Who are Coventry and Warwickshire's newbie MPs?

More than 300 MPs are new to Parliament after the 2024 general election

Five new MPs were elected in constituencies across Coventry and Warwickshire in the general election.

They join more than 300 newbie MPs taking their seats in the House of Commons this week.

Some of the MPs are breaking new ground as the first women to be elected in their constituencies.

So what do we know about our first-time MPs?

Rachel Taylor, Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth

Rachel Taylor is a former solicitor and Wimbeldon umpire

It was game, set and match to former Wimbledon umpire Rachel Taylor in North Warwickshire and Bedworth. As a tennis referee, Ms Taylor is used to making tough calls under pressure.

The former councillor won with a majority of 2,198 and is the first woman to take the seat.

Born and schooled in North Warwickshire, Ms Taylor has talked up her local roots. For 20 years, she worked as a property solicitor and helped to run a retail business in the area.

She said “there’s so much that needs doing in our constituency”, including “getting our high streets back on track”.

Manuela Perteghella, Lib Dem MP for Stratford-on-Avon

Manuela Perteghella ended decades of Tory domination in Stratford-on-Avon

The general election was a midsummer night’s dream for new Liberal Democrat MP for William Shakespeare.

Manuela Perteghella became the first Liberal to win Stratford-on-Avon since 1906, and the first female MP to represent the constituency.

“It’s been an emotional time,” was how it was summed up by Ms Perteghella, a former university lecturer, councillor, and governor of a primary school.

Born in Italy, Ms Perteghella has lived in the UK for more than 30 years and holds a doctorate in literature and translation.

Fittingly, she analysed Shakespeare’s plays during her PhD and now she’s writing her own political script as the MP for the playwright’s birthplace.

Jodie Gosling, Labour MP for Nuneaton

Nuneaton kept its bellwether staus by electing Labour's Jodie Gosling

Another female-first came in the bellweather seat of Nuneaton, where Jodie Gosling was elected.

She was a councillor and the Labour opposition group leader on North Warwickshire Borough Council before being elected as Nuneaton’s MP.

As a nursery manager and teacher, education is close to her heart and that passion showed when she accompanied now Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a visit to a primary school in Nuneaton.

“We are focused on the priorities to transform the lives of people here in Nuneaton,” Ms Gosling said in her victory speech.

John Slinger, Labour MP for Rugby

John Slinger is a musician who's worked in communications

After dominating the seat for 14 years, the Conservatives faced the music in Rugby, where instrumentalist John Slinger hit the right notes.

The long-time Labour activist, and former McDonald’s worker, won the seat with a majority of 4,428.

A classically trained violinist who played in a local rock band, he’s a music lover who has been pulling strings as a partner in a strategic communications company.

Having lived in Rugby since 2006, he was elected as a councillor last year before putting himself forward as a parliamentary candidate.

Mary Creagh, Labour MP for Coventry East

Mary Creagh has plenty of parliamentary experience

Newly elected in Coventry, but not new to Parliament, Mary Creagh was an MP for 14 years before she lost her Wakefield seat in the 2019 general election.

Now she’s ended her House of Commons hiatus after winning Coventry East with a 11,623 majority.

Born in Coventry, where her father was a car factory worker and her mother a primary school teacher, Ms Creagh studied modern languages at Oxford and worked as an intern at the European Parliament.

She was a government whip when Gordon Brown was prime minister and held several shadow cabinet posts before returning to the backbenches during Jeremy Corbyn’s stint as Labour leader.

Some familiar faces return too…

Taiwo Owatemi and Zarah Sultana, two Labour MPs who first entered Parliament in 2019, retained their seats in Coventry.

Ms Owatemi is a qualified pharmacist who has served as shadow minister for women and equalities, while Ms Sultana is chair of the Socialist Campaign Group and has been one of the most vocal MPs about the war in Gaza.

Labour’s Matt Western held his seat of Warwick and Leamington with an increased majority of 12,412. A former shadow education minister, he had a career in business management before joining Parliament in 2017.

And Sir Jeremy Wright was re-elected as the MP for Kenilworth and Southam, albeit with a reduced majority. He has taken up the post of shadow attorney general, mirroring the job he used to do in government under two Tory prime ministers.

Sir Jeremy is the only Conservative MP left in Warwickshire after Labour’s landslide.