Lucy Powell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assumed office 4 September 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Thangam Debbonaire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital,Culture,Media and Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 29 November 2021 –4 September 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Jo Stevens | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Thangam Debbonaire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 9 May 2021 –29 November 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Thangam Debbonaire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Lisa Nandy [lower-alpha 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shadow Secretary of State for Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 13 September 2015 –26 June 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader | Jeremy Corbyn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Tristram Hunt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Pat Glass | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 5 November 2014 –13 September 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader | Ed Miliband Harriet Harman (acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Michael Dugher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Tom Watson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Member of Parliament for Manchester Central | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assumed office 15 November 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Tony Lloyd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Majority | 29,089 (55.6%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Lucy Maria Powell 10 October 1974 Manchester,England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Labour and Co-operative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | James Williamson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | Somerville College,Oxford King's College London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lucy Maria Powell (born 10 October 1974) [1] is a British politician serving as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since 2023. [2] A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties,she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Central since 2012.
Prior to her election,she worked in campaigning and PR roles for Britain in Europe,NESTA and the Labour Party. She was a shadow Cabinet Office minister and vice-chair for the 2015 United Kingdom general election campaign. She was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education in September 2015,but resigned in June 2016. She served as Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers from April 2020 to May 2021,and Shadow Secretary of State for Housing from May to November 2021.
Lucy Powell was born in Moss Side. She attended Beaver Road Primary School and Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury,and then studied A-levels at Xaverian College. [3] She studied Chemistry at Somerville College,Oxford,and King's College London. [4]
Powell began her career working as a parliamentary assistant for Beverley Hughes,after having worked at the Labour Party Headquarters in Millbank Tower during the 1997 general election campaign. [5]
She joined the pro-Euro and pro-EU Treaty pressure group Britain in Europe (BiE),originally in a public relations role and later as head of regional campaigning. She replaced Simon Buckby as Campaign Director of BiE. In this capacity,she worked with Chris Patten,Neil Kinnock,Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. [6]
After BiE was wound down in June 2005 because of the referendum "No" votes in France and the Netherlands,she worked for the non-departmental public body or quango NESTA (the National Endowment for Science,Technology and the Arts),initially in a public affairs role and later to establish and manage the Manchester Innovation Fund project.
Powell was selected as Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Manchester Withington in April 2007. At the 2010 general election,Powell unsuccessfully contested Manchester Withington,finishing second with 40.5% of the vote behind the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP John Leech. [7]
From May 2010 to September 2010 Powell managed Ed Miliband's successful campaign for the Labour Party leadership. [8] She then served as Miliband's acting and later deputy chief of staff from September 2010 to April 2012.
Powell was selected by the local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) in April 2012 for the upcoming 2012 Manchester Central by-election,defeating local councillors Mike Amesbury and Rosa Battle,and the London councillor Patrick Vernon.
Powell was elected as MP for Manchester Central at the 2012 Manchester Central by-election,winning the election with 69.1% of the vote and a majority of 9,936 votes. [9]
Powell first joined the opposition front-bench in October 2013 as Shadow Childcare and Early Years Minister, [10] and entered the Shadow Cabinet in November 2014 as Shadow Cabinet Office Minister.
