Jeff Smith (British politician)

Jeff Smith
MP
Member of Parliament
for Manchester Withington
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded by John Leech
Majority 29,875 (55.8%)
Personal details
Born (1963-01-26) 26 January 1963
Manchester, United Kingdom
Political party Labour
Alma mater University of Manchester
Website jeffsmith.org.uk

Jeff Smith (born 26 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician from Manchester. He was elected at the 2015 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Withington.[1] He had previously represented the Old Moat ward on Manchester City Council since 1997.

Early life and career

Smith was a pupil at Manchester Grammar School,[2] and graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Politics and Economics in 1984.[3]

He is a former Executive Member for Finance on Manchester City Council[4] and a former governor of Parrs Wood High School.[5]

He was chosen in June 2013 as the Labour candidate for Manchester Withington.[6] He was selected in preference to the candidate backed by Unite the Union.[7]

Parliamentary career

At the general election in May 2015 Smith was elected MP for Manchester Withington, defeating the incumbent Liberal Democrat John Leech, with a majority of 14,873. In the 2017 general election Smith increased his majority to almost 30,000 over Leech, turning the once Liberal Democrat marginal seat into one of Labour's safest.

Smith is a whip for the Labour Party.[8] Smith was one of the 184 Labour MPs to abstain on the controversial Conservative welfare Bill.[9] In February 2017, he voted twice against the bill to trigger Article 50 to leave the European Union,[10][11] saying that a clear majority of his constituents had voted to remain in the EU.[12]

An atheist and humanist, he was elected Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group in 2017.[13]

Personal life

Smith is also a part-time DJ and has performed regularly at V Festival and club nights Poptastic in Manchester and Star in Leeds.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Manchester Withington Parliamentary constituency: Election 2015". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Kelly, Richard (29 May 2015). "Pupil Plebiscites and Leftist Leanings: Political Participation and Manchester Grammar School, 1906–2015". Political Studies Association.
  3. ↑ SMITH, Jeffrey. ukwhoswho.com. Who's Who. 2017 (online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc.  (subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries)
  4. ↑ "The Members of the Executive: The Executive Members in 2013 / 14". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Governing Body". Manchester, UK: Parrs Wood High School. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014.
  6. ↑ Wheatstone, Richard (10 June 2013). "Gloves are off as candidates set to do battle for Withington seat". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Crick, Michael (6 November 2013). "Unite choosing Labour's candidates: is Cameron correct?". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (26 January 2017). "Labour MP Jeff Smith risks being sacked as whip after refusing to back Brexit vote". Manchester Evening News.
  9. ↑ Stone, Jon (21 July 2015). "Welfare bill: These are the 184 Labour MPs who didn't vote against the Tories' cuts". The Independent.
  10. ↑ Staff writer (1 February 2017). "How Labour MPs voted on article 50". LabourList.
  11. ↑ Staff writer (9 February 2017). "Brexit bill: Full list of how Labour MPs voted". LabourList.
  12. ↑ Smith, Jeff (31 January 2017). "Why I'll vote against triggering Article 50". jeffsmith.org.uk. Labour Party.
  13. ↑ "Crispin Blunt and Joan Bakewell elected as Chair and Co-Chair of humanists in Parliament". Humanists UK. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  14. ↑ Staff writer (19 April 2010). "Corridors of Power to Wheels of Steel". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Leech		 Member of Parliament
for Manchester Withington
2015–present		 Incumbent
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