Dame Chi Onwurah MP: votes, interests and costs
Dame Chi Onwurah represents Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West in the House of Commons for Labour and has done since 6 May 2010.
Offices and committees
Dame Chi Onwurah sits on 2 committees, according to the Parliament Members API.
Committees
| Committee or post | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Liaison Committee (Commons) | 4 December 2024 | Current |
| Science and Technology Committee (Commons) | 11 September 2024 | Current |
Earlier ministerial and shadow posts
| Post | Department | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Minister (Science, Research and Innovation) | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 5 September 2023 | 30 May 2024 |
| Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) | Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 10 April 2020 | 29 November 2021 |
| Shadow Minister (Science, Research and Innovation) | Department for Business and Trade | 9 April 2020 | 5 September 2023 |
| Shadow Minister (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) (Industrial Strategy) | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 10 October 2016 | 10 April 2020 |
| Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills) | Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | 18 September 2015 | 10 October 2016 |
| Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport) | Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 18 September 2015 | 9 October 2016 |
| Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office) | Cabinet Office | 11 January 2013 | 18 September 2015 |
| Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills) | Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | 8 October 2010 | 11 January 2013 |
Earlier committees
| Committee or post | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill | 3 May 2023 | 23 May 2023 |
| Powers of Attorney Bill | 22 February 2023 | 1 March 2023 |
| Professional Qualifications Bill [HL] | 12 January 2022 | 18 January 2022 |
| Science and Technology Committee (Commons) | 2 March 2020 | 11 May 2020 |
| Business, Innovation and Skills Committee | 12 July 2010 | 2 November 2010 |
Source: Parliament Members API, read 15 October 2026, SHA-256 ef5a75190c59.
Register of interests
Entries in the register for Dame Chi Onwurah, as the MP registered them: Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources (7), Miscellaneous (4), Visits outside the UK (2), Land and property (within or outside the UK) (2), Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP (1). Latest registration . Each entry is quoted as published, with its registration date; payments linked to an entry are listed under it.
Chartered engineer (non-practising).
- The type of interest: Other
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Ltd - £450.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: Ticket and hospitality for the Mercury Prize Newcastle 2026
- Value of the benefit: £450.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2026-10-22
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2026-10-22
- Name of the donor: BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Ltd
- Status of the donor: Company
- Name of the donor company: BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Ltd
The Great North Run Foundation - £660.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: Hospitality for Dame Chi Onwurah MP and her partner at the Great North Run, guest at The Great North Run Dinner and entry to the Great North Run VIP hospitality including breakfast, lunch, drinks, parking and transport to and from the start
- Value of the benefit: £660.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2026-09-13
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2026-09-13
- Name of the donor: The Great North Run Foundation
- Status of the donor: Company
- Name of the donor company: The Great North Run Foundation
BornGood Rebuyer Ltd. - £1,200.00
- How the donation was received: (b) Any other support not included in Category 2(a)
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: The donation of 3 reconditioned laptops for the use of local work experience students when on placements in the Newcastle constituency office
- Value of the benefit: £1,200.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2026-06-17
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2026-06-17
- Name of the donor: BornGood Rebuyer Ltd.
- Status of the donor: Company
Newcastle College - £500.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: A suit made by a student to be worn for my Damehood ceremony
- Value of the benefit: £500.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2025-12-08
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2025-12-08
- End date, if the benefit was received over time: 2026-01-13
- Name of the donor: Newcastle College
- Status of the donor: Other
Newcastle Eagles Basketball Ltd - £336.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: Tickets and hospitality to watch a Newcastle Eagles Basketball game. Attended by Chi her partner, her partner's son and his partner
- Value of the benefit: £336.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2026-01-09
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2026-01-09
- End date, if the benefit was received over time: 2026-01-09
- Name of the donor: Newcastle Eagles Basketball Ltd
- Status of the donor: Company
International visit to South Korea between 13 December 2025 and 17 December 2025
- Purpose of the visit: ROK-UK Forum in capacity as Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
- Date Member left the UK: 2025-12-13
- Date Member returned to the UK: 2025-12-17
Cristina Caffarra - £169.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: Speaker's dinner at a conference in Brussels (value is approximate)
- Value of the benefit: £169.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2025-01-30
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2025-01-30
- Name of the donor: Cristina Caffarra
- Status of the donor: Individual
Marked in the register as a rectified entry: This is a late entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 1 December 2025. Paragraph 51 of the Procedural Protocol in respect of the Code of Conduct refers.
International visit to Brunei between 25 May 2025 and 30 May 2025
- Purpose of the visit: Experience the work of the British Army stationed in the Brunei
- Date Member left the UK: 2025-05-25
- Date Member returned to the UK: 2025-05-30
Marked in the register as a rectified entry: This is a late entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 1 December 2025. Paragraph 51 of the Procedural Protocol in respect of the Code of Conduct refers.
Newcastle City Council - £275.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: Ticket and hospitality for the Mercury Prize held in Newcastle (exact cost provided)
- Value of the benefit: £275.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2025-10-16
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2025-10-16
- End date, if the benefit was received over time: 2025-10-16
- Name of the donor: Newcastle City Council
- Status of the donor: Other
Cristina Caffarra - £406.00
- Whether the benefit was monetary or in kind: In kind
- Description of the payment: Dinner - for speakers attending The Perfect Storm Conference in Brussels - meal was held at The Sky Avenue Louise 480, 1000 Brussels £406 aprox including VAT
- Value of the benefit: £406.00
- Date on which the benefit was received: 2025-01-30
- Date on which the benefit was accepted: 2025-01-30
- Name of the donor: Cristina Caffarra
- Status of the donor: Individual
Marked in the register as a rectified entry: This is a late entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 1 December 2025. Paragraph 51 of the Procedural Protocol in respect of the Code of Conduct refers.
