Sarah McCarthy-Fry is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Portsmouth North, she was first elected in the 2005 general election.

She went to Portsmouth High School and while working for the the multi-national defence engineering company GKN Westland at Portsmouth she qualified as a chartered management accountant. Before being elected as an MP she was Financial Controller for GKN Aerospace Services at Cowes, Isle of Wight. In a previous role as a Financial Analyst she spent time working abroad in Germany and the US. 

Sarah came to prominence in local politics leading the “Ban the Burner” campaign which successfully opposed the building of a proposed incinerator.  She was elected to Portsmouth City Council in 1994 and chaired the Environment Committee. She was Deputy leader for five years, taking responsibility for Finance and Resources.

Her main political interests are trade and industry, defence and the social economy.  

Sarah married her second husband Tony McCarthy in 1997 and they have four grown-up children. She is a fan of The Who, and her hobbies include tap-dancing, dog walking amateur dramatics and twittering.   

In 2006 Sarah was made PPS to John Healey, Financial Secretary at the Treasury.

In the July 2007 reshuffle, Sarah was appointed PPS to the Chief Whip, Geoff Hoon.

In 2008, Sarah was made Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools and Learners at the Department for Children, Schools and Families.  In June 2009, Sarah became Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and local Government.  Most recently Sarah was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.