Rachael Helen Maskell was born on 5 July 1972 and is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament for York Central since 2015.
22 Facts About Rachael Maskell
2.
Rachael Maskell is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
3.
Rachael Maskell was influenced to take up an interest in politics by her uncle Terence Morris, a close associate of Louis Blom-Cooper, who was a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the London School of Economics.
4.
Rachael Maskell graduated from the University of East Anglia with a degree in physiotherapy in 1994.
5.
Rachael Maskell worked as a care-worker and physiotherapist in the National Health Service for 20 years in Norwich and the London Borough of Barnet.
6.
In 2006, Rachael Maskell stood as a Labour candidate for the Blackheath ward in Lewisham, south east London.
7.
Rachael Maskell used her maiden speech to advocate for a new mental health hospital in York to replace the ageing Bootham Park.
8.
On Wednesday 8 July 2015, Rachael Maskell was one of four Labour MPs elected to the Health Select Committee.
9.
Rachael Maskell voted against the Welfare Bill in the House of Commons on 20 July 2015.
10.
In September 2015, during the European refugee crisis, Rachael Maskell called on the UK to open its doors to refugees.
11.
Rachael Maskell spoke in the Trade-Union Bill 2nd Reading debate on 14 September 2015.
12.
Rachael Maskell resigned from her position ahead of the vote on the second reading in the House of Commons European Union Bill 2017 triggering Article 50, which carried a three-line whip imposed on Labour MPs.
13.
Rachael Maskell returned to the Labour front bench on 3 July 2017 as Shadow Rail Minister.
14.
On 5 March 2019, Rachael Maskell joined a dozen other Labour MPs on Westminster Bridge, next to the Houses of Parliament, in a protest against Brexit under the banner 'Love Socialism Hate Brexit'.
15.
Rachael Maskell was one of five Labour MPs to vote against the extension of abortion rights to Northern Ireland.
16.
Rachael Maskell endorsed Clive Lewis in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.
17.
In January 2020, Rachael Maskell was returned to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights, replacing Laura Pidcock who lost her seat in the 2019 general election.
18.
On 14 December 2021, Rachael Maskell resigned from her frontbench role in order to defy the party whip by voting against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for NHS staff.
19.
Rachael Maskell voted in line with the party whip by voting in favour of COVID-19 vaccine passports and an expansion of mask mandates.
20.
On 22 June 2022, Rachael Maskell was the only Labour MP to vote against extension of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
21.
In 2023 Rachael Maskell suggested that English local councils should introduce maximum speed limits of 10mph in residential areas.
22.
Rachael Maskell is a keen cyclist and rode the trip to Labour Conference 2015 in Brighton from Parliament in aid of the British Heart Foundation.