Wycombe’s new Labour MP Emma Reynolds has been sworn in and inducted in Westminster this week.

The 46-year-old enjoyed a historic victory in the July 4 general election last week, becoming the constituency’s first Labour MP since 1951.

In doing so, she ousted Wycombe’s longstanding MP Steve Baker, who held the seat for 14 years and served as Northern Ireland minister.

Who is Emma Reynolds?

Emma Reynolds was born on November 2, 1977 in Wolverhampton.

She grew up in a council flat and went to local state schools, before securing a place at Oxford University where she graduated in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

The mother-of-two speaks several languages, including French, Spanish and Italian and has worked abroad in several countries.

In the early noughties, before entering politics herself, Reynolds went to live and work in Brussels, home of the European Union, and joined the Labour Party in 2003.

She helped set up a small business to support British companies wanting to influence EU laws, before going on to become a political adviser to veteran Labour MP Robin Cook in his role as President of the Party of European Socialists.

She went onto work as a senior consultant at  public affairs consultancy Cogitamus,

In 2010, she was elected as the Labour MP for Wolverhampton North, a seat she would go onto win at the next two general elections, before being ousted in 2019.

During her time as an MP, Reynolds held several shadow ministerial roles and was eventually promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Following her election defeat in 2019, Reynolds went on to serve as managing director of TheCityUK, the trade association for financial and related professional services.

She lived in London for a period before moving to live near Holmer Green with her husband, where her children attend a local state school.

This week, as she returned to the Commons, Reynolds was appointed parliamentary secretary for the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions.

How are MPs inducted?

With many years experience as an MP, Reynolds already knows her way around Westminster, but has still been sworn in, along with a record 335 new MPs.

During her induction this week, Reynolds posed for a group photo with her 411 fellow Labour MPs, 46 per cent of whom are women.

Wycombe’s new MP spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about how her induction was going.

She said: “It was an honour and privilege to attend my first day in Parliament as the newly elected MP for Wycombe.”

The MP added: “The first week is focused on inducting new MPs and my focus is on recruiting an excellent team to support me to give the very best service to my constituents and enable me to represent them in Parliament and at the highest levels of government.

“It was also a historic moment to meet with the biggest group of Labour MPs – 412 elected – for many years and with our new Prime Minister.”

Reynolds’ reintroduction to parliamentary life began almost as soon as she stepped from the stage after giving her 7am victory speech last Friday at the end of a long night of vote counting at Aylesbury’s Stoke Mandeville Stadium.

The new MP was handed a white envelope from Buckinghamshire Council’s returning officer containing a Commons welcome pack and a letter from the body that oversees MPs’ pay, pensions, staff and office expenses.

One of the next steps on her agenda was a welcome to MPs in Westminster Hall where the fresh intake were offered a member of Commons staff known as a ‘buddy’ to help them find their feet during their first few days.

As well as the HR side of things, new MPs also have to collect their security pass, hire Westminster and constituency office staff, get their email address sorted, pick up a laptop or iPad and be shown where to find their post.

Another task will be for MPs to be assigned offices, with many of them having to make do with lockers and ‘hot-desking’ arrangements for the time being, according to the Hansard Society.

📢 "Why wait for news? With Bucks Free Press get real-time updates directly on our ad-free app. Subscribe for unlimited access to our digital edition and enjoy 80% fewer ads on our website. Click here to find out more about how to get your news, your way, every day. #UnlimitedNews #AdLightExperience" 📢