Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Responsibilities
Current role holder
Lord Collins of Highbury
Lord Collins of Highbury was appointed Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and UK Special Envoy for LGBT+ Rights on 29 June 2026. He was additionally appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Equalities) for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 22 July 2026.
He was previously Government Spokesperson for Equalities between 8 October 2024 and 22 July 2026. He was also Parliamentary Secretary between 12 June and 22 July 2026.
Before that, he was Lord in Waiting (Government Whip) between 8 October 2024 and 12 June 2026.
He was also previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Minister for Equalities from 9 July 2024 to 7 September 2025.
Lord Collins was Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) from November 2024 to June 2026.
Lord Collins was an Assistant General Secretary of the Transport Union (1994 to 1999) and the General Workers Union, later Unite (1999 to 2008).
Lord Collins served as General Secretary of the Labour Party (2008 to 2011) before joining the House of Lords in 2011.
Before joining government, Lord Collins was Co-Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Nutrition for Growth. He was also an officer of the APPG on Global LGBT Rights which advances LGBT rights around the world.
Lord Collins is also Patron of Positive East, London’s largest HIV charity based in the East End.
Follow Lord Collins on X/Twitter: @Lord_Collins