Perkins belongs to Labour Friends of Israel. He is the current chair of the All Party Parliamentary Pub Group and the Labour Friends of the Forces. In parliament he has led Opposition Day debates for Labour on pub company regulation, Sunday trading laws for the Olympics, on the Deregulation Bill alongside Chi Onwurah. He has secured adjournment debates against Derbyshire Fire Station closures, that led to a U-turn on plans to close 18 Derbyshire fire stations, and against the sale of legal highs. Perkins proposed in 2016, via a 10-minute private members' bill, that "God Save the Queen" should cease to be the anthem used by English teams at international sporting fixtures. The second reading was due for 4 March, but was cancelled. Perkins was Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn, but resigned on 27 June 2016, along with many of his colleagues. He then supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election. He campaigned for the UK to remain a member of the European Union ahead of the EU Referendum on 23 June 2016. In 2016, Perkins supported the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen against the Shia Houthis.
Perkins belongs to Labour Friends of Israel. He is the current chair of the All Party Parliamentary Pub Group and the Labour Friends of the Forces. In parliament he has led Opposition Day debates for Labour on pub company regulation, Sunday trading laws for the Olympics, on the Deregulation Bill alongside Chi Onwurah. He has secured adjournment debates against Derbyshire Fire Station closures, that led to a U-turn on plans to close 18 Derbyshire fire stations, and against the sale of legal highs. Perkins proposed in 2016, via a 10-minute private members' bill, that "God Save the Queen" should cease to be the anthem used by English teams at international sporting fixtures. The second reading was due for 4 March, but was cancelled. Perkins was Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn, but resigned on 27 June 2016, along with many of his colleagues. He then supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election. He campaigned for the UK to remain a member of the European Union ahead of the EU Referendum on 23 June 2016. In 2016, Perkins supported the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen against the Shia Houthis.