Louise Haigh MP

Louise was elected as MP for Sheffield Heeley at the May 2015 general election and was the youngest Labour Member of that Parliament.

After graduating, Louise worked for the local council youth service before taking a position in Parliament, where she was the coordinator of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Corporate Responsibility. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley in May 2015 and in September 2015, was appointed Shadow Minister for Civil Service and Digital Reform. The role covered the Government’s digital strategy, the Freedom of Information Act, data security and privacy.

She was made Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy in October 2016. During her time in this role, she repeatedly raised concerns about child protection online, including calling for social media companies to recognise “that alongside their new-found power, they have responsibilities” in dealing with harmful and illegal content.

In 2017, she was appointed to Shadow Policing Minister. She has raised the issue of stress and mental health of officers and has called for greater protection for police officers involved in vehicle pursuits.

Louise continues to serve her constituents in Sheffield Heeley and lives in Norfolk Park in Sheffield with her partner, her dogs Harry and Lola, and her cat, Stevie.

What was your most memorable moment as a pupil at Sheffield Girls’?

Any of the several times I was hauled in to see the headteacher! It’s difficult to pick out the most memorable but my Sixth Form experience was perhaps the most defining.

I felt like we were given the right balance of freedom and support to make our own decisions and to carve our own paths. I chopped and changed my mind about a dozen times during Sixth Form and even after I started university I changed my mind again and I came back to school for support doing that, but I never felt judged in doing so and always felt the school wanted me to make the best decision for me, not just the easiest one.

What advice would you give pupils at Sheffield Girls’ today?

Don’t worry about changing your mind. The most interesting people I know didn’t know what they wanted to do until many, many years into their career and most still don’t!

It can be very tempting to think you’ve got a career path in mind, work out the way through, stick rigidly to it and beat yourself up if you fall off it but life’s not like that and more interesting opportunities are much more likely to present themselves. So keep your options open for as long as possible, ideally forever and don’t worry about making mistakes, just make sure you learn from them!

A-levels:
Economics, English Literature and Religious Studies (AS in French and Politics)

University:
Government and Economics at London School of Economics before transferring to Nottingham University to complete a BA in Politics. LLM in International Law.