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On July 13 2013, Smith announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the 2016 leadership ballot. He said that he supported many of Jeremy Corbyn's policies but that Corbyn was "not a leader who can lead us into an election and win for Labour."<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/13/owen-smith-to-challenge-jeremy-corbyn-labour-leadership Rowena Mason, "Owen Smith to challenge Corbyn for Labour leadership", ''The Guardian'', 13 July 2016]</ref>
On July 13 2013, Smith announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the 2016 leadership ballot. He said that he supported many of Jeremy Corbyn's policies but that Corbyn was "not a leader who can lead us into an election and win for Labour."<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/13/owen-smith-to-challenge-jeremy-corbyn-labour-leadership Rowena Mason, "Owen Smith to challenge Corbyn for Labour leadership", ''The Guardian'', 13 July 2016]</ref>

==Personal life==
He moved to [[Llantrisant]] after he being elected in 2010, having previously lived in [[Surrey]].<ref>{{cite web|title=‘Keep DVSA out of Llantrisant’ – Owen Smith|url=http://news.crocels.com/news/8567/owen-smith-mp-dvsa-llantrisant-opposition/|website=Crocels News|accessdate=14 July 2016}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 13:07, 14 July 2016

Owen Smith
MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office
13 September 2015 – 27 June 2016
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byStephen Timms (Acting)
Succeeded byDebbie Abrahams
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
In office
15 May 2012 – 13 September 2015
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byPeter Hain
Succeeded byNia Griffith
Member of Parliament
for Pontypridd
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byKim Howells
Majority8,585 (22.5%)
Personal details
Born (1970-05-02) 2 May 1970 (age 54)
Morecambe, England, UK
Political partyLabour
SpouseLiz Smith
Alma materUniversity of Sussex

Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970)[1] is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd since 2010, succeeding Dr Kim Howells.[2] Smith was born in Morecambe and studied History and French at the University of Sussex. Before being elected to parliament he worked as a radio and television producer for the BBC, as a government special adviser, and as a lobbyist for Pfizer.[3][4]

Smith served as Shadow Welsh Minister under Ed Miliband and then as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under Jeremy Corbyn until resigning in June 2016. On 13 July he announced his intention to stand in the ballot for leadership of the Labour Party.

Early life and career

Smith was born in Morecambe, Lancashire, in 1970. He is the son of the Welsh historian and writer David "Dai" Smith,[5] the former chair of the Arts Council of Wales.

Owen Smith attended Barry Comprehensive School in Barry, Wales, and joined the Labour Party at the age of 16. He later studied History and French at the University of Sussex. He worked for the BBC as a radio producer for 10 years, working on a variety of programmes in both Wales and London, including Today for BBC Radio Four and the weekly politics programme Dragon's Eye for BBC Cymru Wales television.[6]

Smith then entered the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industry for five years, and in 2005 became head of policy and government relations for pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer, where he was paid £80,000 a year to lobby for the company.[4] Leaving Pfizer in September 2008 he subsequently joined Amgen, another pharmaceutical company.[7]

Political career

Before parliament

In 2002 he became a special adviser for Paul Murphy, then the Secretary of State for Wales. He later followed Murphy to the Northern Ireland Office.

In 2006, he fought the 2006 Blaenau Gwent by-election, in which he lost to independent candidate Dai Davies. Smith polled 37% of the vote while Davies polled 46.2%. During the by-election campaign, Smith spoke with Wales Online and expressed his support for removing foreign dictators, the private sector playing a supportive role in the NHS, and expressed support for the Private finance initiative (PFI).[3] He has since spoken out against the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Member of Parliament

Subsequently he was appointed as the candidate for the Labour safe seat of Pontypridd and won it by a margin of 2,785 votes in the 2010 general election. He then joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee and was appointed a shadow minister for Wales.[8]

In 2012 he was promoted to Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, after Peter Hain stepped down.

Smith was named as a potential contender in the 2015 Labour leadership election to replace Ed Miliband.[9] Ultimately, nothing came of this. On 14 September 2015, he was named as the new Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party. On 9 January 2016, he voiced an interest in eventually standing for Labour Leadership, saying it would be an "incredible honour and privilege" to do the job.[10]

On 27 June 2016, in the mass resignations from the Labour benches following the Leave vote in the EU membership referendum, he announced he was stepping down as the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Smith resigned over concerns about the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, saying "It breaks my heart to say I cannot see how he can continue as leader."[11]

Labour leadership challenge, July 2016

Main article: Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2016

On 10 July 2016, Owen Smith claimed Jeremy Corbyn and his allies were prepared to see the party split. He wrote on Twitter: "On July [sic] 27 I asked @jeremycorbyn 3 times if he was prepared to see our party split & worse, wanted it to. He offered no answer". "In the same meeting, in response to the same question @johnmcdonnellMP shrugged his shoulders and said 'if that's what it takes'."[12]

On July 13 2013, Smith announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the 2016 leadership ballot. He said that he supported many of Jeremy Corbyn's policies but that Corbyn was "not a leader who can lead us into an election and win for Labour."[13]

Personal life

He moved to Llantrisant after he being elected in 2010, having previously lived in Surrey.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Who's Who". ukwhoswho.com.
  2. ^ "Election 2010: Pontypridd". WalesOnline. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Owen Smith on the Iraq War, working as a lobbyist and the private sector's role in the NHS". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Who is Owen Smith? Meet the other Labour MP who is challenging Corbyn for the leadership". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  5. ^ Betsan Powys, "Owen Smith steps into the shadows", BBC News, 15 May 2012
  6. ^ "Former BBC Producer selected for Pontypridd". WalesOnline. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Revealed: Ed Miliband's Pfizer insider in the shadow Cabinet". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Owen Smith". Parliament UK. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  9. ^ Bush, Stephen (14 May 2015). "After Ed, who's next? The six candidates vying to lead the Labour Party". Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  10. ^ George Eaton (9 January 2016). "Exclusive: Owen Smith: I am interested in being Labour leader". New Statesman. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Labour crisis: Griffith and Smith quit shadow cabinet". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Owen Smith MP: Corbyn 'prepared to see Labour split'", BBC News, 10 July 2016
  13. ^ Rowena Mason, "Owen Smith to challenge Corbyn for Labour leadership", The Guardian, 13 July 2016
  14. ^ "'Keep DVSA out of Llantrisant' – Owen Smith". Crocels News. Retrieved 14 July 2016.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Pontypridd
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
2012–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Owen_Smith&oldid=729772106"