Debbie Abrahams was first elected as the Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth in a 2011 by election, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 1,499 over the Conservative Party.
Oldham East and Saddleworth is the more affluent of the two Oldham seats and spreads out from the centre of Oldham to include a number of Pennine villages and Saddleworth Moor. The seat has been held by Labour since 1997, albeit was for a number of years a close Labour – Liberal Democrat marginal. Some three fifths of the local electorate here backed Brexit in the 2016 Eu referendum.
Abrahams previously served in the Shadow Cabinet under Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, between 2016 and 2018.
Born in 1960, Abrahams was educated at Salford University, and worked as a public health consultant before being elected to Parliament. She was Chair of Rochdale Primary Care Trust between 2002 and 2007 but resigned in protest at the use of private companies in the NHS.
Abrahams backed Sir Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour leadership election. She backed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 content, and Andy Burnham in the 2015 election.
She is married with two daughters, her husband John Abrahams, was once captain of Lancashire County cricket team.
Abrahams is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Kashmir; Health in all politics; Universal Credit; Women in the Penal System; Dementia; and Compassionate Politics. She is Vice Chair of the Groups on Race Inequality; Unconscious Bias; Events; and the Green New Deal.
Email: abrahamsd@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.debbieabrahams.org.uk
Twitter: @Debbie_abrahams
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Debbie-Abrahams
