The Honourable
Olivia Blake
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Sheffield Hallam
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJared O'Mara
Majority712 (1.2%)
2021–2022Climate Change
2021–2021Nature, Water and Flooding
Deputy Leader of Sheffield City Council
In office
5 April 2017 – 23 August 2019
LeaderJulie Dore
Preceded byLeigh Bramall
Succeeded byTerry Fox
Member of Sheffield City Council
for Walkley
In office
22 May 2014 – 2 March 2020
Preceded byNikki Sharpe
Succeeded byBernard Little
Personal details
Born
Olivia Frances Blake

(1990-03-10) 10 March 1990
Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Campaign Group
SpouseLewis Dagnall
ParentJudith Blake (mother)
Alma materUniversity of Sheffield
Websitewww.oliviablake.org.uk

Olivia Frances Blake (born 10 March 1990)[1] is a British Labour politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam at the 2019 general election.

Early life

Blake grew up in Otley, a market town north of Leeds, West Yorkshire. She was educated at Prince Henry's Grammar School, the local comprehensive school. She studied Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield.[2]

Political career

Offices within the Labour Party (2013–present)

In 2013, Blake stood in the election for the Youth Representative on Labour's National Executive Committee and came second.[3] She campaigned to introduce 'one member one vote' elections for internal positions and was supported by the Labour Party's left-wing.[4]

In 2018, Blake was elected to Labour's National Policy Forum with the endorsement of the left-wing groups Momentum and the Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance.[5]

Sheffield City Councillor (2014–2020)

Blake unsuccessfully stood in the 2 May 2013 by-election for the Fulwood ward of Sheffield City Council before being elected as a local councillor to the Walkley ward of Sheffield City Council in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Blake was elected Deputy Leader of the Council in April 2017. Blake said she was elected as Deputy Leader "on a ticket of reform", and worked to in-source council contracts and tackle privatisation.[6] As Deputy Leader, the Council brought its Revenues and Benefits services in-house from outsourcing giant Capita; Blake said that "bringing these services back in-house" would give the Council "greater control and allow [it] to adapt and respond as the city's priorities develop locally".[7] Before she left her position Blake initiated the process to bring "digital services and cleaning contracts" in-house.[6] She also supported a campaign to initiate a pilot scheme of universal basic income in Sheffield.

Blake later resigned as Deputy Leader to support a grassroots movement to change the democratic structure of the council, remaining as a councillor.[8][9][10] She later resigned from the Council following her election as an MP.[11] In an article she wrote for Tribune magazine, Blake said this was to show support for "a new way of doing politics in our city". She indicated that she intends to "contribute a socialist voice to the referendum debate", to open up a "wider discussion on how to rejuvenate our democracy in Sheffield."[6]

Member of Parliament (2019–present)

Blake was selected as the prospective Labour Party candidate in Sheffield Hallam in December 2018.[12] She was elected as the Member of Parliament at the December 2019 general election.[13]

She nominated Rebecca Long-Bailey in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election and Angela Rayner in the 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election.[14] In February 2020, Blake was elected as the Treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).[15] Blake was elected to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee in March 2020.[16]

Blake was appointed to the frontbench as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Andy McDonald, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, in January 2020. Following the election of Keir Starmer, she was appointed in April as PPS jointly to Jo Stevens, Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Ian Murray, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland.[17]

Blake is Vice-Chair of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union Parliamentary Group.[18]

After Wetherspoons' owner Tim Martin was inaccurately reported to have told his 43,000 employees that they would not be furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and should go work at Tesco,[19] as Vice-Chair of the BFAWU Parliamentary Group, Blake coordinated a cross-party letter of 95 MPs to calling on Martin to "put people and not profits first" and continue to pay Wetherspoons workers.[20][21]

Since 2020, Blake has served as the Chair of the SEND APPG.[22]

Blake was forced to resign from her position as PPS to Jo Stevens and Ian Murray in September 2020 when she, alongside 18 other Labour MPs, including two other junior office holders, Beth Winter and Nadia Whittome, defied the Labour whip and voted against the Overseas Operations Bill.[23]