Powell was appointed vice-chair of the 2015 general election campaign by Ed Miliband, [11] in which Labour suffered a net loss of 26 seats,including a net loss of 40 seats in Scotland. [12] [13] She was heavily criticised for apparently suggesting that Labour's election pledges were liable to be broken:in talking about the EdStone,she commented:"I don't think anyone is suggesting that the fact that he's carved them into stone means that he is absolutely not going to break them or anything like that." She said that she had been quoted out of context. [14] She was responsible for Ed Miliband's interview with Russell Brand,described as a PR blunder. [15] As a result of these actions coupled to the result,Tanya Gold,writing for The Sunday Times ,described her as "discredited". [16] In response to the result,Powell stated,"I bear my share of responsibility in this". [17]
Powell was re-elected as MP for Manchester Central at the 2015 general election with a decreased vote share of 61.3% and an increased majority of 21,639. [18] [19] In the subsequent 2015 Labour Party leadership election,she nominated Andy Burnham. [20]
On 13 September 2015,Powell was appointed as Shadow Education Secretary by Jeremy Corbyn,succeeding Tristram Hunt. As Shadow Education Secretary,she argued for bringing free schools and academies under Local Education Authority control. [21] She resigned from the Shadow Cabinet on 26 June 2016,along with dozens of shadow cabinet colleagues unhappy with Corbyn's leadership. [22] [23] She supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour leadership election. [24] However,she later stated that,"We were wrong about Jeremy Corbyn" in an interview following the 2017 general election. [25]
At the snap 2017 general election,Powell was again re-elected,with an increased vote share of 77.4% and an increased majority of 31,445. [26]
In September 2017,the political commentator Iain Dale placed Powell at Number 81 in The 100 Most Influential People on the Left. [27]
In September 2018,Powell introduced legislation in the House of Commons to ban secret,private,invite-only groups on Facebook and hold moderators legally responsible for hate speech or defamation on forums. [28] [29] She is a member of Labour Friends of Israel. [30]
At the 2019 general election,Powell was again re-elected,with a decreased vote share of 70.4% and a decreased majority of 29,089.l [31]
On 9 April 2020,Powell rejoined the Labour front bench when she was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers by new party leader Keir Starmer. [32] In a minor reshuffle in May 2021,she was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing,succeeding Thangam Debbonaire. [33]
In the November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle,Powell was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Digital,Culture,Media and Sport. [34] Powell has described herself as a "tech optimist". [35]
Powell is married to James Williamson,an emergency medicine doctor,and has three children –a step-son,a daughter,and a son. [36]
She supports Manchester City football club. [37]
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer on 4 September 2023.
Dame Angela Eagle DBE is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallasey since 1992. Eagle was born in Yorkshire and studied PPE at the University of Oxford, before working for the CBI and then a trade union.
Maria Eagle is a British politician who served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She later served in the Shadow cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Garston and Halewood, previously Liverpool Garston, since 1997.
Caroline Louise Flint is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet as Minister for Housing and Planning in 2008 and Minister for Europe from 2008 to 2009.
Ivan Lewis is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury South from 1997 to 2019, initially as a member of the Labour Party then as an independent from 2017.
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2010 and 2015. Alongside his brother, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, he served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010 under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Patrick Bosco McFadden is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Labour National Campaign Coordinator since September 2023. He served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2021 and 2023. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 2005.
Gloria De Piero is a British broadcaster and former politician, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield from 2010 to 2019.
Lisa Eva Nandy is a British Labour Party politician serving as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development in 2023. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010. Nandy previously served as Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary and Shadow Energy Secretary.
Shabana Mahmood is a British politician and barrister who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice from September 2023. She previously served as Campaign Co-ordinator from 2021 to 2023, and briefly as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2015.
Katherine Anne Green OBE JP is a British politician serving as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime since 2023. She previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities from 2015 to 2016, Chair of the Committees on Privileges and Standards from 2018 to 2020, and Shadow Secretary of State for Education from 2020 to 2021.
Lilian Rachel Greenwood is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham South since 2010, and the Shadow Minister for Arts, Heritage and Civil Society since 2023.
Chinyelu Susan "Chi" Onwurah is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne Central since 2010. She is a member of the Labour Party.
Elizabeth Louise Kendall is a British Labour politician who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since 2023. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West since 2010.
Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth 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.
Seema Malhotra is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Feltham and Heston since 2011. A member of Labour and Co-operative, she has served as Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers since 2021 and previously sat on the opposition front bench as the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Shadow Minister for Employment and a shadow Home Office minister.
Catherine Jane Smith is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, 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.
Jeremy Corbyn assumed the position of Leader of the Opposition after being elected as leader of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015; the election was triggered by Ed Miliband's resignation following the Labour Party's electoral defeat at the 2015 general election when David Cameron formed a majority Conservative government. The usual number of junior shadow ministers were also appointed.
The Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn began when Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Leader of the UK Labour Party in September 2015, following the resignation of Ed Miliband after Labour's defeat at the 2015 general election. Disillusioned by a lack of a left-wing voice in the 2015 leadership contest, Corbyn stood on an anti-austerity platform. Of the candidates who stood, Corbyn received the fewest parliamentary nominations. Many who nominated him said they had done so not to support his candidacy, but to widen the debate by including a socialist voice. However, Corbyn soon became the frontrunner and was elected with a landslide of 59%.
Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet on 9 May 2021. This followed disappointing results for the Labour Party, including historic defeat in the Hartlepool by-election and the loss of hundreds of councillors in local elections across England.