Laura Smith | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2017 | |
Member of Cheshire East Council for Crewe South | |
Assumed office 27 February 2020 | |
Preceded by | Dorothy Flude |
Majority | 288 (18.1%) |
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office | |
In office 12 January 2018 –13 June 2018 | |
Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Jo Platt |
Member of Parliament for Crewe and Nantwich | |
In office 8 June 2017 –6 November 2019 | |
Preceded by | Edward Timpson |
Succeeded by | Kieran Mullan |
Personal details | |
Born | 16 March 1985 |
Political party | Independent |
Other political affiliations | Labour Party (until 2024) |
Children | 2 |
Residence(s) | Nantwich,Cheshire,England |
Alma mater | Manchester Metropolitan University |
Laura Smith (born 16 March 1985) [1] is a British politician who served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Crewe and Nantwich from 2017 to 2019. [2] In 2017,she defeated the incumbent Conservative Edward Timpson by 48 votes,before losing her seat at the 2019 general election.
In February 2020,Smith was elected to Cheshire East Council for the Crewe South ward.
Smith was raised in Crewe;her grandfather was a miner and trade unionist and her father was heavily involved with the Labour Party. [3] She attended Brine Leas School in Nantwich,Cheshire and South Cheshire College in Crewe. [4] She went on to study at Crewe campus of Manchester Metropolitan University,qualifying as a school teacher.
She was dissatisfied with work as a teacher and began a tutoring business. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Smith was involved in the campaign against school funding cuts in Cheshire East. She told the Crewe Chronicle :"I sat at home after going to a public meeting at Brine Leas School" about proposed education cuts "and I decided enough was enough regarding the funding for schools and I posted something on Facebook. From that,I got involved with the fairer funding". [9]
Smith was announced as the Labour Party candidate for the Crewe and Nantwich constituency in the snap 2017 general election on 1 May 2017. [10] She launched her campaign on 3 May,saying "What ordinary people need are decent well-paid jobs and greater job security. In this race locally,I am the only candidate committed to that." She also said that she was not a "natural-born politician" and promised to be a "different sort of MP if elected that remains accessible and up front with her constituents". [11] In the election,Smith defeated incumbent Conservative junior minister Edward Timpson by 48 votes,overturning a majority of 3,620. [12] She declared that the result "sent a message to the establishment and the elite",the seat having been held by the Conservatives in elections since Gwyneth Dunwoody died in 2008. The seat saw a 3.7% swing to Labour,and an increase in turnout of 3%,to just under 70%. [9] [13]
On 13 June 2018,Smith and five other Labour MPs resigned their roles as frontbenchers for the Labour Party in protest at Labour's Brexit position. Leader Jeremy Corbyn had instructed his MPs to abstain in a vote which Britain would remain in the single market by joining the European Economic Area (EEA). Following her resignation Smith voted against the EEA. [14] Smith also resigned her position as a Shadow Cabinet Office Minister. [15] However,despite this stance,Smith abstained from a vote to delay the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union for a time sufficient to enable a second referendum on leaving the EU to be held. [16]
In September 2018 Smith called for a general strike to "topple" Theresa May's Conservative government. Deputy Labour Leader,Tom Watson,quickly distanced the Labour Party from Smith saying her comments were "not particularly helpful". Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey added:"Just to make it perfectly clear a general strike is not Labour Party policy." [17]
Smith lost her seat in the 2019 general election,to Kieran Mullan of the Conservative Party. [18] [19] The Labour vote was down 9.7% to 37.4% and the Conservative vote up 6.1% to 53.1% giving Kieran Mullan a majority of 8,508. [20] In January 2020 Smith appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to speak about her life since losing the election,and to dispel what she described as "the misconception... that people who are members of parliament –even local councillors –are kind of sitting on a bank of reserves or will automatically have connections who will come and want to hire you". The interview came after Smith was photographed at her local job centre. [21] [22]
On 27 February 2020,Smith was elected to Cheshire East Council for the Crewe South ward. [23]
On 15 March 2024,Smith announced that she was leaving the Labour Party after she was suspended from the Cheshire East Labour Group for voting against what she described as an "austerity budget". She will serve out her term on the Cheshire East Council as an independent socialist councillor. [24] [25]
Smith identifies as a socialist and was part of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs during her time in parliament. [26] She is a supporter of the Labour Against Private Schools campaign,which aims to abolish private schools in the United Kingdom. [27]
Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody was a British Labour Party politician,who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter from 1966 to 1970,and then for Crewe from February 1974 to her death in 2008. She was a moderate socialist and had a reputation as a fiercely independent parliamentarian,described as "intelligent,obstinate,opinionated and hard-working".
