growth, but the poor have been left behind.

“I believe that Labour’s priority in our third term in government must be to tackle poverty in Inner London. In London 41% of our children and 36% of pensioners still live below the poverty line. Labour has pledged to end poverty in this country and my priority is achieving this goal.”

Since being elected Emily has taken on a number of roles in Parliament. She is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG). She has also been appointed to the Environmental Audit Committee in the House of Commons: the Committee responsible for scrutinising the impact of Government policy on the Environment. Emily is a sponsor of the Climate Change Bill which would set mandatory targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

In the constituency Emily has taken up a large number of issues for individual constituents.

Emily has taken up many local issues including:

• championing the cause of the 12,000 families on the housing waiting list;
• working with residents to ensure that something is done about the extensive problems of prostitutes and drug dealers moving onto the estates;
• following some successes, Emily continues to work for a fairer deal for leaseholders.