Bassetlaw MP Jo White has joined Andy Burnham's team as a Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Home Office, and says she is both 'honoured and delighted' to serve in the role.

In a post on her website, announcing her appointment, she says: 'I know that people in Bassetlaw want an immigration system that is firm but fair.

'This role means I will be able to take the views and concerns of people in Bassetlaw to the very top of the Government.'

She adds: 'I want you to know that I remain deeply committed to serving the people of Bassetlaw as your Member of Parliament.

Jo White, Bassetlaw MP and now Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Home Office.

placeholder image — Jo White, Bassetlaw MP and now Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Home Office.

'My priority remains fighting for the issues that impact you most and I will continue to be rooted in Bassetlaw.

‘The first duty of any Government is to keep its citizens safe, and the Home Office is integral to this.

'I look forward to working with our Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, Andy Burnham and the rest of the Government to deliver on our commitments to the country'.

Jo White was born in January 1964, in Stamford, Lincolnshire, with a twin sister, Deb Davies, who was elected as a Labour councillor in Newport, Wales in 2012, the same year that Jo was first elected as a member of Bassetlaw District Council for Worksop East.

Jo White at Westminster, prior to Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister.

A former student at the University of Manchester, where she became general secretary of the Students' Union, Jo went on to become office manager for her husband John Mann, who was Bassetlaw MP from 2003 to 2019, and with whom she has three children.

She was appointed as Bassetlaw Council's executive member for regeneration in 2013 and became deputy leader in 2015.

Jo served as chair of the Bassetlaw Constituency Labour Party, and was a member of Unite the Union's executive for over 10 years.

At the 2024 general election she was elected as MP for Bassetlaw, taking the seat back from the Conservatives.

She founded and chairs a group of around 35 backbench Labour MPs known as the ‘Red Wall Caucus’, that lobbied Keir Starmer to promote policies on border control, among other issues.

The new immigration minister has previously said of herself: "I get things done, I’m an instinctive campaigner, a grafter and I always work to win."