John William Patrick Smith | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Vale of Glamorgan | |
In office 2 May 1997 –12 April 2010 | |
Preceded by | Walter Sweeney |
Succeeded by | Alun Cairns |
In office 5 May 1989 –16 March 1992 | |
Preceded by | Raymond Gower |
Succeeded by | Walter Sweeney |
Personal details | |
Born | Penarth,Glamorgan,Wales | 17 March 1951
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | Kathleen Smith |
Relations | John Smith (Welsh Boxer) |
Children | Melanie Gill,Nathan Smith,Theo Smith. |
Residence | Vale of Glamorgan |
Occupation | Retired |
Profession | Politician,activist,campaigner,lecturer,union representative. |
John William Patrick Smith (born 17 March 1951) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Vale of Glamorgan from the 1989 by-election to 1992 and from 1997 to the 2010 general elections.
Born in Penarth,he attended Fairfield County Primary School in Penarth. Subsequent to him passing the 'Eleven Plus Exam' he attended Penarth County Grammar School (which later became the comprehensive Stanwell School). He served for a while in the Royal Air Force,then worked as a carpenter and joiner for Vale Borough Council from 1971 to 1976. He became a mature student in 1976,studying at the Gwent College of Higher Education,then went to University College of Wales,Cardiff (now Cardiff University) graduating with a BSc in 1981. He was then a university tutor until 1985. From 1985 to 1989,he was a senior lecturer in Business Studies. He became a campaign manager for Gwent Image Partnership,becoming chief executive from 1992 after he lost his seat by only 19 votes.
Having contested Vale of Glamorgan at the 1987 general election,he was first elected for the seat in a 1989 by-election,lost it to the Conservatives in 1992 by a very narrow margin,and regained it in 1997. He was re-elected in 2001 and 2005,and served as a member of the Defence Select Committee. He spent much of his time dealing with concerns over the future of RAF St Athan. On the issue of the Iraq War,Smith opposed any form of military action,and was deeply saddened by the parliamentary vote that supported British involvement in the war.
On 22 May 2009,Smith announced that he would stand down at the 2010 general election. [1]
Smith was a Member of the Defence Committee,and Chairman of the Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement (WAAM) [2]
Smith came from a working class family,born and raised on a council estate. He married Kathleen Mulvaney (now Kathleen Smith) in 1971 in Liverpool. They have two sons and a daughter,and are now Grandparents.
The Vale of Glamorgan,often referred to as The Vale,is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west,Cardiff to the east,Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north,and the Bristol Channel to the south. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals,it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales. Attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park,the Barry Tourist Railway,Medieval wall paintings in St Cadoc's Church,Llancarfan,Porthkerry Park,St Donat's Castle,Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village. The largest town is Barry. Other towns include Penarth,Llantwit Major,and Cowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough.
Hywel Rhodri Morgan was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and the Member of Parliament for Cardiff West from 1987 to 2001. He remains the longest-serving First Minister of Wales,having served in the position for 9 years and 304 days. He was Chancellor of Swansea University from 2011 until his death in 2017.
Penarth is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan,Wales,approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay.
Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan,formerly known as Royal Air Force St Athan,or more simply RAF St Athan,is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan,southern Wales. It was the designated site for the United Kingdom's new defence training academy,but the programme was cancelled on 19 October 2010.
Barry is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan,Wales,on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately 9 miles (14 km) south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort,with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Barry Island Pleasure Park. According to Office for National Statistics 2016 estimate data,the population of Barry was 54,673.
Cardiff South and Penarth is a constituency created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2012 by Stephen Doughty,a Labour Co-op MP. It is the largest such entity in Wales,with an electorate of 75,175 and one of the most ethnically diverse.
Vale of Glamorgan is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Alun Cairns,a Conservative.
Peter John Law was a Welsh politician. For most of his career Law sat as a Labour councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent member of Parliament (MP) and AM for the same constituency.
The Vale of Glamorgan Line is a commuter railway line in Wales,running through the Vale of Glamorgan from Barry to Bridgend,via Rhoose and Llantwit Major.
St Athan is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century,though an earlier church was dated to the Norman period. The village and the adjacent dormitory village of Eglwys Brewis are known primarily for the MOD St Athan RAF base. There are two pubs in the village,as well as a football team at St Athan Football Club and the St Athan Golf Club. The community includes West Aberthaw.
Dinas Powys is a small town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan,South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Iron Age hillfort which overlooks the village. Dinas Powys is 5.6 miles (9.0 km) south-west of the centre of Cardiff and is situated on the A4055 road from Cardiff to Barry,making it a popular dormitory village for city commuters. It neighbours the larger town of Penarth.
Llandough is a village,community and electoral ward in the Vale of Glamorgan,Wales,approximately 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south west of Cardiff city centre,and approximately 1.3 miles (2 km) north west of Penarth.
Sir Herbert Raymond Gower,FInstD was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament for over 37 years,representing seats in Glamorgan from 1951 to his death in 1989. He was also a journalist and broadcaster.
South Glamorganshire was a parliamentary constituency in Glamorganshire,Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,elected by the first past the post system.
Politics of Cardiff refers to the political representation of the city of Cardiff,capital of Wales. Cardiff is represented politically at a local,Wales and United Kingdom level and previously at the European level.
Stephen John Doughty is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff South and Penarth since 2012. He has been the Shadow Minister for Africa and a Shadow Minister for International Development since 2020.
The 2015 United Kingdom general election in Wales was held on 7 May 2015 and all 40 seats in Wales were contested. The election for each seat was conducted on the basis of first-past-the-post.
The Vale of Glamorgan Association Football League is a football league covering the area of the Vale of Glamorgan in Glamorgan,South Wales and the surrounding areas. The leagues are at the seventh and eighth levels of the Welsh football league system.