Member of the Board of the Hamilton Commission, a standalone piece of research in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering, that will work to improve the representation of black people in UK motorsport.
- Date on which the interest arose, or became registrable: 2020-08-04
- The type of interest: Unpaid role
Property in Unspecified
- Date on which the land or property was acquired, or achieved registrable value: 2016-09-02
- Location of the land or property: Unspecified
- A description of the property: holiday apartment
- Date on which the property began generating rental income: 2017-04-06
- The number of properties this interest relates to: 1
- Country in which the land or property is located: Portugal
- The type of property: Residential
Property in Northumberland
- Date on which the land or property was acquired, or achieved registrable value: 2016-09-02
- Location of the land or property: Northumberland
- A description of the property: house
- Date on which the property began generating rental income: 2017-04-06
- The number of properties this interest relates to: 1
- Country in which the land or property is located: United Kingdom
- The type of property: Residential
Director of the Foundation for Science & Technology.
- Date on which the interest arose, or became registrable: 2016-07-06
- The type of interest: Unpaid role
Honorary Vice President of ACTSA (Action for South Africa).
- Date on which the interest arose, or became registrable: 2015-12-15
- The type of interest: Unpaid role
Source: Register of Members' Financial Interests API, read 28 October 2026. The register entry on UK Parliament.
Business costs (IPSA)
IPSA, the body that sets and pays MPs' business costs, records staffing spending of £237,651 for Dame Chi Onwurah in 2024-25 against a budget of £250,820. The figure for 2023-24 was £216,315. IPSA lists office spending of £22,872 in the same year. IPSA publishes each budget, the amount spent and the amount left (the remaining amounts are in IPSA's files); no total across budgets is published, so none is given here.
| IPSA figure | 2024-25 | 2023-24 | 2022-23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staffing: spent | £237,650.58 | £216,314.77 | £178,859.50 |
| Office costs: spent | £22,871.55 | £23,668.60 | £24,744.16 |
| Accommodation: spent | £19,940.00 | £19,114.71 | £14,840.59 |
| Winding-up: spent | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| Travel and subsistence (no cap): spent | £22,739.05 | £14,172.50 | £15,484.10 |
| Other costs (no cap): spent | £0.00 | £816.00 | £960.00 |
Budgets set for 2024-25: office costs £33,020, staffing £250,820, accommodation £19,940 (Standard non-London area budget; Standard budget for renting a property outside the London area).
IPSA's CSVs for 2024-25, 2023-24, 2022-23, read 15 October 2026; constituency as IPSA lists it: Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West BC.
Staff roles listed by IPSA, 2024-25
Senior Caseworker (permanent full time), Senior Administrative Officer (casual), Parliamentary Assistant (permanent full time), Constituency Assistant (permanent full time), Administrative Officer (casual), Senior Executive Officer (permanent full time), Administrative Officer ×4 (fixed term full time), Intern ×4 (fixed term full time), Intern (fixed term part time) (IPSA CSV)
IPSA annual publications · All MPs' 2024-25 costs (table and CSV)
Votes in the Commons
How Dame Chi Onwurah voted in the House of Commons: 470 recorded votes since 4 July 2024, as published by the Commons Votes API. Of these, 59 were votes on statutory instruments or procedural motions, which are not listed below. Below, the latest 30 on bills and motions. On 21 October 2026 Dame Chi Onwurah voted No on "Opposition day motion: Support for British farmers".
Source: Commons Votes API, read 28 October 2026. Only divisions in which a vote is recorded for the MP are counted. The full list on UK Parliament.
Written questions
Dame Chi Onwurah has tabled 411 written questions since 4 July 2024, according to the Written Questions API. The latest 10 were addressed to Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade , Cabinet Office, Department for Transport and 4 other departments.
Postal Services: Standards
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to help improve the performance of the delivery of first class letters in the North East region.
Immigration: English Language
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps her Department is taking to coordinate across the Home Office, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Education to ensure that English language testing used for i …
London North Eastern Railway: WiFi
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2026 to Question 5917 on London North Eastern Railway: WiFi, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact on regional productivity of this timescale.
Broadband: Prices
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the potential impact of Openreach pricing on the Government’s strategic priorities for the telecoms sector.
Telecommunications: Infrastructure
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of targeted wholesale discounts by Openreach on alternative network providers' investment in full-fibre infrastructure.
Armed Forces: Robots
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many robots are deployed in the armed forces and how much funding for robotic development has his department made available.
Dental Services: Research
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his department spent on research into improving the (a) accessibility and (b) cost of dentistry in the last 12 months for which data is available.
Artificial Intelligence: Legislation
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of a) the US Cloud Act and b) the EU AI Act; and whether she has plans to bring forward similar legislation.
Artificial Intelligence
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether (a) her Department and (b) its Arm’s Length Bodies have financially supported the development of any technical solutions to protect the creative industries from unauthorised AI …
Artificial Intelligence: Finance
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether companies that have breached UK copyright law are eligible for funds from the Sovereign AI Unit.
Source: Written Questions API, read 15 October 2026, SHA-256 310555c8ad86. Question wording as listed by the API, which gives the opening words of longer questions. All questions by Dame Chi Onwurah.
2024 general election
At the 4 July 2024 general election Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West returned Dame Chi Onwurah with a majority of 11,060: 18,875 votes, 45.6% of those cast, against 7,815 for Ashton Muncaster. Result as published: Lab hold.
Commons Library results, read 14 October 2026 · Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West figures
Built 15 October 2026 from official records; register entries and votes are re-read on a rolling schedule. This page sets out what the record shows and gives no rating of the MP. Official UK Parliament page · All MPs · Something wrong? Tell us.