In early 2021, Blake launched a series of monthly climate assemblies in the run-up to COP 26[24] From these assemblies, Blake created the Hallam Citizens' Climate Manifesto, informed by constituents' contributions in the assemblies. She launched the manifesto in October 2021, with a launch in Sheffield and by handing in a copy of the manifesto at 10 Downing Street.[25][26]

On 14 May 2021, Blake was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Nature, Water and Flooding.[27] In the November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle, Blake was moved to serve as the Shadow Minister for Climate Change.[28] She resigned from this role on 15 June 2022, citing personal reasons.[29]

Blake serves as the Co-Chair for the APPG on Migration, alongside David Simmonds, Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner.[30]

In late 2022, households in Stannington ward in Blake's constituency were left without gas for a week in freezing temperatures.[31] Blake stationed members of her constituency team at Lomas Hall in Stannington throughout the incident, and led door-knocking teams to identify vulnerable people in need of support.[32] In the aftermath she urged Yorkshire Water to put their profits towards upgrading their infrastructure.[33] After a meeting with Blake, Yorkshire Water's CEO agreed to support people with any water damage and pay compensation claims.[34]

Blake introduced the Climate and Ecology Bill in May 2023 under the Ten Minute Rule procedure in the House of Commons. The bill seeks to establish binding 'climate and nature targets' for the United Kingdom.[35][36][37]

Blake won The Climate Coalition's 2023 Green Heart Hero Award as "MP Constituency Champion" for her work to create a 'greener and more climate friendly Sheffield.'[38] She is credited for meeting with 'her constituents to discuss their climate-related hopes and ambitions and [developing] a Hallam Citizens' Climate Manifesto which she took to Downing Street and COP26 in Glasgow', as well as 'regularly advocating for housing retrofits throughout her constituency, [supporting] local rewilding and [lending] her voice to campaigns against moorland burning.'

Policies and views

Blake is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, the left grouping of Labour Party Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.[39]

A Vice article described Blake as "keen to make clear [her] support for trans rights and the entire LGBTQ+ community".[40]

Blake supported Britain remaining in the European Union, saying in November 2019 that she would campaign to remain in a potential second referendum on the issue.[40]

In her maiden speech to Parliament, Blake said that the Sheffield Hallam constituency had a "very long history of social justice", as Robin Hood mythology points to a Yorkshire origin in Loxley. She said that Robin of Loxley means she was "not the first person in Sheffield Hallam to stand on a platform of redistributing wealth."[41]

Blake is a supporter of a "Green New Deal" for the UK,[10] and passionate about the issue of climate change.[40] Blake has expressed support for improved transport links for Sheffield to address the climate crisis.[42] In 2020, she wrote to the transport secretary asking him to consider the reopening of the Millhouses and Ecclesall station, suggesting it would reduce congestion in the area.[43] Alongside Louise Haigh, Blake has launched a campaign to reopen railway stations along the Sheaf Valley line, seeking to reopen Millhouses and Heeley stations, and increase capability at Dore & Totley.[44]

Blake discussed her experience of having a miscarriage in August 2020 in a parliamentary debate on Baby Loss in November 2020 and called for the three miscarriages rule where support was only offered after this point to be changed. This led to draft guidelines which scrapped this to be produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in October 2021. She also successfully campaigned to allow one partner to be present at all times with pregnant mothers during the pandemic.[45][46]

In March 2021, Blake announced that she had taken on the role of 'species champion' in Westminster Parliament for the threatened hen harrier.[47] In 2023 she won an award for championing the endangered species.[48]

In March 2023, Blake tabled an amendment to the Government's Illegal Migration Bill, to create a "safe passage" visa to give entry clearance to those already in Europe wishing to come to the UK to make an asylum claim. Blake said that 'if we want to save lives, ministers need to change their approach, drop the cruel and inhumane deterrence policies, and look at real solutions.'[49]

In 2023, she backed changes to the Women's Health Strategy for women who have experienced miscarriage alongside Myleene Klass.[50]

