Carolyn Harris (politician)

Last updated

Carolyn Harris
MP
Official portrait of Carolyn Harris crop 2.jpg
Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour
Assumed office
21 April 2018
Leader Carwyn Jones
Preceded byPosition established
Member of Parliament
for Swansea East
Assumed office
8 May 2015
Preceded by Siân James
Personal details
Born (1960-09-18) 18 September 1960 (age 57)
Political party Labour
Alma mater Swansea University

Carolyn Harris (born 18 September 1960 in Swansea, Wales) [1] is a British politician who the Labour Member of Parliament for Swansea East since May 2015. [2] She is also the Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour. [3]

Swansea City & County in Wales

Swansea, is a coastal city and county, officially known as the City and County of Swansea in Wales. Swansea lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan and the ancient Welsh commote of Gŵyr on the southwest coast. The county area includes Swansea Bay and the Gower Peninsula. Swansea is the second largest city in Wales and the twenty-fifth largest city in the United Kingdom. According to its local council, the City and County of Swansea had a population of 241,300 in 2014. The last official census stated that the city, metropolitan and urban areas combined concluded to be a total of 462,000 in 2011; the second most populous local authority area in Wales after Cardiff.

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking office in government. Politicians propose, support and create laws or policies that govern the land and, by extension, its people. Broadly speaking, a "politician" can be anyone who seeks to achieve political power in any bureaucratic institution.

Contents

Early life

Carolyn Harris was born in the constituency of Swansea East which she now represents in Parliament. She attended Swansea University from 1994-1998 and studied a joint degree in Social History and Social Policy.

Swansea University public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom

Swansea University is a public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes within the University of Wales. The title of Swansea University was formally adopted on 1 September 2007 when the University of Wales became a non-membership confederal institution and the former members became universities in their own right.

Following university, Harris worked for Swansea-based community projects such as the Guiding Hand Association and then the Joshua Foundation. Before her political career she worked as the Parliamentary assistant of her now predecessor Siân James MP, who announced her intention to step down in March 2015. [4]

Election

Harris was elected to Parliament in 2015. She gave her maiden speech on 8 June 2015 in which she stated that Dylan Thomas was wrong about "this ugly, lovely town." [5]

Dylan Thomas Welsh poet and writer

Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion"; the 'play for voices' Under Milk Wood; and stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child's Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog. He became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his premature death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a "roistering, drunken and doomed poet".

During her first year in Parliament she has concentrated on issues such as the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, electrification of the South Wales mainline to Swansea and many consumer issues such as fixed odds betting terminals and faulty electrical goods. She has previously worked as a barmaid and a dinner lady which was mentioned as part of her earlier life experience of losing her son. [6]

Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay is a proposed tidal lagoon power plant that was to be constructed in Swansea Bay off the south coast of Wales, United Kingdom, however, the plan in its current form has been rejected by the UK Government. If built, it would have become the world's first tidal lagoon power plant, although other types of tidal power plants currently exist.

21st-century modernisation of the Great Western main line Upgrading of facilities and infrastructure on major railway network in England

Network Rail plans to spend £5 billion on modernising the Great Western main line, its South Wales branch and other associated lines. The modernisation plans were announced at separate times but their development time-scales, during the second decade of the 21st century, overlap each other. The work includes electrification, resignalling, new rolling stock and station upgrades. According to Network Rail, the modernisation started in June 2010 and was due to end in 2017. The project has been subject to repeated delays. In November 2016 the government announced that several major elements of the electrification programme would be indefinitely deferred because costs had tripled. The five sections that are delayed are:

Fixed odds betting terminal

A fixed odds betting terminal (FOBT) is a type of electronic slot machine normally found in betting shops in the United Kingdom and introduced in 2001. The terminals allow players to bet on the outcome of various games and events which have fixed odds, with the theoretical percentage return to player (RTP) being displayed on the machine by law. Like all casino games, the "house" has a built-in advantage. Typically, slot machine FOBTs have an RTP of 90% to 94% depending on the chosen stake, and standard roulette FOBTs have a long-term average RTP of 97%.

Harris was appointed by Jeremy Corbyn MP to the role of Shadow Home Office Minister after his re-election as UK Labour Party leader. [7]

Jeremy Corbyn British Labour Party politician

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn is a British politician serving as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition since 2015. Corbyn was first elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North in 1983. Ideologically, he identifies himself as a democratic socialist.

Home Office United Kingdom government ministerial department

The Home Office (HO) is a ministerial department of Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for immigration, security and law and order. As such it is responsible for policing in England and Wales, fire and rescue services in England, and visas and immigration and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counter-terrorism and ID cards. It was formerly responsible for Her Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice. The Cabinet minister responsible for the department is the Home Secretary.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom which has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

Deputy Leadership

Harris was elected the first ever Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour on the 21 April 2018. The contest was fought under the 'electoral college' system, whereby affiliated members (mainly trade unionists), Labour elected officials and individual members all held an equal share of the votes (one-third each). Harris defeated Julie Morgan by 51.5% of the vote to 48.5%; however, Morgan won amongst individual members by a 2:1 margin, leading to calls for Welsh Labour to adopt One Member One Vote for future elections. [8] The overall breakdown of the vote was: [9]

Candidate
 Affiliated
members
(33.3%)		 Individual
members
(33.3%)		 Elected
members
(33.3%)		 Total
Carolyn Harris MP60.4%34.8%59.3%51.5%
Julie Morgan AM39.6%65.2%40.7%48.5%

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References

  1. ↑ "Carolyn Harris MP". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "Election 2015: Swansea East parliamentary constituency". BBC News . Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Harris elected Welsh Labour deputy leader". 21 April 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ↑ "Swansea East MP Sian James to stand down at next election". BBC News . 25 February 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Cornock, David (9 June 2015). "MP: Dylan Thomas wrong about his 'ugly, lovely town'". BBC News . Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Nelson, Nigel (29 October 2016). "MP was forced to borrow money and take out loan just so she could afford to bury tragic son". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn welcomes 10 returning MPs to shadow team". ITV News . 9 October 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Carwyn Jones to quit as first minister after the 'darkest of times'". BBC News. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Carolyn Harris wins Welsh Labour deputy leader election". BBC News. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Siân James 		Member of Parliament
for Swansea East
2015–present 		Incumbent
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