He came to national prominence in 1997 by winning the seat of Defence SecretaryMichael Portillo. Twigg was made the Minister of State for School Standards in 2004, a job he held until he lost his seat in 2005.[1] He returned to parliament in 2010, after he was elected Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby when longtime MP Bob Wareing retired.
He became the youngest and first openly gay president of the National Union of Students in 1990,[8] representing the National Organisation of Labour Students (NOLS). He was re-elected in 1991.
In the 1997 election, he was elected to Parliament for Enfield Southgate, the constituency in which he had been born and raised, with a majority of 1,433. There had been a large 17.4% swing to him from his Conservative opponent, Michael Portillo. Portillo, a cabinet minister, had been widely tipped to be the next Tory leader,[9] and the loss of his seat was one of the most unexpected results of the election.
A book about the election by Brian Cathcart was titled Were You Still Up for Portillo? In the Royal Festival Hall in London, the scene of the Labour party celebrations that evening, the result elicited a massive cheer, as Portillo was widely loathed among Labour supporters.[citation needed] Twigg was forced to give up his role as general secretary of the Fabian Society following this unexpected victory in what had been regarded as a safe Conservative seat. It was also unusual to have an openly gay British MP at that time.
In the 2005 election, Twigg lost his seat to the Conservative Party candidate, David Burrowes, by a margin of 1,747 votes (a swing of 8.7%).[12] During his concession speech, Twigg claimed that he would not be the last Labour MP for Enfield Southgate. He was proved correct in 2017, with the election of Bambos Charalambous, the Labour candidate, on 8 June that year.
Non-parliamentary career (2005–2010)
On 12 December 2005, Twigg was arrested in central London for being drunk and incapable in a public place and taken to Marylebone police station. He paid a £50 fixed penalty notice. Twigg commented "I had had a lot to drink and I think it [the police action] was sensible. I have no complaints whatsoever. I take full responsibility for my actions."[13]
In October 2010, he unsuccessfully contested the election for the Shadow Cabinet, coming in 36th out of the 49 candidates and winning 55 votes.[16] He was subsequently appointed to the Labour front bench as a shadow minister in the Foreign Affairs team.[17]
In the 2013 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, Twigg lost his position of Shadow Education Secretary[18] and was demoted to the Shadow Justice Team as Shadow Minister for Constitutional Reform.[19]
In August 2020, Twigg was appointed as the 8th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).[24] CPA represents Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff in around 180 Commonwealth parliaments and legislatures.
Twigg is a patron of the Merseyside Domestic Violence Services, a patron of Kinship Carers Liverpool and a patron of the Merseyside Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.[citation needed]