Carol Beaumont

Beaumont stood for Labour at the 2008 general election in Maungakiekie, an electorate that was held at the time by the retiring Mark Gosche. She finished second to Auckland City councillor Sam Lotu-Iiga, the National Party candidate.[5] Beaumont was elected to Parliament as a list MP. Labour was in opposition and Beaumont was appointed Labour spokesperson for consumer affairs and associate spokesperson for labour. In early 2010 she took over responsibility for Charles Chauvel's Credit Reforms (Responsible Lending) Bill, which had been drawn from the ballot in August 2009.[6] The bill was defeated at its first reading in July 2010.[7]

Beaumont (right), with Jacinda Ardern and Phil Goff

At the 2011 general election Beaumont again finished second to Lotu-Iiga in Maungakiekie. Despite a higher list rating than in 2008, Labour did not poll high enough for Beaumont to be returned as a list MP until the 2013 resignation of Charles Chauvel. In her second term, Beaumont was Labour spokesperson for women's affairs and consumer rights and standards.[3]

At the 2014 election Beaumont contested Maungakiekie a third time. Boundary changes were assumed to make the seat safer for Labour,[8] but Beaumont was defeated by Lotu-Iiga for a third time and was not re-elected on the party list. She did not contest the 2017 election.

In 2021 Beaumont was elected vice-president of the Labour Party following the resignation of Tracey McLellan, who had been elected to parliament the previous year.[2]