Sharon was first elected as an MP in 2005.  She has taken on many roles in Parliament including on key parliamentary committees, and Parliamentary Private Secretary to three different government Ministers. In May 2021, Sharon was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the then Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of HM Opposition and now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer MP. Sharon was nominated in March 2023 by Sir Keir Starmer to the influential position as Chairman of the House of Commons Finance Committee.  

She has since been appointed UK Trade Envoy to Japan, one of the UK’s biggest trading partners, and Leader of the UK Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE). 

Since 2010, Sharon has been the founding and continuous chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Food, which includes parliamentarians, teachers, caterers (local authority and private), pupils, national and local government representatives, unions, and the charity sector. 

She and the group were instrumental in establishing the Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme and Sharon continues to advocate within Parliament for better and more accessible school food, having hosted LACA’s annual Westminster School Lunch for several years in Parliament.