Dame Siobhain McDonagh | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Member of Parliament forMitcham and Morden | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Angela Rumbold |
| Majority | 18,761 (41.4%) |
| Assistant Government Whip | |
| In office 28 June 2007 – 12 September 2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Succeeded by | Dawn Butler |
| Member ofMerton Council forColliers Wood | |
| In office 6 May 1982 – 7 May 1998 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-02-20)20 February 1960 (age 65) Colliers Wood,Surrey, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Relations | Margaret McDonagh (sister) |
| Alma mater | University of Essex (BA) |
| Website | siobhainmcdonagh |
Dame Siobhain Ann McDonaghDBE (born 20 February 1960) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forMitcham and Morden since1997. She served as anAssistant Whip in theLabour Government, but was dismissed following comments regarding a leadership contest to replace prime ministerGordon Brown.[1]
Siobhain McDonagh was born on 20 February 1960 inColliers Wood. Her father was a builder and her mother a nurse who moved to the area in 1958.[2] She went toHoly Cross School, New Malden and later studied Politics at theUniversity of Essex.
After graduating, McDonagh was a clerical officer for theDHSS between 1981 and 1983, a receptionist at theWandsworth Homeless Persons Unit from 1984 to 1986, and a housing adviser from 1986 to 1988. Prior to being elected to Parliament she worked as a Development Manager for Battersea Churches Housing Trust from 1988 to 1997. She also served as a councillor onLondon Borough of Merton forColliers Wood ward between 1982 and 1998, chairing the Housing Committee between 1990 and 1995, being instrumental in the rebuilding ofPhipps Bridge Estate.
At the1997 general election, McDonagh was elected to Parliament as MP forMitcham and Morden with 58.4% of the vote and a majority of 13,741.[3][4][5][6]
In April 2000, her office sent a party politicalquestionnaire to 200 of her constituents using parliamentary resources. A spokesman for McDonagh subsequently said it was a "mistake". McDonagh promised to apologise and reimburse the cost to her office.[7]
She was again re-elected as MP for Mitcham and Morden at the2001 general election with an increased vote share of 60.4% and an increased majority of 13,785.[8] After the 2001 general election,Tony Blair offered McDonagh the position of Parliamentary Undersecretary of State at theDepartment for Communities and Local Government. She declined the offer and remained abackbencher.
In March 2003, McDonagh voted in favour of the country going towar with Iraq.[9] She has consistently voted against any inquiry into the Iraq War.[10]
McDonagh was again re-elected at the2005 general election, with a decreased vote share of 56.4% and a decreased majority of 12,560.[11][12] Following the 2005 general election, she served asParliamentary Private Secretary toJohn Reid until June 2007. She was appointed to the position ofAssistant Whip in June 2007 in the re-shuffle brought about byGordon Brown becomingprime minister.
In October 2007, her expenditure on stationery and postage attracted criticism, being more than any other MP's for postage from 2003 to 2006. In total, her office spent £126,833 on postage in the four-year period, an average of almost £32,000 per year. When adding in stationery costs, the expenditure was approximately £50,000 in both 2004–05 and 2006–07. McDonagh responded stating, "I believe the job of an MP is to keep in contact with constituents on important issues".[13]
On 12 September 2008, McDonagh became the first member of the government to call for a leadership contest, resulting in dismissal from her government post.[14]
McDonagh was again re-elected at the2010 general election, with an increased vote share of 56.5% and an increased majority of 13,666.[15]
In October 2010, McDonagh's mobile phone was stolen from her car.[16] Although not implicated in the robbery itself, it became evident thatThe Sun newspaper had accessed the phone, including messages stored on it. McDonagh sued the paper and in March 2013 won "substantial damages."[17]
At the2015 general election, McDonagh was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 60.7% and an increased majority of 16,922.[18][19]
In June 2015, McDonagh nominatedLiz Kendall, considered theBlairite candidate, for leadership of the Labour Party.[20]
In December 2015, she was among the minority of Labour MPs who voted in favour of extending UK military airstrikes againstISIL intoSyria. She has written that it was a decision "not easy to come to".[21]
She supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replaceJeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour leadership election.[22]
McDonagh abstained from a vote on a motion withdrawing the UK's support for Saudi Arabia'smilitary campaign in Yemen. The motion was defeated by a majority of 90.[23]
At the snap2017 general election, McDonagh was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 68.7% and an increased majority of 21,375.[24][25][26]
In September 2018, McDonagh offered her support to Labour MPChris Leslie when he faced aconfidence motion from hisCLP, a vote he subsequently lost.[27]
In March 2019, McDonagh was criticised by some left-wing members of the party after she appeared to agree with a statement put forward byJohn Humphrys onBBC Radio 4'sToday programme. McDonagh saidantisemitism is a problem in the Labour Party, because "part of [Labour] politics, of hard left politics, [is] to be againstcapitalists and to see Jewish people as the financiers of capital". When Humphrys asked her if that meant that "to be anti-capitalist you have to be antisemitic", McDonagh replied, "Yes".[28][29]
McDonagh was again re-elected at the2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 61.1% and a decreased majority of 16,482.[30]
McDonagh endorsedJess Phillips in the2020 Labour Party leadership election.[31]
In October 2020, during the Covid Pandemic, McDonagh faced criticism after being filmed inside the House of Commons, for using her face mask to clean her glasses.[32]
McDonagh is a member ofLabour Friends of Israel.[33]
At the2024 general election, McDonagh was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 55.4% and an increased majority of 18,761.[34]
In November 2024, McDonagh voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,[35] a Bill to allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life; and for connected purposes.[36]
McDonagh lived inColliers Wood in her constituency with her late sister Margaret, latterlyBaroness McDonagh (1961 - 2023),[37] who wasGeneral Secretary of the Labour Party between 1998 and 2001, duringTony Blair's premiership.[38] She is aRoman Catholic[39] of Irish descent.[2]
In March 2023 McDonagh took a £1.2 million interest-free loan from Labour donorLord Alli, to buy a house in south-west London with downstairs bedroom and bathroom suited for her terminally ill sister.[40]
She was a patron of Leap Forward Employment – a now defunct community interest company that found work for adults with mental health issues.[41]
McDonagh was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the2024 New Year Honours for parliamentary and political service.[42]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMitcham and Morden 1997–present | Incumbent |
