Owen Smith | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 14 June 2017 – 23 March 2018 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | David Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Tony Lloyd |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |
| In office 14 September 2015 – 27 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Stephen Timms (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Debbie Abrahams |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | |
| In office 15 May 2012 – 14 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband Harriet Harman |
| Preceded by | Peter Hain |
| Succeeded by | Nia Griffith |
| Shadow Minister for Wales | |
| In office 25 September 2010 – 15 May 2012 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Wayne David |
| Succeeded by | Nia Griffith |
| Member of Parliament forPontypridd | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Kim Howells |
| Succeeded by | Alex Davies-Jones |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1970-05-02)2 May 1970 (age 55) Morecambe, Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex |
| Website | Official website |
Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970)[2] is a British lobbyist and former politician. A member of theLabour Party, he was theMember of Parliament (MP) forPontypridd from2010 to2019.
After graduating from theUniversity of Sussex, Smith worked as a radio and television producer for theBBC for a decade, then as aspecial adviser forWelsh SecretaryPaul Murphy, and as a politicallobbyist forPfizer andAmgen before being elected to theHouse of Commons. Smith went on to serve asShadow Welsh Secretary underEd Miliband from 2012 until 2015, and then asShadow Work and Pensions Secretary underJeremy Corbyn from 2015 until heresigned in June 2016.
On 13 July 2016, he contested theleadership of the Labour Party and was defeated. Following the2017 general election, Corbyn appointed Smith asShadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Corbyn sacked him from the Labour frontbench in March 2018 after he publicly called for a referendum on the finalBrexit deal, a position that was against Labour policy of the time. Smith did not stand for reelection in2019.
In 2020, after leaving Parliament, he resumed his lobbying career when he joined pharmaceutical companyBristol Myers Squibb as their UK government relations director, eventually being promoted to Vice President and General Manager of their Australia and New Zealand division in 2024.
Smith was born inMorecambe,Lancashire,[3] the son of the Welsh historian and writerDavid "Dai" Smith,[4] a former chair of theArts Council of Wales.[5] He was brought up inBarry, Vale of Glamorgan, and attendedBarry Comprehensive School. He joined theLabour Party aged 16, and later read History and French at theUniversity of Sussex.[3] He worked for theBBC as a radio producer for ten years, working on a variety of programmes in bothWales and London, includingToday forBBC Radio 4 and the weekly politics programmeDragon's Eye forBBC Cymru Wales.[6]
Smith then worked in the biotechnology andpharmaceuticals industry for five years, and became Head of Policy and Government Relations for pharmaceutical corporationPfizer in 2005.[7][8][2] After leaving Pfizer in September 2008, he joinedAmgen, another pharmaceutical company.[7]
Smith became aspecial adviser forPaul Murphy, at the time theSecretary of State for Wales, in 2002.[3] He later followed Murphy to theNorthern Ireland Office.
In 2006, while still Head of Policy and Government Relations for Pfizer, Smith fought the2006 Blaenau Gwent by-election. At the time he said that Pfizer had been "extremely supportive" of his aspirations to public office.[7] He lost to independent candidateDai Davies, polling 37% of the vote while Davies polled 46.2%. During the by-election campaign, Smith spoke withWales Online and expressed his support for the private sector playing a supportive role in the NHS,private finance initiative (PFI) schemes,[8] but has since described such schemes as a failure.[9]
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Subsequently, he was selected as the candidate for the safeLabour seat ofPontypridd and won it by a majority of 2,785 votes over theLiberal Democrat candidate at the2010 general election, a much narrower margin than that of the previous Labour MP,Kim Howells, with the Labour majority falling by 25.7%.[10] He then joined theWelsh Affairs Select Committee and was appointed as a Shadow minister for Wales.[11]
In 2012, Smith was promoted toEd Miliband's Shadow Cabinet asShadow Secretary of State for Wales, afterPeter Hain stepped down.[12]
Smith was named as a potential contender in the2015 Labour leadership election to replaceEd Miliband.[13] Ultimately, nothing came of this. On 14 September 2015, he was named as the newShadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the election ofJeremy Corbyn asLeader of the Labour Party.[14] On 9 January 2016, Smith voiced an interest in eventually standing for the Labour leadership, saying it would be an "incredible honour and privilege" to do the job.[15]
On 27 June 2016, following themass resignations from the Labour Shadow Cabinet after the British electorate narrowly voted in favour of leaving the European Union in theEU membership referendum, Smith announced he was stepping down as the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. He resigned over concerns about the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, saying "It breaks my heart to say I cannot see how he can continue as leader."[16]
