Your Voice in Parliament.
Your Champion in Bristol.
Bristol North West is my home - it's where I was born and grew up and where I now live with my family. That makes being the local MP extra special. In 2019, I was proudly re-elected to serve my constituents as the local Labour MP.
As your Voice in Parliament, it’s my job to raise your concerns with Ministers and to campaign for change. As your Champion in Bristol, it’s my job to support you, your family and our community to make Bristol the best place to live and work.
My work in Parliament
In addition to representing Bristol North West, I am Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
That means I hold Ministers to account for how they spend money on health, education and other vital public services.
Prior to this role, I was Chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, leading Parliament’s oversight of one of the largest departments in government.
Darren’s biography.
Darren was born at Southmead Hospital in the 1980s and grew up in Lawrence Weston in Bristol North West. He went to Avon Primary and Portway Community schools, now called Nova Primary and Oasis Academy Brightstowe.
Darren continued his education at the South Bristol Post-16 Centre at Ashton Gate school before reading human bioscience at Plymouth University, with a focus on immunology. He was elected President of Plymouth Students’ Union, and went on to work for the NHS.
Darren later trained as a solicitor, specialising in technology law. He worked in in Plymouth, Bristol and London in both private practice and as an in-house counsel, with a particular focus on the energy and telecommunications sectors.
Darren first ran for Parliament in 2010 as a Labour candidate in the Conservative safe seat of Torridge and West Devon. He was selected in 2012 to contest the marginal seat of Bristol North West, moving the Labour Party from third to second place in the 2015 election. Darren was first elected to Parliament as the Member for Bristol North West in the 2017 election and was re-elected with an increased share of the vote in the 2019 election.
He is married to Lucy and has three children: Ophelia, Edith and Francesca. They live in Bristol North West.
My income and office costs:
You don’t just vote for your Member of Parliament, you pay for them too. That’s why I’ve always published my income and office costs on my website - so you can see everything with complete transparency. You can check individual costs by clicking the ‘office costs in detail’ button below.
MP Pay
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority sets MP pay.
I am paid £86,584 per year (from April 2023) to serve as your MP.
I don’t have a second job or second income.
Sometimes, I receive sponsorships or donations that organisations or individuals give to me to support my work. These are always declared.
Office Costs
In order to serve you, I am given a fixed budget each year to cover my office costs. These budgets include:
Staff budget - £236,170.
Office budget – £30,570
London budget - £45,200
Transport budget - £uncapped
The London budget covers the cost of living in London Monday to Thursday each week. I receive a higher London budget because I have children who sometimes need to stay with me in London.