The Crossbench with Conor Wilson

Connor James Naismith is a British Labour Party politician who has served as MP for Crewe and Nantwich since July 2024.

Before entering Parliament, he was a Cheshire East councillor and worked in police complaints and oversight.

Naismith gives his views on how much influence an MP really has, why he believes that the Renter's Rights Bill is an important piece of legislation and why he believes that Blue Labour could play an important role in the party's future.

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Christine Jardine is the Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, first elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2019 and 2024 with increasing majorities.

A former journalist and academic, she worked for BBC Scotland, The Scotsman, and taught journalism before entering politics.

In Parliament, she has served as the Lib Dem spokesperson across portfolios including Home Affairs, Treasury, and Scotland. Jardine is a vocal campaigner on refugee rights, equal pensions, and social justice issues. Earlier this year, she lost her role as the Liberal Democrats Women and Equalities Spokesperson after defying the whip and voting against a Conservative amendment to the Welfare Bill.

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Steve Yemm is the Labour MP for Mansfield, elected in July 2024.

Yemm is from working class roots, his father was a coal miner and his mother was a dinner lady. That background, combined with his experience of passing his 11+ and being exposed to life at a grammar school, has shaped his world view and ultimately his politics.

After graduating university with a degree in applied chemstry, Yemm worked successfully in the corporate world before entering politics, his scientific background providing him with a range of experience unique amongst MPs.

Yemm has also faced scrutiny after failing to declare a donation in a speech in parliament earlier this year, an incident for which he apologised in 2025.

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Bob Blackman is the Conservative MP for Harrow East, first elected in 2010.

A former Brent council leader and London Assembly member, he is now chair of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs. Previously a secretary of the committee, Blackman had a front row seat to one of the most tumultuous episodes in British politics, witnessing first hand the rise and fall of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

Blackman is best known in policy for steering the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and championing the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 and was awarded a CBE for his efforts to eradicate homelessness in Britain.

A committed Brexiteer and social conservative, he has courted controversy over opposition to same-sex marriage, an opposition rooted in his strong religious beliefs. Today he remains an influential organiser and constituency campaigner with deep roots in northwest London.

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