Jonathan Ashworth

For other people with the same name, see John Ashworth.

2023-present

Emilie Oldknow

​

(m. 2010)​

The Right Honourable Jonathan Ashworth MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament for Leicester South
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2011		Paymaster General
Alma mater	Durham University
Signature
Website	Official website

Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth (born 14 October 1978) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Paymaster General since September 2023. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South since 2011.

Prior to his election to Parliament, Ashworth worked as an adviser to Gordon Brown and head of party relations for Ed Miliband. ^[1] He was first elected at a by-election in 2011, following the resignation of his predecessor Peter Soulsby.

In October 2016, Ashworth was appointed Shadow Health Secretary by party leader Jeremy Corbyn, shadowing Jeremy Hunt and later Matt Hancock alongside the Shadow Minister for Social Care Barbara Keeley. ^{[2] [3]} In April 2020, Ashworth was reappointed to the position by new leader Keir Starmer, gaining the additional shadow portfolio of social care in England, he was succeeded in the role by Wes Streeting in 2021. Ashworth was Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2021 to September 2023, when he was appointed as the Shadow Paymaster General. ^[4]

Education

Ashworth was born in Salford, brought up in north Manchester and educated at Philips High School in Whitefield and Bury College ^[5] before studying politics and philosophy at the University of Durham. ^{[6] [7]} In 2000 he served as National Secretary of Labour Students. ^[8]

Political career

Labour Party officer (2001–2004)

Ashworth began working for the Labour Party as a Political Research Officer in 2001, and was the Economics and Welfare Policy Officer from 2002 to 2004. ^[9] In 2003, he was seconded to the Scottish Labour Party to work on the Scottish Parliament election campaign, where he worked closely with then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown.

Special adviser (2004–2011)

From 2004, he was appointed as Special Adviser to Chief Secretaries to the Treasury Paul Boateng, Des Browne ^[10] and Stephen Timms, but in practice he worked for Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. His main job was liaising with the Labour movement and an Evening Standard profile said "his contact book was "stuffed with constituency officers and union organisers"; there was newspaper speculation that he would be Political Secretary at 10 Downing Street in a potential future Brown government. ^[11]

When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007, Ashworth was appointed deputy Political Secretary with the role of linking the Government to the trade unions. ^[8] There was speculation later that year that Ashworth might be selected to replace John Prescott as the official Labour candidate for Kingston upon Hull East, ^[12] although it came to nothing. Ashworth spent most of the Crewe and Nantwich by-election campaign in the constituency. ^[13]

After the Labour Party were defeated at the 2010 general election, Ashworth became Political Secretary to the acting party leader Harriet Harman. He did not publicly support any candidate in the subsequent leadership election because of his role working for Harriet Harman but he was described as a "key member" of Ed Miliband's team on the day after Miliband won the Labour leadership election. ^[14] When Miliband was elected as Leader of the Labour Party, he asked Ashworth to join his office as Head of Party Relations. ^[1]

Parliamentary candidate (2011)

Before the 2010 general election, Ashworth was identified as someone for whom the Labour Party leadership wished to find a seat. He was linked with a possible candidature in Mansfield should the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) Alan Meale decide to stand down, but Meale decided to seek re-election despite widespread speculation he was to retire from Parliament. Ashworth was then identified as a potential candidate for Nottingham East when the sitting MP John Heppell retired, ^[15] but the selection went to former MP Chris Leslie when the Labour National Executive Committee chose to impose Leslie at the last minute. ^[16]

Ashworth sought selection in Leicester South in 2011 when the sitting MP Peter Soulsby decided to resign to seek election as Mayor of Leicester. He was endorsed by the Co-operative Party and, once elected, became a Co-operative Party MP. ^[17] Ashworth was selected as the Labour's Party's candidate. At the 2011 Leicester South by-election, Ashworth was elected as MP for the seat with 57.8% of the vote and a majority of 12,078. ^[18]

