Angela Eagle was first elected as the Labour MP for the once marginal Wallasey constituency in 1992, being was reelected in 2019 with a large majority of 18,322.
The constituency of Wallasey is found at the top of the Wirral peninsular in Merseyside and includes the communities of Seacombe, Leasowe, Moreton, New Brighton, Liscard and Wallasey itself. Although Wallasey was held by the Conservatives between 1918 and 1992, this area of the Wirral coast is relatively deprived, and has turned heavily to Labour in recent years. This is now a very safe Labour sat.
Angela Eagle sat in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Business Secretary between 2015 and 2016, but resigned in 2016 in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. She was briefly touted as a potential challenger to Jeremy Corbyn in the summer of that year. She was Shadow Leader of the House of Commons between 2010 and 2015.
Eagle served in the last Labour Government under Gordon Brown, first as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security, as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, and then as Minister for Pensions. She had previously served as a junior Minister at the Home Office under Tony Blair.
Born in 1961, Angela Eagle was educated at Oxford University, after which she worked for CoHSE (now Unison) as a researcher (1984), press officer (1986), and then as Parliamentary liaison officer (1987).
Angela Eagle has an identical twin sister Maria, who was elected as the Member of Parliament for Liverpool Garston in 1997. This gave Angela and Maria Eagle the unique status of being the first twins elected as MPs.
Angela Eagle enjoys playing chess, and previously played at County and International level representing Lancashire and England. She was the joint winner of the British Under-18s chess championship in 1976 and won numerous County Championships with Lancashire. She also enjoys cricket.
Angela Eagle came out as a lesbian in a newspaper interview in 1997. Now Dame Angela, Eagle is Deputy Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights.
Email: eaglea@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.angelaeagle.co.uk/
Twitter: @angelaeagles
