Official portrait of Yvette Cooper

Yvette Cooper

Labour MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, since 1 May 1997

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper is the Labour MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, and has been an MP continually since 1 May 1997. She currently holds the Government post of Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Scorecard

29.6% Attendance In the least-present tenth of MPs who vote
170 Votes cast out of 575 divisions
405 No vote recorded absent, abstaining, paired or unable to attend
0 Against their own party divisions where they voted the other way to most Labour MPs
4 Interests declared none at £5,000 or more
1006 Debates spoken in 189 written questions tabled

Ranked 622 of 638 MPs for attendance. The median of MPs who vote is 72.3%. Ministers and front-benchers vote less often than backbenchers for reasons of office rather than absenteeism, and Parliament does not publish reasons for any absence — the ranking is a starting point for a question, not an answer to one.

Voting record

575 divisions since they took their seat, newest first.

DateQuestionTheir voteResult
13 Nov 2025 Planning and Infrastructure Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 32 Aye 268–78
13 Nov 2025 Planning and Infrastructure Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 3 Aye 255–128
13 Nov 2025 Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Government amendment (a) to Lords Amendment 2 No vote 264–125
13 Nov 2025 Planning and Infrastructure Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 1 No vote 254–135
12 Nov 2025 Opposition Day: Energy: original words stand part No vote 97–336
12 Nov 2025 Opposition Day: Taxes No vote 101–316
5 Nov 2025 Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 43 No vote 268–80
5 Nov 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government amendment (a) in lieu of LA62 No vote 311–152
5 Nov 2025 Employment Rights Bill: motion relating to Lords Reason 72B No vote 312–151
5 Nov 2025 Employment Rights Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 48B No vote 310–150
5 Nov 2025 Employment Rights Bill: motion relating to Lords Reason 120B No vote 308–153
5 Nov 2025 Employment Rights Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 1B No vote 310–155
4 Nov 2025 Opposition day: Welfare spending No vote 92–403
4 Nov 2025 Opposition day: Supporting high streets No vote 106–321
29 Oct 2025 Sentencing Bill: Third Reading Aye 321–103
29 Oct 2025 Sentencing Bill Report Stage: New Clause 20 No vote 182–311
29 Oct 2025 Sentencing Bill Report Stage: New Clause 19 No vote 173–323
29 Oct 2025 Sentencing Bill Report Stage: New Clause 12 No vote 82–314
29 Oct 2025 Sentencing Bill Report Stage: New Clause 1 No vote 170–328
29 Oct 2025 European Convention on Human Rights (withdrawal): Ten Minute Rule Motion No vote 96–154
28 Oct 2025 Opposition Day: China spying case No vote 174–327
28 Oct 2025 Opposition Day: Stamp Duty Land Tax No vote 103–329
27 Oct 2025 Victims and Courts Bill Report Stage: Amendment 5 No vote 153–332
27 Oct 2025 Victims and Courts Bill Report Stage: New Clause 12 No vote 166–322
27 Oct 2025 Victims and Courts Bill Report Stage: New Clause 7 No vote 165–323

Declared financial interests

Quoted in full from the Register of Members' Financial Interests. Entries where the largest figure is £5,000 or more are marked. A declaration is not a wrongdoing — the register exists precisely so that these things are visible.

1. Employment and earnings

Payment: £758.06 For additional sales of a book already published.
Received on: 28 April 2026. Hours: no hours entered.
(Registered 14 May 2026)

On the register since 19 May 2026

Payment: £643.01 For additional sales of a book already published
Received on: 28 October 2025. Hours: no hours entered.
(Registered 5 November 2025)

On the register since 18 Nov 2025

Role, work or services: Writing a book
Payer: Conville and Walsh (literary agent), Haymarket House, London SW1Y 4SP

On the register since 28 May 2024

3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources

Name of donor: Barbara Follett
Address of donor: private
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Accommodation for staff members during Labour Party conference, value £2,350
Date received: 27 September 2025 to 1 October 2025
Date accepted: 27 September 2025
Donor status: individual
(Registered 21 October 2025)

On the register since 7 Nov 2025

The same register on parliament.uk →

Debates

1006 debates contributed to in total. The ten most recent:

Money declared to them

No donations to this member appear on the Electoral Commission's register for this Parliament. Only donations above the statutory thresholds have to be declared, and the match is made on name — search the register directly if you are checking a specific one.

Where the public money goes — contracts and donations →


Sources: Commons Votes API, Members API and the Register of Members' Financial Interests, all published by Parliament under the Open Parliament Licence; donations from the Electoral Commission's register. This member's register and debate record were last refreshed 3 Aug 2026. How every figure is worked out →

Machine-readable: JSON for this MP.

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