Toby Perkins

Who is Toby Perkins?

Matthew Toby Perkins is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Chesterfield since 2010, winning the seat from Liberal Democrat Paul Holmes. Before taking the seat, he was a councillor in the town.

Perkins has one sister, Polly, and is son of V.F. and Teresa Perkins. He is the great-grandson of A. P. Herbert, Independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. He left Silverdale Comprehensive School in Sheffield in 1987 without completing his A Levels and worked as a Sales Representative, Recruitment Manager and Care Manager before setting up a rugby product business.

Perkins is a member of the Unite trade union and was a Director of Families First Co-operative, a social enterprise that runs an early years nursery in Chesterfield. Shortly before his election, he was involved in setting up the Chesterfield Flood Victims Appeal.

Following his election to Parliament in 2010, he questioned David Cameron in the very first Prime Minister's Questions of the 2010 session. He backed David Miliband for the Labour leadership and was named by the Financial Times as one of the best six newcomers of the first 100 days of the 2010 parliament