interview with gavin Shuker mp
Gavin Shuker MP talks to James Somerville- Meikle about an extraordinary year that has seen his transition from Church leader to Member of Parliament.
May 6th 2010 might not be a date that most Labour supporters want to remember but for Gavin Shuker it was a momentous occasion, as at the age of just 28 he was elected to represent Labour in Luton South.
In December last year Gavin was chosen as the parliamentary candidate for the constituency, having survived a gruelling fourteen week selection process and competition from 43 other applicants. He describes this change in his life as even greater than his eventual election to Parliament. “I’m used to the long hours,” he says but “nothing prepares you for life in the public eye which becoming a candidate suddenly brings.”
Gavin’s adjustment to life as a Parliamentary candidate, and now as an MP, has been more challenging than most because he did not come from a political background. His path into politics has been distinctly different from many other new MPs, who have worked in Westminster as a researcher or policy adviser before selection in a constituency of their own. Gavin is a Luton lad, born and raised and after studying at Cambridge he returned to the town along with fellow graduates to set up a church. “I joined the Labour Party the day I returned to Luton,” he says, as he admired the work that the Party was doing locally. “After Margaret Moran resigned following the expenses scandal, I had to make a decision whether to stand or not and I felt like this was the right thing to do.”
Gavin’s campaign during the general election was focused locally and drew unusually large amounts of media coverage thanks to the high profile of one of the independent candidates standing against him. In the end, Esther Rantzen’s campaign did not pose a serious challenge to Gavin as she polled just 4.4% of the vote. “Esther was lovely and she was a great opponent but it proves that you can achieve more together than you can do individually and political parties remain vital in that.” His campaign was also given “a real boost” by the help of the Christian Socialist Movement and, in particular, the support of the organisation’s director, Andy Flannagan, who Gavin has known for over ten years.
Now that he is in Parliament, Gavin’s focus remains on Luton and he is driven by a desire to improve the lives of his constituents and, in particular, to promote education as a key to social mobility. His work in Parliament is made harder by the fact that he is one of only two Labour MPs from the East of England region. Surrounded by a sea of blue on the electoral map, Gavin has found that he has to shoulder a lot of the work of being in opposition. “Sometimes I feel like I am the voice of opposition in this region,” he says. Despite this, it is clear he is not going to let his position intimidate him as he also relishes the opportunities that such responsibility will bring.
At the heart of Gavin’s work in Parliament is his Christian faith which he says is “inseparable from his politics.” His politics is an expression of his faith and he describes his return to Luton as a personal vocation to serve the local community where he grew up.
Gavin recognises that New Labour’s relationship with religion has not always been a harmonious one. He believes that there were points during Labour’s time in Government when faith was sidelined and pluralism wandered into the realms of secularism. “New Labour clumped ‘faith’ together… like one homogenous mass.” The specific concerns and unique abilities of each religious group could be overlooked or so tightly stage-managed that there was little opportunity for discussion. “There was genuine concern amongst Christians about legislation like the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill,” says Gavin, but there was a tendency to “cover-up” the discontent rather than engage with those who felt aggrieved.
Despite this, Gavin is optimistic that this period out of Government will provide the party with an opportunity to reconsider its relationship with religious groups and become “more receptive” to their needs. This time of public sector cuts and austerity will demonstrate more than ever the contribution that churches make to local communities as they, together with voluntary organisations, struggle to meet the needs left unmet by a shrinking state.
Whatever else Gavin Shuker will achieve, I am sure that he will soon become recognised both in Luton and Westminster as a great local MP, the likes of which our country needs more of. | 
