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Olivia Bailey

Olivia Bailey
MP
Official portrait of Olivia Bailey, she has short dark hair and is smiling at the camera.
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Reading West and Mid Berkshire
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byAlok Sharma
(Reading West[a])
Majority1,361 (3.0%)
Personal details
Born
Olivia Joanna Bailey

1986 (age 38–39)
Reading, Berkshire, England
Political partyLabour
SpouseFinn McGoldrick
Alma materSt Hilda's College, Oxford (BA)

Olivia Joanna Bailey (born 17 September 1986)[3] is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Reading West and Mid Berkshire since 2024.[4][5]

Early life and education

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Bailey was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1986 to a policeman father and teacher mother.[3] She attended Ranelagh School in Bracknell and experienced homophobic bullying at school.[3]

Bailey studied at St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she was the Junior Common Room President.[6] She graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Modern History and Politics.[7]

She was Women's Officer of the National Union of Students (NUS) from 2009 to 2011,[8] and Chair of Labour Students from 2011 to 2012.[9] As an officer of the NUS, Bailey created the Vote for Students pledge and published the first national study into harassment and abuse suffered by women students.[10]

Political career

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Bailey had been Chair of the Labour Women's Network, deputy General Secretary of the Fabian Society, and a senior aide to Keir Starmer, before standing as a parliamentary candidate.[5]

Bailey contested Reading West at the 2017 general election, but was defeated by the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Alok Sharma.[3][11]

At the 2024 general election, Bailey was elected as MP for the new Reading West and Mid Berkshire constituency with 35% of the vote.[12] She was subsequently appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall.[13]

Personal life

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Bailey is a lesbian and married to Finn McGoldrick, with whom she has two children.[14][15] McGoldrick is a Member of Reading Council and a special adviser to the Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds.[16][15]

Her father, Roy Bailey, is a Member of Bracknell Forest Council.[17] Her mother has Alzheimer's disease.[3]

Notes

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  1. ^ The Reading West constituency was renamed "Reading West and Mid Berkshire" at the 2024 general election, with major boundary changes[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South East". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  2. ^ "South East: New Constituency Boundaries 2023". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Reading-born Olivia aims for Reading West seat". RDG.Today. 23 Mar 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Meet Olivia Bailey, Labour candidate for Reading West and Mid Berkshire". The Reading Chronicle. 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Olivia Bailey standing as Labour candidate for new MP seat". The Reading Chronicle. 7 Jan 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Lewis Iwu penalised for dirty campaign tactics in OUSU race". Cherwell. 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  7. ^ "Olivia Bailey MP". Policy Mogul. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  8. ^ Ferguson, Mark (22 July 2010). "As Young Labour members, we support Oona for mayor". LabourList. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  9. ^ "History". Labour Students. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  10. ^ "The former student leaders entering Parliament". Wonkhe. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  11. ^ "Olivia Bailey – Labour Party". Reading West. 13 Jun 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Reading West & Mid Berkshire | General Election 2024 | Sky News". election.news.sky.com. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  13. ^ "Full PPS list as seven more MPs made parliamentary private secretaries". LabourList. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  14. ^ Bailey, Olivia (21 March 2019). "Don't worry about "exposing" children to families like mine. Worry about hate". LabourList. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  15. ^ a b Dickson, Annabelle (14 February 2022). "Britain's political power couples — ranked". Politico Europe. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  16. ^ Aldridge, James (4 August 2023). "Reading's newest councillor lays out priorities following by-election win". Reading Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  17. ^ Aldridge, James (14 December 2023). "Labour candidate hoping to be MP for West Reading". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
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