Maria Eagle

Maria Eagle has been Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since October 2013 and was previously Shadow Transport Secretary and Shadow Solicitor General. As a Minister for nine years in the Labour government, Maria held positions as Minister of State in the Minister of Justice and Government Equalities Office and, previously, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice, Northern Ireland Office, Department for Education and Skills, Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health. Maria was re-elected in 2010 as the Member of Parliament for Garston and Halewood in Liverpool with a majority of 16,877, having first been elected in 1997. As a back-bencher, Maria led calls for a ban on fur farming, which led to the Fur Farming Prohibition Act 2000. She also worked tirelessly on the campaign for justice for Hillsborough victims and their families. Born in 1961, educated in Formby and Oxford and a former solicitor, Maria has a twin sister, Angela, who is the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, Chair of the National Policy Forum and Member of Parliament for Wallasey.