Stephen Doughty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 8 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Nus Ghani (Europe) David Rutley (Americas and Overseas Territories) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament forCardiff South and Penarth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 15 November 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alun Michael | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 11,767 (30.0%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1980-04-15)15 April 1980 (age 44) Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour Co-op | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence(s) | Splott, Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Oxford University of St Andrews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | stephendoughty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen John Doughty[1] (born 15 April 1980)[2] is a WelshLabour Co-oppolitician who has served asMember of Parliament (MP) forCardiff South and Penarth since2012.[3] He has served asMinister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories since July 2024.[4][5]
Stephen Doughty was born on 15 April 1980 inCardiff, with his family moving to theVale of Glamorgan when he was young. After attendingLlantwit Major Comprehensive School, he was awarded a scholarship to study atLester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Canada.[6][7] While a student at UWC Pearson, he served as a member ofBritish Columbia Youth Parliament.
He went to university atCorpus Christi College,Oxford, from which he graduated with anupper second-class degree inPhilosophy, Politics and Economics.[8] Whilst at Oxford, Doughty was a member of an all-male singing group, Out of the Blue.[9] He also studied at theUniversity of St Andrews.[10]
After time spent working inDenmark, Doughty returned to the UK, where he became an advisor to Labour MPDouglas Alexander.[11] He then worked in various roles forOxfam International, before becoming the head of Oxfam Cymru in 2011.[12]
From 2004 to 2009, Doughty was a trustee of the British section ofUnited World Colleges.[2]
Doughty and his father had been long-time family friends of Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MPAlun Michael. Michael said, "Stephen Doughty’s father and I first met 40 years ago when I was a youth worker and he was involved with an Army youth group. I have known Stephen since he was a baby."[13] After Michael's intervention Doughty's name was included in the final short list along with four other candidates, Kate Groucutt, Karen Wilkie,Nick Thomas-Symonds andJeremy Miles. Doughty was selected in a vote by constituency Labour Party members on 14 July 2012.[14]
At the2012 Cardiff South and Penarth by-election, Doughty was elected to Parliament as MP forCardiff South and Penarth with 47.3% of the vote and a majority of 5,334.[3][15] Doughty made hismaiden speech in the House of Commons on 28 November 2012.[16]
In January 2013, Doughty was appointed to the Labour Shadow Treasury team as an aide toRachel Reeves, theShadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.[17]
Doughty was re-elected as MP for Cardiff South and Penarth at the2015 general election with a decreased vote share of 42.8% and an increased majority of 7,453.[18][19][20]
FollowingIain Wright's election as theBusiness, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee chair, Doughty succeed him in the Shadow BIS team as the Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry in a June 2015 mini-reshuffle.[21][22]
In October 2015, he was moved to a position as a Shadow Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for Africa, South Asia and International Organisations, underShadow Foreign SecretaryHilary Benn.[23]
In December 2015 Doughty supported air strikes against Syria, a decision for which he was criticised by many of his constituents and political activists via social media. He called the police to deal with the "personal threats" he had received.[24]
He supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replaceJeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour Party leadership election.[25]
In January 2016, Doughty announced that he had resigned as a shadow Foreign Minister on the liveDaily Politics programme, saying that he supported the sackedPat McFadden's views on terrorism and accusing members of the Labour leadership team of lying about the reasons for McFadden's sacking.[26] According to McFadden, he was sacked for comments in the debate on theParis bombings which condemned "the view that sees terrorist acts as always being a response or a reaction to what we in the west do".[27]
Doughty's appearance onDaily Politics became contentious after it emerged thatLaura Kuenssberg, the BBC's political editor, had arranged for Doughty to make his public announcement on the programme just beforePrime Minister's Questions. According to Labour's spokesman, it was an "unacceptable breach of the BBC's role and statutory obligations. By the BBC's own account, BBC journalists and presenters proposed and secured the resignation of a shadow minister on air ... apparently to ensure maximum news and political impact."[28] The Labour Party's Director of Communications,Seumas Milne, made a formal complaint to the BBC.[29] The BBC's head of live political programmes,Robbie Gibb, wrote to Milne: "Neither the programme production team, nor Laura, played any part in his decision to resign. As you know it is a long standing tradition that political programmes on the BBC, along with all other news outlets, seek to break stories. It is true that we seek to make maximum impact with our journalism which is entirely consistent with the BBC’s editorial guidelines and values."[29][30] Doughty said on Twitter that he had resigned "shortly before I did the interview so there was not time for spin doctors to start smearing me".[29]
At the snap2017 general election, Doughty was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 59.5% and an increased majority of 14,864.[31][32][33]
He was again re-elected at the2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 54.1% and a decreased majority of 12,737.[34][35][36]
Doughty endorsedKeir Starmer in his successful campaign in the2020 Labour Party leadership election.[37]
Starmer appointed Doughty Shadow Minister for theForeign and Commonwealth Office andDepartment for International Development, responsible for Africa and international development.[38]
In May 2021, Doughty apologised for asking a constituent to provide him withdiazepam, aClass C-controlled drug, without a prescription for anxiety ahead of a flight in 2019.[39]South Wales Police did not take further action because they determined that the allegation he possessed a controlled substance "cannot be proved in these circumstances". TheParliamentary Commissioner for Standards ruled in October 2021 that he had not broken the MPs' code of conduct.[40] The constituent who was cautioned for supplying the diazepam complained to theIndependent Office for Police Conduct, who asked South Wales Police to re-examine the case in May 2022.[41] They announced in December 2022 that they stood by their original decision.[40]
Doughty was again re-elected at the2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 44.5% and a decreased majority of 11,767.[42] Shortly after he was appointedMinister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories in theForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[4][5]
AsForeign OfficeMinister Stephen has criticised the government ofGeorgia over its crackdown on free speech and LGBT rights, saying that it is 'clear that the direction of theGeorgian Dream party risks undermining freedom of expression and assembly and further discriminating against and stigmatising Georgia's LGBT+ community, including through the introduction of theLaw on Family Values', and that he has raised 'concerns over recent legislative changes' with theGeorgian Foreign Minister Darchiashvili.[43]
Doughty lives in theSplott area of Cardiff. He has been a Cub and Scout leader since 2004, and is aCardiff Cityseason ticket holder.[44] He features in the Pinc List of leading Welsh LGBT figures.[45] Doughty is a Christian.[46] He came out as gay to family and friends in his late 20s.[47]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCardiff South and Penarth 2012–present | Incumbent |
| Margaret Thatcher | .svg) | |
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| John Major |
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| Tony Blair | ||
| Gordon Brown | ||
| David Cameron |
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| Theresa May |
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| Boris Johnson |
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| Liz Truss |
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| Rishi Sunak | ||
| Keir Starmer |
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