In response to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Blake called for Labour to back a ceasefire.[51][52] On the day of the vote on the King's Speech, where the SNP tabled an amendment calling for a ceasefire, Blake said that she was 'unable to be in Parliament as [she was] undergoing medical treatment in Sheffield', but that her 'position has been consistent and clear: an immediate ceasefire is the only way to halt the horrific loss of life we have seen in recent weeks'; she clarified that if 'I were able to attend... I would absolutely vote for an immediate ceasefire' and that she was 'pained that [she] cannot be there to do so.'[53]

Personal life

Blake's mother Judith Blake, Baroness Blake of Leeds is a Labour politician who led Leeds City Council from 2015 to 2021.[54][55] After Baroness Blake was appointed to the Lords, the two of them were referred to as 'the real northern powerhouse.'[56] She is married to Lewis Dagnall, formerly a Sheffield City Councillor.[9] Olivia Blake identifies as bisexual.[57]

References

  1. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 327. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. ↑ "Official website". Olivia Blake. Olivia Blake. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "Young Labour Election Results 2013". Young Labour Councillors. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Young Labour: who are the left candidates?". Left Futures. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "National Policy Forum 2018". Momentum. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Blake, Olivia. "The Fight for Democracy in Sheffield". tribunemag.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  7. ↑ "Council to bring revenues and benefits back in-house". Sheffieldnewsroom.co.uk. Sheffield City Council. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "Sheffield City Council's deputy leader quits over referendum calls". British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 August 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Deputy Leader of Sheffield Council RESIGNS". Sheffield Telegraph. 23 August 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  10. 1 2 Gregory, Sam (10 December 2019). "Election 2019: Battle lines drawn in Sheffield Hallam". Red Pepper. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Ashton, Lucy (2 March 2020). "Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake steps down from other role as city councillor". Sheffield Star. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  12. ↑ "Sheffield Council's deputy leader chosen as parliamentary candidate". Sheffield Star. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "Sheffield Hallam Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  14. ↑ "Rolling list: MP/MEP nominations for Labour leadership candidates". Labour List. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  15. ↑ Shepard, Dr Charles (19 February 2020). "Statement: What's next for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on ME?". meassociation.org.uk. ME Association. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "New appointments this week in UK politics, the civil service and public affairs". PoliticsHome. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "Full list: Labour's new parliamentary private secretaries". LabourList. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  18. ↑ Lake, Emma (25 March 2020). "MPs call on JD Wetherspoon boss to 'pay staff and serve your country in time of crisis'". The Caterer. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  19. ↑ Drury, Colin (24 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Millionaire Wetherspoon's boss tells staff to consider working for Tesco". The Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Lake, Emma (25 March 2020). "MPs call on JD Wetherspoon boss to 'pay staff and serve your country in time of crisis'". The Caterer. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  21. ↑ Lezard, Tim (25 March 2020). "MPs demand Wetherspoons boss pay his workers". Union News. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  22. ↑ Headteachers, National Association of. "All Party Parliamentary Group on SEND". Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  23. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan; Stewart, Heather (23 September 2020). "Three Labour MPs lose roles after voting against overseas operations bill". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  24. ↑ Ashton, Lucy (27 January 2021). "Sheffield MP launches climate change assemblies - with transforming public transport first on the agenda". Sheffield Star.
  25. ↑ Stannard, Diana (28 October 2021). "COP26: Sheffield Hallam constituents hand in Climate Manifesto at Number 10 Downing Street". Sheffield Star.
  26. ↑ Gregory, Sam (27 October 2021). "Sheffield MP launches citizen-led 'Climate Manifesto' ahead of COP26". Now Then Magazine.
  27. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna (14 May 2021). "Reshuffle: Keir Starmer's new Labour frontbench in full". LabourList. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  28. ↑ Blake, Olivia [@_OliviaBlake] (4 December 2021). "I'm absolutely delighted – & very excited! – to accept my new role as @UKLabour's Shadow Minister for Climate Change. I can't wait to champion Labour's Green New Deal from the frontbench & hold this Government to account on their failure to tackle the climate emergency" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 June 2022 – via Twitter.
