Gill Furniss


Gillian Furniss is a British Labour Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough since winning the seat at a by-election in 2016.

Early life and education

Furniss was born in Sheffield on 14 March 1957. She is the daughter of a Sheffield steel worker. She was educated at the Chaucer School, Sheffield, and graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BA in Library and Information Studies as a mature student in 1998. After leaving school, she working as a librarian and went on to work as an administrator at the Northern General Hospital.

Political career

Sheffield City Council

Furniss unsuccessfully stood as the Labour Party candidate in the Hillsborough Ward in 1998. She was subsequently elected in the Manor ward in 1999 and re-elected in 2003. With the introduction of new ward boundaries for the 2004 Sheffield City Council election, she was elected to represent Southey ward. She was re-elected in 2006, 2010 and 2014 before standing down in 2016.

Member of Parliament

Furniss stood unsuccessfully as the Labour Party candidate for Sheffield Hallam in the 2001 General Election, finishing in third place.
She is the widow of Harry Harpham, former MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, who employed her as a part-time researcher after his election in the 2015 General Election.
After her husband's death in February 2016, she was selected as the Labour candidate at the Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough by-election which was held on 5 May 2016. She won the by-election with an increased share of the vote and a majority of 9,590 over the second-placed candidate representing UKIP. She was re-elected at the 2017 General Election and the 2019 General Election.
In Parliament, Furniss has served on the Women and Equalities Committee.

Opposition Frontbench

In October 2016 Furniss was appointed as Shadow Minister . Following the election of Keir Starmer as Labour leader, she was re-appointed to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Women and Equality in April 2020.

Electoral performance

Policies and Views

Labour Leadership Elections

As a councillor, in 2015 Furniss endorsed Andy Burnham in the Labour leadership contest
As an MP, in 2016 Furniss reportedly voted against a motion of no confidence by the Parliamentary Labour Party in the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.
She did not make a nomination in the subsequent leadership election. In 2020 Furniss formally nominated Lisa Nandy and Angela Rayner in the leadership election and deputy leadership election