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
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Clause 62 stand part No vote 344–181
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No.2) Bill Committee: Clause 10 stand part Aye 324–180
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 12 No 167–350
7 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: Rural communities No 105–332
7 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: Jury trials No vote 182–290
17 Dec 2025 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: Second Reading Aye 312–165
16 Dec 2025 Finance (No. 2) Bill: Second Reading Aye 341–195
16 Dec 2025 Finance (No. 2) Bill: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading (Opposition) No 118–340
15 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to disagree with the Lords in their Amendment 120N to Commons Amendment 120G and their Amendments 120P to 120S to Commons Amendment 120H No vote 311–96
10 Dec 2025 Opposition day: Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer No vote 90–297
10 Dec 2025 Government Amendment to Opposition day debate on seasonal work No vote 320–98
10 Dec 2025 Opposition day: Seasonal work No vote 98–325
9 Dec 2025 Railways Bill: Second Reading No vote 329–173
9 Dec 2025 Railways Bill: Opposition Reasoned Amendment No vote 170–332
9 Dec 2025 UK-EU customs union (duty to negotiate): Ten Minute Rule Motion No vote 100–100
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to LA62 but not to insist on Commons Amendment 62C and to propose Gov (a) in lieu of LA62 No vote 327–162
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion not to insist on Commons Amendment 72C but to disagree with LA72D to LA72H and to propose Gov (a) and (b) in lieu of LA72D to LA72H No vote 326–162
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to Lords Amendment 48B but to propose Government amendment (a) and (b) in lieu of LA48B No vote 395–98
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to LA23 and LA106 to LA120, not to insist on Commons Amendment 120C, 120D and 120E but to propose Gov (a) to (f) in lieu of LA23 and LA106 to LA120 No vote 300–96
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to Lords Amendment 1B but to propose Government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords Amendment 1B No vote 327–96
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: Amendment 15 No vote 154–303
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: Amendment 16 No vote 143–304
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: New Clause 26 No vote 77–298
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: New Clause 3 No vote 87–299
2 Dec 2025 Budget Resolution No. 64: Rates of alcohol duty No vote 357–174

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:


Sources: Commons Votes API, Members API and the Register of Members' Financial Interests, all published by Parliament under the Open Parliament Licence. 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.

← Look up a different postcode · All MPs · Think a figure here is wrong? Challenge it →