  29. ↑ Blake, Olivia [@_OliviaBlake] (22 June 2022). "Last week I took the decision to step back from the front-bench. It has been an honour working with colleagues in the Climate Change & Net-Zero team" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 June 2022 – via Twitter.
  30. ↑ Migration, APPG on. "APPG on Migration Members".
  31. ↑ Hyde, Nathan (8 December 2022). "Stannington: People left without gas for a week in freezing temperatures remain 'resilient'". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  32. ↑ Blake, Olivia (8 December 2022). "Northern Lights: 'I will be providing support to families without gas in whatever way I can'". Sheffield Star.
  33. ↑ Pidd, Helen (12 December 2022). "MP urges water firm to put more profits into upgrades after Sheffield gas outage". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  34. ↑ Cooper, Jon (11 December 2022). "Yorkshire Water considers damage claims for Sheffield heating crisis victims after meeting MP". Sheffield Star. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  35. ↑ "Climate and Ecology Bill, Private Members' Bill (under the Ten Minute Rule)". Parliament.uk.
  36. ↑ Blake, Olivia (10 May 2023). "The climate and ecology bill is a critical step towards tackling the climate crisis". LabourList.
  37. ↑ Gibson, Nick (16 May 2023). "Climate & Ecology Bill gains support of MPs". Net Zero Professional.
  38. ↑ "Green Heart Hero Awards 2023". The Climate Coalition.
  39. ↑ "Socialist Campaign Group Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  40. 1 2 3 Segalov, Michael (13 November 2019). "'I'm Terrified I'll Win' – Inside the Most Dramatic MP Race in Britain". Vice. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  41. ↑ "'Jared O'Mara had his faults, but he highlighted crucial issues,' says new MP for Sheffield Hallam Olivia Blake". Yorkshire Post. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  42. ↑ Blake, Olivia. "Olivia and Louise launch Sheaf Valley railway restoration bid". oliviablake.org.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  43. ↑ "Long-lost Sheffield railway station should be reopened, says MP". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  44. ↑ Williams, Molly (27 May 2020). "Sheffield MPs launch bid to restore Sheaf Valley railway stations to former glory". Sheffield Star. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  45. ↑ Pidd, Helen (16 June 2021). "Three miscarriage rule before receiving help is unacceptable, says MP". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  46. ↑ Beardmore, Ellen (20 October 2021). "'Three miscarriage rule' set to be scrapped after campaign by Sheffield MP". Sheffield Star. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  47. ↑ "Olivia becomes a Hen Harrier Species Champion". Olivia Blake. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  48. ↑ Williams, Molly (28 February 2023). "Yorkshire MP Olivia Blake wins award for championing endangered hen harrier in Peak District". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  49. ↑ Blake, Olivia (26 March 2023). "I have tabled an amendment to the Illegal Migration Bill – and it could change everything". Independent. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  50. ↑ Iorizzo, Ellie (21 July 2023). "Myleene Klass turns 'pain of miscarriages into power' with campaigning win". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  51. ↑ Blake, Olivia [@_OliviaBlake. "We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and for food, water and aid to be allowed into Gaza. There can be no justification for the loss of innocent lives. We must use all available pressure to bring an end to the violence". Twitter/X.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  52. ↑ Blake, Olivia [@_OliviaBlake]. "Four hour "pauses" aren't good enough. As the Secretary-General of the UN says, the way forward is clear. We need a humanitarian ceasefire. Now". Twitter/X.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  53. ↑ Blake, Olivia [@_OliviaBlake]. "Many constituents have contacted me about the potential votes tomorrow on a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. My full statement". Twitter/X.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  54. ↑ "Leeds City Council Elects Judith Blake as First Female Leader". BBC News. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  55. ↑ Burn, Chris (9 May 2018). "'Fresh start' hope after Sheffield tree-felling council boss quits post". The Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  56. ↑ Rogers, Alexandra (5 April 2021). "The Yorkshire mother and daughter duo taking on the Houses of Parliament". Yorkshire Live. examinerlive.com.
  57. ↑ Blake, Olivia [@_OliviaBlake] (20 September 2021). "As a bi women, I want to send a message of solidarity this #BiAwarenessWeek.
    Sadly, so many people still face biphobia and inappropriate questions and assumptions about their sexuality and identity.
    So happy #BiWeek – your annual reminder we exist"     (Tweet). Retrieved 11 October 2021 – via Twitter.
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