Tonia Antoniazzi

Antonia Louise Antoniazzi[1] (born 5 October 1971[2]) is a British Labour Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gower at the 2017 general election.[3][4][5]

Tonia Antoniazzi

MP
Member of Parliament
for Gower
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byByron Davies
Majority1,837 (4.1%)
Personal details
Born
Antonia Louise Antoniazzi

(1971-10-05) 5 October 1971
Llanelli, Wales, UK
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Exeter
WebsiteOfficial Website

Early life

Antoniazzi was born and raised in Llanelli by a Welsh mother and a Welsh Italian father. She attended St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School[6] and Gorseinon College. After studying French and Italian at Exeter University, she gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Cardiff University.

She has been head of languages at Bryngwyn Comprehensive School in Llanelli[7] and a Wales women's international rugby player.[6]

Parliamentary career

Antoniazzi contested the regional seat of Mid and West Wales in the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election. She then stood for parliament at the 2017 general election for the Gower constituency, which was held at the time by the Conservative's Byron Davies with a 27-vote majority, making it the UK's most marginal seat. She was successful, turning the seat Labour by gaining a 3,269 majority. On her election, she stated that she intended to be a strong constituency MP, and that "Gower is and always will be my first priority".[8]

Antoniazzi delivered her maiden speech on Thursday 29 June 2017. In her speech she outlined how Italian immigration had shaped cafe culture in Wales and the UK.[9]

Antoniazzi has served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2017-2018) and the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales (2018) before resigning.[10]

Antoniazzi during her election campaign in 2017.

On 13 June 2018, Antoniazzi 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). The MPs resigned and voted in favour of the EEA.[11][12]

In the series of Parliamentary votes on Brexit in March 2019, Antoniazzi voted against the Labour Party whip and in favour of an amendment tabled by members of The Independent Group for a second public vote.[13]

In June 2019, Antoniazzi urged ministers to allow the use of medicinal cannabis by "all who need it", citing the case of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell whose epilepsy was alleviated through use of the drug.[14]

In July 2019, Antoniazzi was accused of spreading "junk science" in claiming that 5G technology is carcinogenic.[15]

In November 2019, Antoniazzi was found to have received tickets and hospitality worth £1,693 from betting firms since the 2017 general election.[16]

In December 2019, Antoniazzi held her seat at the 2019 general election.[17]

References
  1. "Antoniazzi, Antonia Louise". Who's Who. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  2. "Tonia Antoniazzi MP". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. "Tonia Antoniazzi MP". parliament.uk. Parliament UK. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  4. "Labour's Tonia Antoniazzi wins Gower seat back from Tories". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. "Labour gain three Welsh seats as Tories' surge fails". ITV News. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  6. "General Election 2017 - The Gower Constituency". Swansea Bay Times. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. Swansea Bay Times Reporter (28 April 2017). "Ex Welsh women's rugby player contests UK's most marginal seat". Swansea Bay Times. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  8. "First Female Gower MP begins her role". South Wales Evening Post. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  9. Cornock, David (29 June 2017). "New MP claims credit for ice cream - and cafe culture". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  10. Smith, Jacqui; Dale, Iain (2019). HONOURABLE LADIES: Profiles of Women MPs -(1997-2017). BITEBACK Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78590-447-9. OCLC 1127868113.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. Culbertson, Alix (14 June 2018). "Six Labour MPs quit frontbench roles over key Brexit vote". Sky News. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  12. Morris, Nigel (13 June 2018). "Six Labour frontbenchers resign in protest at Labour's Brexit position". i News. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. Mosalski, Ruth. "Brexit latest: The Welsh MPs who voted for a second referendum". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  14. "Give medicinal cannabis to all who need it, says MP Tonia Antoniazzi - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  15. Hern, Alex (26 July 2019). "How baseless fears over 5G rollout created a health scare". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  16. Kraemer, Daniel (2 November 2018). "16 MPs receive free tickets from betting firms - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  17. "Gower parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 15 December 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Byron Davies		 Member of Parliament for Gower
2017–present		 Incumbent
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