On 29 October 2019, following a Parliamentary vote to back a 12 December general election, Smith tendered his resignation as an MP. He stated: "For political and personal reasons, I have written tonight to Jeremy Corbyn informing him of my decision not to stand at the coming General Election. It has been a great honour and a privilege to serve the people of the Pontypridd Constituency."[17]
On 10 July 2016, Owen Smith claimed Corbyn and his allies were prepared to see the party split. He claimed on Twitter: "On July 27 I asked Jeremy Corbyn if he was prepared to see our party split & worse, wanted it to. He offered no answer".[18] Smith also claimed "In the same meeting, in response to the same question [John McDonnell] shrugged his shoulders and said 'if that's what it takes'."[19][20]
Three days later, on 13 July 2016, Smith announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the leadership ballot. He said that he supported many of Corbyn's policies but that Corbyn was "not a leader who can lead us into an election and win for Labour."[21] He suggested that the party's MPs or NEC could choose between him andAngela Eagle, so that only one of the two would go forward to a ballot. He postponed the scheduled official launch of his campaign in Pontypridd on 15 July following theBastille Day attack in Nice, which he described as "heartbreaking".[22] In launching his campaign on 17 July, he called for a rewriting ofClause IV of the party's constitution to make a specific reference to tackling inequality, which he said should be "right at the heart of everything that we do".[23]
On 18 July 2016,Angela Eagle pulled out of the leadership race because she had approximately 20 fewer nominations than Smith. In an interview, Smith offered the following endorsement of the former contender: "Angela is a star in the Labour firmament. She will be at my right hand throughout this contest and if I am successful, Angela will be alongside me as my right hand woman."[24][25] He explained that his decision to run for leader was partly because the future of the Labour Party was at risk, stating that the "possibility of split is dangerously real".[26]
On 24 September 2016, Corbyn soundly defeated Smith in the Labour leadership election, securing 61.8% of the vote to Smith's 38.2%.[27]
Following the2017 general election, Corbyn appointed Smith asShadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.[28] After Smith announced his support for the UK to remain in theEuropean single market and his support for a second EU referendum (a breach of shadowcabinet collective responsibility),[29] Corbyn fired Smith from the Labour frontbench.[29] He was replaced byTony Lloyd, who served previously in the Blair government and as Shadow Housing Minister under Corbyn.[29]
Smith announced onTwitter that he had written to Corbyn about his intention to step down at the2019 general election.[30]
After leaving Parliament, Smith became the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical companyBristol Myers Squibb.[31]
Smith identifies as ademocratic socialist.[32] In a July 2016 interview withThe Guardian he stated, "I'm someone who believes that we live in a capitalist society and that the Labour Party is about trying to achieve socialism within that ... Ameliorating the situation, not overthrowing it by revolution."[9] In an interview withChannel 4 News, Smith specified his position as follows: "I am on the left of the Labour Party, I share many of Jeremy's values but I think I can talk about modernising those values".[33] He has namedNye Bevan, who served as Minister of Health (1945–1951), as his political hero.[34] He is a member ofLabour Friends of Israel.[35]
Smith claims he opposesausterity and has been strongly critical ofChancellorGeorge Osborne's plan ofpublic spending cuts.[34] In May 2010, he apologised for an online article in which he compared thecoalition government's austerity programme to domestic violence.[36] AsShadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Smith attacked the government'swelfare reforms, calling thebedroom tax "unlawful and discriminatory".[37] He followed the party whip by abstaining on theWelfare Reform and Work bill at itssecond reading on 20 July 2015,[38] after voting for an amendment that set out the party's objections to aspects of it.[39] On 27 October, Smith followed the party whip by voting against the bill at itsthird reading.[40]
In regard to tax, Smith promised to reverse cuts in Corporation Tax due to take place up until 2020 whilst reversing the cuts made to Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax in the Summer Budget.[41]
At the launch of his party leadership campaign in July 2016, he proposed that £200 million be invested to "rebuild Britain", defined by theBBC as "building new infrastructure and council housing".[33] He also suggested thatincome tax rates on the highest paid should be increased, with a top rate of 50%, saying that recent party policy had been "too timid".[42] In an interview withThe Guardian in mid-July, Smith said that housing – doubling the number of homes built – would be an important part of his platform.[43]