Member of Parliament (2011–present)

Ashworth served as an Opposition Whip from October 2011 to October 2013 and Shadow Minister of State for the Cabinet Office from October 2013 to September 2015. ^[19]

Following the row over alleged undue influence of trade unions in the Labour Party in the Falkirk parliamentary selection in 2013, Ashworth penned a piece for The Daily Telegraph claiming that it is ordinary people – not the unions – who choose Labour MPs. ^[20]

On 11 July 2013, Ashworth replaced Tom Watson as Deputy Chairman of the National Executive Committee. ^[21]

Ashworth was re-elected at the 2015 general election with an increased vote share of 59.8% and an increased majority of 17,845. ^[22] After the election, Ashworth nominated Yvette Cooper to be Leader of the Labour Party following the resignation of Ed Miliband. ^[23] He nominated Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. ^[24]

Following his election as Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn appointed Ashworth to the Shadow Cabinet role of Shadow Minister without Portfolio. ^[25] In December 2015, Ashworth voted against the resolution to authorise RAF bombing of ISIL in Syria. ^[26]

Ashworth in 2017

Ashworth was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Health in October 2016. Following the 2017 general election, he went on record to say a Labour government would not repeal the controversial Health and Social Care Act 2012 despite Labour's manifesto commitment to do so. ^[27]

Ashworth was again re-elected at the 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 73.6% and an increased majority of 26,261. ^[28]

In December 2019, it was reported 4,668 patient deaths during the year were linked to safety incidents at hospital, mental health and ambulance trusts. Ashworth held "years of Tory cutbacks" responsible for understaffing and for increasing pressures, which put patients at risk. ^[29]

On 10 December 2019, it emerged that Ashworth had told a friend that he did not believe Labour would win the 2019 general election due to be held two days later. He said that this was largely due to the unpopularity of Jeremy Corbyn and voters outside the cities blaming Labour for not delivering Brexit. His friend, who was a Conservative activist, leaked a recording of the conversation to right-wing website Guido Fawkes. Ashworth later claimed that he was joking and just "joshing around". ^[30] He was re-elected at the 2019 general election with a decreased vote share of 67% and a decreased majority of 22,675. ^[31]

Ashworth supported Lisa Nandy in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. ^[32] When Keir Starmer won the contest, he decided to keep Ashworth on as Shadow Health Secretary, extending his portfolio to include social care.

In the November 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, Ashworth became Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. ^[33] He remained in the position until the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, which saw him appointed to the position of Shadow Paymaster General. ^[4]

Personal life

Ashworth became engaged to Emilie Oldknow, the East Midlands Regional Director for the Labour Party, in 2008. ^[34] She was the official Labour candidate for Sherwood at the 2010 general election, but was not elected. ^[35] Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah attended the couple's wedding on 3 July 2010 in Derbyshire. ^[36] They have a daughter, Gracie, born in May 2011 shortly after his by-election victory, ^[37] and a second daughter, Annie. ^[38]

He has used his role as shadow health secretary to advocate legislation to prevent alcoholism, inspired by his own experience of his father who was an alcoholic. ^{[39] [40]} After running the London Marathon three times for the charity Nacoa, helping children affected by their parent's drinking, Jonathan became a patron of Nacoa in 2024.

