Jo White

Last updated

John Mann
​
(m. 1986)​
Jo White
MP
Official portrait of Jo White MP crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Bassetlaw
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Alma mater University of Manchester

Joanna Ruth White (born 22 January 1964) is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bassetlaw since 2024.

Contents

She is chair of the Red Wall Caucus of red wall Labour MPs in Parliament.

Early life and education

White was born in 1964 in Stamford, Lincolnshire. [1] She has an identical twin, Deb Davies, who was elected as a Labour councillor in Newport, Wales in 2012. [2] In 2022, she stated she had recently discovered their partly Jewish ancestry. [3]

White studied at the University of Manchester, where she was General Secretary of the Students' Union. [4]

Political career

White was office manager for her husband John Mann, the Bassetlaw MP from 2003 to 2019. [5] She served as chair of the Bassetlaw Constituency Labour Party. [6] She was a member of Unite the Union's executive for over a decade. [7]

White was first elected as a Member of Bassetlaw District Council for Worksop East in 2012. [8] She was appointed as the executive member for regeneration in 2013 and became Deputy Leader in 2015.

White was elected as MP for Bassetlaw at the 2024 general election, defeating incumbent Conservative Brendan Clarke-Smith. [9] [10]

In 2024, White founded a red wall group of about 35 backbench Labour MPs, sometimes called the Red Wall Caucus, of which she is chair. The group has had meetings with ministers, and after the poor Labour results in the 2025 local elections it lobbied Prime Minister Keir Starmer to promote policies on border control, tackling anti-social behaviour, slow GP access and the cost-of-living for the working-class. [11] [12]

White is a Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Israel. [13]

Political positions

In May 2025, Jo White publicly urged Keir Starmer to “stop pussy-footing around” and called on him to announce measures including "a national inquiry into grooming gangs, a crackdown on immigration and investment in left-behind industrial heartlands." At the same time, White criticised the decision to restrict the Winter Fuel Payment to pensioners receiving means-tested benefits, likening the policy to the poll tax. [14]

Welfare

White supported cuts to several benefits including Universal Credit and changes to the eligibility criteria for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) announced in the March 2025 United Kingdom spring statement. While endorsing the reforms, White emphasised that “the system must protect the most vulnerable”, but argued that parts of the welfare system encouraged “the feckless [and] squeezing out the needy”. White also suggested that some families had “adapt[ed] to a lifestyle of living on benefits”. [15]

Immigration

White has described illegal immigration as "The key issue in my constituency" and called for the introduction of mandatory identity cards to "reassure voters that illegal immigrants won't get a job or healthcare without one." [16] In August 2025, White called upon the government to "act to shut asylum hotels sooner", arguing "We need to make it far more difficult for asylum seekers to want to come to this country." [17]

Personal life

White married John Mann, Baron Mann in 1986, with whom she has three children. [18] [19] A former Labour member was convicted for harassment against White, including mailing her a dead bird in 2012. [20] [21]

References

  1. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS.
  2. ↑ "Newport councillor scoops seat at same time as twin". South Wales Argus . 14 May 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. ↑ White, Joanna (28 September 2022). "I'm standing as a Labour candidate because I know they've changed on antisemitism". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "The former student leaders entering Parliament". Wonkhe. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  5. ↑ "New Girl: No 1: Jo White". Private Eye. 19 July 2024. p. 12.
  6. ↑ Stewart, Heather (6 November 2019). "Labour accused of 'student union politics' in candidate row". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Kendix, Max (17 July 2024). "The seven tribes of new Labour MPs". The Times . Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Councillor Jo White". Bassetlaw District Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  9. ↑ Mann, Sebastian (10 August 2022). "Deputy council leader to stand as Labour MP". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  10. ↑ O'Neill, Ted (5 July 2024). "Bassetlaw General Election results as Labour's Jo White wins and Brendan Clarke-Smith loses Tory seat" . Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Gibbons, Amy (25 December 2024). "Red Wall MPs tell Starmer to get tough on immigration or we will lose our seats to Reform" . The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  12. ↑ Penna, Dominic (3 May 2025). "Starmer must stop 'pussyfooting around', says Labour Red Wall chief" . The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "Labour Friends of Israel announces three new honorary vice-chairs". Labour Friends of Israel. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  14. ↑ "Starmer must stop 'pussyfooting around', says Labour Red Wall chief". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  15. ↑ White, Jo (25 June 2025). "'The benefits system has become unaffordable - it needs to be reformed'". LabourList. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Red Wall Labour MPs want tougher message on immigration to head off Reform". BBC News. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  17. ↑ Burke, Dave (25 August 2025). "Asylum is Labour's 'number 1 priority' as it's warned issue is becoming 'toxic'". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  18. ↑ Pridmore, Oliver (14 March 2024). "John Mann cleared over allegation that wife broke rules with leaflets". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  19. ↑ Round, Simon (12 February 2009). "Interview: John Mann MP". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  20. ↑ "MP John Mann's wife sent dead bird in post". BBC News. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  21. ↑ White, Joanna (28 September 2022). "I'm standing as a Labour candidate because I know they've changed on antisemitism". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Bassetlaw
2024–present		Incumbent
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