In late July 2016, Smith pledged that, if elected as Leader of the Labour Party, he would banzero-hour contracts and end the salary freeze for public sector workers, stating that "the public sector pay freeze cannot continue while the costs – of housing and heating, transport and childcare – continue to rise".[44][45] He said he would also reintroduceWage Councils for hotel, shop and care workers, most of which were abolished during the 1980s and 1990s. He said about the councils that "I think there's a real case for re-inventing modern wage councils, operating sector by sector, looking at the specific terms and conditions in individual sectors and arguing for better terms and wages for workers in those sectors ... They are very powerful way in which you have an independent debate about the right wage levels and argue in that forum for better terms and conditions".[46][47]
In his 2016 leadership bid, Smith released proposals for policies aimed at improvingworkers' rights, such as a repeal of the "Trade Unions Act" and a commitment to ensure workers' representation on remuneration committees. Smith also proposed replacing the currentDepartment for Work and Pensions with a new 'Ministry for Labour' and a revived Department for Social Security.[48][49]
Smith supported the campaign for the UK toremain in theEuropean Union, at thereferendum on Britain's membership in June 2016. After the referendum, Smith said that those who had voted to leave the EU had done so "because they felt a sense of loss in their communities, decline, cuts that have hammered away at vital public services and they haven't felt that any politicians, certainly not the politicians they expect to stand up for them, the Labour Party, has been standing up for them." His recommendation was to "put in place concrete policies that will bring real improvements to people's lives so I'm talking about a British New Deal for every part of Britain ..."[50][51]
On 13 July 2016, following the vote toleave the EU, he pledged that he would press for an early general election or offer a further referendum on the final 'Brexit' deal drawn up by the new prime minister, were he to be electedLabour leader.[52] He also said: "I don't think we should accept we're on a definite path out. I think we need to make sure people are satisfied".[42] According toThe Guardian, Smith was in favour of a second referendum on "whatever Brexit deal May's team negotiates with the other 27 EU member states",[43] although a BBC report describes his position as "Would be 'tempted' to call a second EU referendum."[33]
Smith stated in November 2016 that he would vote againstthe invocation of Article 50 to commence Brexit negotiations, and reaffirmed he supported a second referendum on British withdrawal from the EU.[53][54] In the series of Parliamentary votes on Brexit in March 2019, Smith voted against the Labour Party whip and in favour of an amendment tabled by members ofThe Independent Group for a second public vote.[55]
During a speech inSouth Yorkshire in July 2016, he said he wanted to create a tax on the richest 1% in society, which would be at a rate of 15% onunearned income for earners over £150,000 a year, which would help to fund theNHS. He said that this would raise £3 billion for the health service. He then went on to say that he would give the NHS an extra 4% funding per year.[56][44]
When interviewed on theToday programme in July 2016, Smith revealed that he used to be a member of theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament and "fundamentally wants the world to be without nuclear bombs."[57] He has described himself as being a "sceptic" of theTrident nuclear programme and as favouring amultilateralist approach tonuclear disarmament (a position he noted as beingBevanite).[58] In 2016, he stated that he would vote to renew Trident, saying: "I want a world without nuclear weapons altogether, but I don't think we hasten that by divesting."[42] Smith did vote in favour of the government's Trident renewal programme motion on 18 July 2016, as did another 139 Labour MPs, in line with long-standing party policy on at-sea nuclear deterrent.[59]
In 2006, Smith said while discussing theIraq War that "I thought at the time the tradition of the Labour Party and the tradition of left-wing engagement to remove dictators was a noble, valuable tradition".[8] However, later during the same by-election campaign, in an interview withThe Daily Telegraph, Smith argued that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake and "the world would have been a safer place if we hadn't done it."[60]
He was amongst the 557 MPs who voted in favour of theUN-backedair strikes on Libya in 2011.[61]
In December 2015, Smith sided with the Labour leadership by opposing the government's plans for military intervention in theSyrian civil war.[62] He called for lessons to be learned from past intervention in the Middle East and a more diplomatic approach to be pursued instead.[63]
He is married to Liz, who is a primary school teacher,[64] and moved toLlantrisant after being elected in 2010, having previously lived inSurrey. They have three children.[33][65] In 2023 after his promotion withBristol Myers Squibb, Smith and his family relocated toMelbourne, Australia.[66]
he fell in love with Liz Wood
said voters backed Brexit because they didn't feel the Labour Party stood up for them
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPontypridd 2010–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Wales 2012–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2017–2018 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
