Derek Twigg was elected as the Labour MP for Halton in 1997, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 18,975.
The constituency of Halton is found straddling the River Mersey in the north of Cheshire and includes the industrial towns of Widnes and Runcorn. With a large number of the local workforce employed in the local petroleum and chemical industries, this is a long standing safe seat for the Labour Party.
Twigg served in the previous Labour government, initially as a government whip, and then as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools at the Department for Education and Skills. After the May 2005 General Election he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport. In September 2006 Derek was appointed as Under Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans at the Ministry of Defence.
Born in 1959, Twigg was born and brought up in Widnes and studied at Halton College of Further Education. He started work at 16 years old working as a civil servant for 19 years at the Department of Education and Science (formerly the Department of Employment) in Runcorn. He served on Cheshire County Council between 1980 and 1985.
He backed Andy Burnham in the 2010 and 2015 Labour leadership election, and Lisa Nandy in the 2020 contest. He opposed same sex marriage in 2013.
His interests outside of Politics include hill walking, military history, particularly World War Two, Rugby League and football. Twigg is a Liverpool FC fan who was present at the disaster in 1989.
Derek Twigg is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Afghanistan; the Falkland Islands; and Mountaineering. He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on the British Overseas Territories; the Liverpool City Region; and Veterans.
Email: derek.twigg.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: www.derektwigg.org.uk
Twitter: @DerekTwiggMP
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Derek-Twigg/