References

1. Troughton, Adrian (21 March 2011). "Labour candidate Ashworth promises to be a 'champion' for city if he wins by-election". Leicester Mercury . Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
2. "Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
3. "Her Majesty's Official Opposition: The Shadow Cabinet". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
4. Richardson, Hannah (4 September 2023). "New roles for Leicester MPs as Labour reshuffles top team". Leicestershire Live. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
5. "Ashworth, Jonathan Michael Graham". Who's Who 2012 (online ed.). A & C Black. 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
6. "Cabinet and ministerial appointments following the June 2017 general election" (PDF). NHS Providers. 6 July 2017. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
7. "Your Strong Voice for Leicester South: Jon Ashworth: Standing to be your new MP". Jonashworth.org. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
8. "Bright young things beavering away for Team Brown". London Evening Standard . 27 June 2007.
9. "Jon Ashworth MP". BBC Democracy Live. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
10. "The Times guide to the Government". The Times . London. 13 May 2005.
11. "Gordon gets his team prepared to take over No 10". London Evening Standard. 6 September 2006.
12. "Who's in the running to succeed Prescott?". Hull Daily Mail . 22 August 2007.
13. Hinsliff, Gaby (25 May 2008). "Labour in Turmoil: Is this the beginning of the end for Brown?". The Observer . London.
14. Elliott, Francis; Smyth, Chris (27 September 2010). "Dallas and demand management: what really does it for Ed". The Times . London.
15. Walker, Charles (3 April 2010). "MP calls it a day after a royal time". Nottingham Evening Post .
16. Brady, Brian (11 April 2010). "Activists threaten rebellion as Brown helps secure seat for ally". Independent on Sunday . London. p. 10.
17. "Labour is to reveal MP candidates". Leicester Mercury. 17 March 2011.
18. Troughton, Adrian (7 May 2011). "Great day for Labour capped by victory in by-election". Leicester Mercury.
19. "Parliamentary career for Jonathan Ashworth - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
20. Ashworth, Jon (4 July 2013). "Labour's links to the trade unions? I'm proud of them". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
21. Ferguson, Mark (11 July 2013). "Jonathan Ashworth to replace Tom Watson on Labour's NEC". LabourList . Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
22. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
23. Martin, Dan (9 June 2015). "Jon Ashworth backs Yvette Cooper over city neighbour Liz Kendall in Labour leadership race". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
24. "Who nominated who in the 2015 Labour deputy leadership election?". New Statesman . London. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
25. Martin, Dan (14 September 2015). "Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth becomes Jeremy Corbyn's shadow minister without portfolio". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
26. Martin, Dan (3 December 2015). "Jon Ashworth the only MP from Leicester and Leicestershire to vote against Syria air strikes". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
27. "Labour Will not Roll Back Health and Social Care Act". Healthcare Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017.
28. "Parliamentary election". www.leicester.gov.uk.
29. Deaths of 4,600 NHS patients linked to safety incidents Archived 9 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian
30. "General election 2019: Jonathan Ashworth apologises after Corbyn criticism leak". BBC News. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
31. "Leicester South Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
32. "Here are the 23 MPs backing Wigan's Lisa Nandy in the Labour Party leadership contest". www.wigantoday.net. Retrieved 9 February 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
33. "Big reshuffle sees Cooper, Streeting, Lammy, Reynolds, Phillipson promoted". LabourList. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
34. Schofield, Kevin (25 February 2020). "Fresh blow for Labour as senior official dubbed 'brains of the party' quits". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
35. Parsons, Rob (8 May 2010). "Farmer Mark in a thriller at dawn". Nottingham Evening Post.
36. "Guest Appearance". The Sunday Telegraph . London. 4 July 2010.
37. "Oh baby! Joy for city's new MP as Gracie born". Leicester Mercury. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
38. "Jonathan Ashworth interrupted by daughter during BBC News interview". BBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
39. Asthana, Anushka, and Denis Campbell (30 December 2016). "'Dad was an alcoholic': MP Jonathan Ashworth urges action on drinking". The Guardian.
40. Smith, Mikey; Mack, Tom (21 November 2021). "MP cries during TV interview as he speaks about his alcoholic father". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 22 November 2021.

External links

• Jon Ashworth MP
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Peter Soulsby	Member of Parliament for Leicester South 2011–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Tom Watson	Deputy Chair of the Labour Party 2013–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Jon Trickett	Shadow Minister without Portfolio 2015–2016	Succeeded by Andrew Gwynne
Preceded by Diane Abbott	Shadow Secretary of State for Health 2016–present	Incumbent