Alliance Party of Northern Ireland MP for Lagan Valley.
Nominated for Backbencher of the Year and now under consideration for Lagan Valley's most active voices at Westminster, Sorcha Eastwood has built a profile well beyond her party's size. Her most eye-catching recent vote came in April 2026, when she backed referring Prime Minister Starmer to the Privileges Committee over the Mandelson appointment — a cross-party rebellion that put her alongside the Conservatives, SNP and DUP against the Labour whip. She has also pushed hard on constituency issues: an Early Day Motion calling for a review of Royal Mail's ownership over persistent service failures, roundtables defending local hospitality businesses ahead of the Budget, and a sustained presence in debates on cost-of-living, health, and social care.
Her voting record reflects Alliance's broadly centre-left positioning — 100% party alignment, no rebel votes within her own group — but her overall participation rate is strikingly low at 11% (62 of 570 votes), far below the Commons average. Where she does vote, the pattern is consistent: backing welfare expansion, opposing benefit cuts, supporting climate action, and resisting Lords amendments that the government opposed, though she broke from government on the statutory mobile phone ban in schools, voting for a legal requirement rather than guidance.
Eastwood sits on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, and her speech topics — economy, social care, health, cost-of-living — track the concerns raised at her local roundtables rather than narrow party-political lines. Her 2024 win in Lagan Valley was widely described as a personal vote built on visibility and local trust. The low participation figure warrants scrutiny, though Northern Ireland MPs sometimes abstain on England-only matters as a matter of principle rather than disengagement. Speech data covers 110 contributions across 75 debates.
Sorcha Eastwood is the Alliance MP for Lagan Valley, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024.
Top eight by total divisions voted, this parliament. Volume measures engagement, not direction — see Notable Votes for free-vote moments and rebellions.
Source · The Public Whip · Hansard
Moments where the whip was free, or where Eastwood broke ranks. Free votes are the truer signal of personal stance.
No rebellions or free votes recorded yet.
Source · Hansard
“The Government presents a false choice between funding and Stormont reform; serious structural reform of the Northern Ireland Assembly must accompany financial investment.”
“Paid tribute to PSNI but pressed Secretary of State to commit to adequate resourcing for counter-terrorism across all categories, as PSNI operates within a challenging budget.”
“Supports VAT cut for hospitality (started parliamentary petition on this); argues Republic of Ireland's competitive VAT rate threatens Northern Ireland businesses.”
“The Government should accept they have lost on this point of law and allow all eligible individuals to benefit from the judgment rather than attempting to fight or curtail it.”
Select, joint and other committees Eastwood currently sits on. Committee work is where much of the line-by-line scrutiny of bills and departments happens, away from the chamber.
| Committee | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland Affairs Committee | Member | Select |
Source · UK Parliament Committees API
Committee seats are where backbenchers shape legislation and hold departments to account. Eastwood sits on one.
| Department | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Treasury | 53 | 18.2% |
| Department of Health and Social Care | 52 | 17.8% |
| Home Office | 35 | 12.0% |
| Department for Work and Pensions | 26 | 8.9% |
| Northern Ireland Office | 21 | 7.2% |
| Cabinet Office | 20 | 6.8% |
| Department for Business and Trade | 20 | 6.8% |
| Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 19 | 6.5% |
What assessment the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has made of the potential impact of moving to a volunteer-with-expenses model for Coastguard Rescue Officers from September 2026 on recruitment, retention and operational readiness in Northern Ireland.
Awaiting answer.
How the £10 million England fund to cover the travel costs of children with cancer was calculated; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the fund across the UK.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment she has made of the equity of applying different State Pension uprating rules to pensioners based on country of residence for identical levels of National Insurance contributions.
Awaiting answer.
Whether families in Northern Ireland are eligible for the £10 million cancer travel fund for children.
Awaiting answer.
No active register entries.
| Category | £ | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Staffing | 141,391 | 79.5% |
| Office Costs | 15,983 | 9.0% |
| MP Travel | 11,711 | 6.6% |
| Accommodation | 5,610 | 3.2% |
| Staff Travel | 3,221 | 1.8% |
| Total · 161 claims | 177,916 | 100% |
Source · IPSA · FY 24_25
Nothing tabled for Eastwood on the published Order Paper this week.
| Year | Constituency | Votes | Share | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Lagan Valley | 13,087 | 28.8% | Lost |
| 2017 | Belfast West | 731 | 1.8% | Lost |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sorcha Eastwood | Ind | 13,087 | 28.8 |
Showing the MP’s own row only. Full result table: see Lagan Valley →