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Peter Dowd | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 9 February 2017 – 6 April 2020 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Rebecca Long-Bailey |
| Succeeded by | Bridget Phillipson |
| Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 6 October 2016 – 9 February 2017 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Rob Marris |
| Succeeded by | Anneliese Dodds |
| Member of Parliament forBootle | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Benton |
| Majority | 21,983 (56.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Christopher Dowd (1957-06-20)20 June 1957 (age 68) Bootle,Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Relations | Peter Mahon (great uncle)Simon Mahon (great uncle) |
| Alma mater | Hugh Baird College University of Liverpool Lancaster University |
| Website | peterdowd |
Peter Christopher Dowd[1] (born 20 June 1957) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forBootle since2015.[2] From 2017 to 2020, he served as theShadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Peter Dowd was born on 20 June 1957 inBootle in a largeworking-class family with a long history of activism in the Labour Party. His great-uncles,Simon andPeter Mahon, served as Labour MPs. Dowd went to local primary and secondary schools and college, before earning an undergraduate degree fromLiverpool University, and then a postgraduate degree fromLancaster University.[citation needed]
Dowd was a Merseyside County Councillor from 1981 to 1986 for the Hawthorne ward.[3] He became a Sefton Borough councillor in 1991 when he replacedJoe Benton for the Derby ward.[citation needed]
He was a councillor for Derby from 1991 to 2003, before he moved to St Oswalds ward (covering Netherton and Marion Square). He was also chair ofMerseyside Fire Authority in the 1990s. Dowd was elected Sefton Labour group leader after the death of Dave Martin, and was leader until 2015. He was consequently elected Leader ofSefton Council from 2011 to 2015.[citation needed]
At the2015 general election, Dowd was elected to Parliament as MP forBootle with 74.5% of the vote and a majority of 28,704.[4][5]
Dowd was one of 48 Labour MPs to vote against thesecond reading of theConservative government's Welfare Reform and Work Bill, which included £12 billion in welfare cuts, on 20 July 2015. In doing so they defied the party's leadership, which had ordered MPs to abstain.[6]
In February 2017,Jeremy Corbyn, theleader of the Labour Party, appointed him to the position ofShadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.[7]
Dowd was re-elected as MP for Bootle at the snap2017 general election with an increased vote share of 84% and an increased majority of 36,200.[8] He was again re-elected at the2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 79.4% and a decreased majority of 34,556.[9] He was again re-elected at the2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 68.7% and a decreased majority of 21,983.[10]
In November 2024, Dowd voted in favour of theTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legaliseassisted suicide.[11]
On 6 October 2020, Dowd's daughter, Jennie, died at the age of 31 following a cycling collision.[12] The driver was sentenced to 12 months in prison.[13]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBootle 2015–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2017–2020 | Succeeded by |