2019–2024
At the 2019 general election, Barker was elected to Parliament as MP for Liverpool Wavertree with 72.2% of the vote and a majority of 27,085.[5][6] Barker made her maiden speech on 4 February 2020, becoming one of the first of the new MPs from the 2019 general election to do so. In it, she outlined the rich diversity of the Liverpool Wavertree constituency and said that local representatives, rather than the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, know what is best for their constituencies.[7]
As an opposition MP, Barker called upon the Conservative Government to enact meaningful reform of the social care market.[8] She also sponsored the Private Members Bill put forward by Mike Amesbury, Labour MP for Weaver Vale, on proposed changes to the law regarding school uniforms.
Barker served as a member of the Justice Select Committee[9] between May 2020 and July 2021 and is currently a Member of Home Affairs Select Committee. She became PPS to Shadow Defence Minister John Healey in March 2022.[10]
In February 2022, Barker was re-selected as the Labour candidate for the new Liverpool Wavertree constituency to stand at the 2024 general election.[11]
She was appointed Shadow Minister for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping on 28 October 2022. In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Devolution and the English Regions.[12]
She is a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.[13] On 15 November 2023, she resigned from the frontbench to vote for a SNP motion demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.[14]
In May 2024, PoliticsHome reported that Barker had left the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs.[15]
2024 to date
Barker was re-elected to Parliament as MP for Liverpool Wavertree at the 2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 58% and a decreased majority of 16,304.[16]
In October 2024 she was appointed to the Parliamentary Committee on Standards [17] as well as the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges [18] and serves as Vice Chair of both. She also remains Co-Chair of the all-party parliamentary group for ending homelessness and rough sleeping.[19]
Barker was a candidate for the 2025 Labour Party deputy leadership election, but pulled out after not achieving the required backing of 80 MPs.[20]
