Member of Parliament
Stevens was elected as MP for Cardiff Central on 7 May 2015 with a majority of 4,981,defeating incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Willott. [3]
In 2014 she accused her then Liberal Democrat opponent Jenny Willott of having "neglected her constituency" by taking a ministerial role. [7] In a 2015 interview Stevens said that,if elected,she would be "happy as a backbench MP" adding she was "not a professional politician." [8] Stevens later went on to serve in the shadow cabinets of Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer.
In Jeremy Corbyn's January 2016 reshuffle,she was appointed shadow solicitor general and shadow justice minister. She supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour leadership election. In the October 2016 reshuffle,after Corbyn's re-election as party leader,Stevens became Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. [9] An opponent of Brexit,she resigned as a shadow minister on 27 January 2017 in order to vote against triggering Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union,in defiance of a three-line whip that obliged Labour MPs to vote in favour. [10] In March 2019,Stevens voted against the Labour Party whip and in favour of an amendment tabled by members of The Independent Group for a second public vote on Brexit. [11]
Stevens chairs the GMB parliamentary group,which ensures that issues of importance to members of the GMB trade union are raised in the House of Commons.
Stevens supported Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour leadership election. [12] [13] He subsequently appointed her Shadow Secretary of State for Digital,Culture,Media and Sport,shadowing Oliver Dowden. On 29 November 2021,she was reshuffled back to the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Wales by Keir Starmer. [14]
In 2023,Stevens' office was defaced by protestors after she abstained on a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. She described the incident as 'intimidating'. [15]
In the 2024 general election,she was selected to contest the new Cardiff East constituency,after Cardiff Central was abolished. [16] She won the seat,with a majority of 9,097 votes. [4] Stevens was appointed Secretary of State for Wales in the first cabinet of Keir Starmer following the 2024 election. [17]
Stevens was sworn of the Privy Council on 10 July 2024,entitling her to be styled "The Right Honourable" for life. [18]
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