The All Party Parliamentary Water Group

Angela Smith MP, Co-Chair

Angela Smith was Shadow Water Minister from April 2014 to September 2015, having previously served as Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, and is now a leading member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. She has been the Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge (formerly Sheffield, Hillsborough) since May 2005 and is one of the party’s leading voices on environmental and conservation issues.

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, Co-Chair

Anne McIntosh was elevated to the peerage as Baroness McIntosh of Pickering in October 2015 following a long career as first an MEP, from 1989 to 1999, and then as Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton (formerly Vale of York) from 1997 to 2015. She has a huge range of experience and expertise in environmental policy having served as Shadow Environment Minister from 2007 to 2010 and as Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee from 2010 to 2015.

Neil Parish MP, Vice Chair

Neil Parish is a former MEP who was elected as the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton at the 2010 general election. During his career in the European Parliament, from 1999 to 2009, he sat on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. He has served as Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee since 2015, having been re-elected following the 2017 general election.

The Earl of Selborne, Vice Chair

The Earl of Selborne is a respected ecological expert and former Chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee in the House of Lords. He has been a Peer since 1971 and has served in a wide range of senior roles including as President of the Royal Agricultural Society from 1987 to 1988, as President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1997 to 2000 and as a Patron of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

Lord Bird, Vice Chair

Lord Bird is a cross-bench Peer and founder of the Big Issue. He was brought up in an orphanage, served time in a young offenders institution, and often slept rough in London. He began working in factories in his 20s and became a printer, before going on to co-found the Big Issue. He is non-political but has advised Government on how best to lift people out of poverty through harnessing their own energies. As well as his long standing interest in tackling poverty, he is passionate about water, desalination and social enterprises that empower water projects in the developing world.

Luke Pollard MP, Secretary

Luke Pollard was elected as the Labour MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport in 2017. With a background in campaigning he has worked at a variety of organisations including Sainsbury’s, Cancer Research UK, and ABTA, the trade association that represents holiday companies. His interest in the water industry stems from time spent working at South West Water, as well as frequent concerns raised by residents on the doorstep about the affordability of water in his constituency.