Moyra Tamsin Dunwoody,sometimes known as Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey,is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of the National Assembly for Wales for Preseli Pembrokeshire from 2003 to 2007. She served in the Welsh Government from 2005 to 2007 as the Deputy Minister for Environment,Planning and Countryside and Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Transport.
Gareth Richard Thomas is a British Labour politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow West since 1997. He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Services,Small Business and Exports since July 2024. Thomas served as Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for Trade,Investment and Consumer Affairs between 2008 and 2010. He was the Chair of the Co-operative Party from 2001 until 2019,and stands for election as a Labour and Co-operative candidate.
Congleton is a parliamentary constituency in Cheshire,represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Sarah Russell of the Labour Party.
Crewe and Nantwich is a constituency in Cheshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was created in 1983;since 2024 its Member of Parliament (MP) has been Connor Naismith of the Labour Party.
Eddisbury was a constituency in Cheshire last represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Edward Timpson,a Conservative who left office at the dissolution of parliament in advance of the 2024 United Kingdom general election,at which this former constituency was replaced.
Esther Louise,Lady Davies,styled as Esther McVey,is a British Conservative Party politician and television presenter who has been serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton since 2017,and served as the MP for Wirral West from 2010 to 2015. She previously served in cabinet as Minister of State for Employment from 2013 to 2015,Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2018,Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2019 to 2020 and Minister of State without Portfolio from 2023 to 2024.
The 2008 Crewe and Nantwich by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 22 May 2008,for the House of Commons constituency of Crewe and Nantwich,in Cheshire,England. The election was won by the Conservative party candidate Edward Timpson,who defeated the Labour party candidate Tamsin Dunwoody,on a swing from Labour to Conservative of 17.6%,a swing that in a general election would have seen nine Labour cabinet ministers lose their seats.
Anthony Edward Timpson,is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eddisbury in Cheshire from 2019 to 2024. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
Stella Judith Creasy is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Walthamstow since 2010.
Emma Elizabeth Reynolds is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wycombe since 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she previously served as MP for Wolverhampton North East from 2010 to 2019. She served as Parliamentary Secretary for the Treasury and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions from July 2024 until January 2025,when she became Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
Jennifer Chapman,Baroness Chapman of Darlington is a British politician and life peer who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Latin America and Caribbean since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Darlington from 2010 to 2019.
Catherine Jane Smith is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015,representing Lancaster and Wyre since 2024 after her former constituency,Lancaster and Fleetwood,was abolished. She was a member of the shadow cabinets led by Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer from 2016 to 2021 as Shadow Secretary of State,previously Shadow Minister,for Young People and Democracy.
Justin Piers Richard Madders is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough,previously Ellesmere Port and Neston,since 2015. He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights,Competition and Markets since July 2024.
Melanie Onn is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes since 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she previously served as MP for Great Grimsby from 2015 to 2019.
Holly Lynch,also known as Holly Walker-Lynch,is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax from 2015 to 2024.
Eleanor Claire Reeves,Baroness Cryer,is a British barrister and politician who has served as Chair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she has served as the Member of Parliament for Lewisham West and East Dulwich,formerly Lewisham West and Penge,since 2017. She previously served as Shadow Solicitor General from April 2020 to December 2021 and Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation from 2021 to 2023.
Laura Pidcock is a British former Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Durham from 2017 until 2019,when she lost her seat. She served as Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet. In the 2019 parliamentary election,she lost her seat to the Conservative Richard Holden,who won the constituency with a majority of 1,144.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown from 2017 to 2024. A member of the Labour and Co-operative Party,he was a member of Brighton and Hove City Council from 2016 to 2017.
Kieran John Mullan is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexhill and Battle. He was previously the MP for Crewe and Nantwich between 2019 and 2024. He has been Shadow Minister for Transport since July 2024.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)