Sarah Russell was elected Labour MP for Congleton on 4 July 2024 with 18,875 votes (37.7 percent) and a majority of 3,387 (6.8 percent), defeating Conservative Fiona Bruce. She is the first non Conservative MP ever to represent Congleton, a seat that had been Conservative since its creation, which makes the win more historically significant than "long held by the Conservatives" conveys.

An employment lawyer by profession, she read Politics at the University of York, took the Graduate Diploma in Law and Bar Vocational Course at BPP, and a Master of Laws at King's College London, training first for the Bar before cross qualifying as a solicitor while a paralegal at Pattinson and Brewer, specialising in employment law advising employees. She sits on the executive committee of the Fabian Society, a fuller intellectual foundation than "solicitor with local government experience" suggests. She served nine years as a Manchester City Council councillor for Northenden (2014-2023), chairing the council's scrutiny committees, and was vice-chair of the Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, improving tenants' access to good homes. She lives in the constituency.

In her maiden speech on 17 October 2024 she highlighted Jodrell Bank, SEND support, leasehold and fleecehold problems, NHS waiting lists, and what she calls the "motherhood penalty" of pregnancy and maternity discrimination, a theme connecting directly to her employment law specialism. She sits on the Justice Committee since October 2024 and has served on the Dogs (Protection of Livestock), Licensing Hours Extensions and Cyber Security and Resilience bill committees. Her APPGs include Access to Justice, Children, Maternity, and Flexible and Family Friendly Working. She has voted in 365 divisions with zero rebellions, and received a £3,000 campaign donation from the Musicians' Union.

Russell's strengths include a three stage legal education (York, BPP, a King's College London LLM), an employment law specialism directly relevant to workplace discrimination, nine years as a Manchester councillor chairing scrutiny committees, the Wythenshawe housing group vice-chair, Fabian Society executive membership, living in the constituency, the historic first of being Congleton's first non Conservative MP, the Justice Committee matching her legal background, and the motherhood penalty campaign connecting personal experience, professional expertise and policy. Her weaknesses include a 3,387 majority (6.8 percent) in a constituency Conservative for its entire existence, a 37.7 percent vote share, no ministerial office, no legislative achievement, and the structural risk that Conservative recovery could restore the seat's default setting. The employment law specialism, the motherhood penalty campaign, and the Justice Committee give her three coherent and interconnected policy lanes. Whether any of them produces legislative or scrutiny outcomes visible to Congleton voters will determine whether the first non Conservative MP becomes a pattern or an anomaly.