Thompson reached Parliament through local Labour organisation rather than an established public office. He contested Amber Valley in 2019 and lost by 16,886 votes. He then became secretary and campaign coordinator of Erewash Labour, which selected him for the neighbouring constituency in 2022. He defeated Conservative MP Maggie Throup in 2024 with a majority of 5,859.

His scientific background gave him a recognisable subject inside Labour. Before becoming an MP, he helped Scientists for Labour prepare Covid briefings for the party leadership. In Parliament, he concentrated on manufacturing, measurement, universities and technical regulation, including detailed work on the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. Expertise made his contributions better informed than the usual backbench speech, but there is no evidence that he personally secured a substantial amendment to that legislation.

Thompson became a Home Office parliamentary private secretary in March 2026. He later nominated Andy Burnham for the Labour leadership and was retained in the same role under Burnham. That places him close to the government but does not make him a minister: he has no departmental budget or independent authority over immigration, policing or security policy.

What he stands for

Thompson's politics combine Labour loyalty with an unusually strong interest in science and manufacturing. He favours closer international alignment on product standards, public support for advanced manufacturing and government action to accelerate renewable energy. His union background and work with manufacturing businesses point towards an interventionist rather than free-market view of industrial policy.

On assisted dying, where Labour MPs had a free vote, Thompson took a clear personal position. He supported giving terminally ill adults a legal choice to end their lives and maintained that support through the Bill's third reading. He said he had declared the position before the 2024 election and that most constituents who contacted him backed the change.

His wider parliamentary conduct has been that of a loyal government backbencher. Appointment as a Home Office PPS further restricts his ability to oppose government policy publicly. His record therefore shows specialist interests, but little sustained independence from the Labour leadership.

What he actually delivered

Thompson's clearest direct result was modest but real. After the murder of Samuel Wilson in Ilkeston, Thompson's team helped raise £3,500 for emergency bleed-control equipment, enough for a kit in every pub in Ilkeston. The kits were then bought and installed. Unlike a parliamentary speech or funding announcement, the equipment was actually in place.

He also supported residents pressing Erewash Borough Council to control the spread of houses in multiple occupation. The council moved to introduce an Article 4 direction requiring planning permission for smaller HMO conversions in much of Ilkeston and Long Eaton. Thompson helped apply political pressure, but the legal decision belonged to the council, and — with such directions taking effect only after a year's notice — it had not yet prevented a conversion at the cut-off date.

Cotmanhay was selected for up to £20 million from the government's Pride in Place programme, with Thompson joining the neighbourhood board overseeing the plan. This is not £20 million already spent, and Thompson did not personally win the allocation. Areas were selected nationally using deprivation and community-need data. His responsibility concerns how the money is used, not its original award.

What he did not deliver

Thompson campaigned against Derbyshire County Council's plans to withdraw from a group of residential care homes, including Lacemaker Court in Long Eaton. His opposition did not stop the council pursuing the closures.

He has also pressed for a banking hub in Long Eaton and improvements around Junction 25 of the M1. Neither had been secured by July 2026. These remained campaigns, not achievements.

Capability judgement

Thompson is a persistent local organiser with genuine technical knowledge. He has shown that he can explain complicated legislation, run small practical campaigns and maintain relationships with Labour's leadership. The bleed kits were tangible, while the HMO direction shows some ability to turn public pressure into council action.

The limits are equally clear. His largest claimed local investments came from national programmes he did not control. His campaign to save council care homes ended in closure, while the banking hub and transport improvements remained unresolved. He looks capable as a specialist backbencher and party loyalist, but his record does not yet demonstrate major policy delivery or executive competence.