Wayne David | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales | |
| In office 5 October 2008 – 11 May 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Huw Irranca-Davies |
| Succeeded by | David Jones |
| Member of Parliament forCaerphilly | |
| In office 7 June 2001 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Ron Davies |
| Succeeded by | Chris Evans |
| Leader of theEuropean Parliamentary Labour Party | |
| In office 1994–1998 | |
| Party Leader | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Pauline Green |
| Succeeded by | Alan Donnelly |
| Member of the European Parliament forSouth Wales Central South Wales (1989–1994) | |
| In office 15 June 1989 – 10 June 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Win Griffiths |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-07-01)1 July 1957 (age 68) Bridgend, Wales |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouses | |
| Alma mater | University College, Cardiff (BA,PGCE) University College, Swansea |
Sir Wayne David (born 1 July 1957) is a Welsh politician who served asMember of Parliament (MP) forCaerphilly from 2001 to 2024. A member of theLabour Party, he was Leader of theEuropean Parliamentary Labour Party from 1994 to 1998. As aMember of the European Parliament, he representedSouth Wales from 1989 to 1994 andSouth Wales Central from 1994 to 1999.
David served in government as anAssistant Whip from 2007 to 2008 andParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales from 2008 to 2010. He was a Shadow Minister under everyLeader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2021, andParliamentary Private Secretary toEd Miliband during his tenure in the role. He was ranked as the best MP in the United Kingdom by constituents inChange.org's People-Power Index in 2019.[1] He wasknighted in the2024 Birthday Honours for Parliamentary and political service.[2]
Wayne David was born inBridgend, the son of a teacher and grandson of a coal miner. He grew up in the village ofCefn Cribwr and later attended Cynffig Comprehensive School before attendingCardiff University, where he was awarded aBA in History and Welsh History in 1979. After studying Economic History atSwansea University, he returned to Cardiff and qualified as a teacher in 1983 with aPGCE from University College Cardiff. He was awarded the Charles Morgan Prize for Welsh history in 1979.
David taught history at theBrynteg Comprehensive School,Bridgend from 1983 to 1985, when he left to work for theWorkers' Educational Association. He became the chairman ofWar on Want Cymru in 1987, stepping aside in 1989. He joined theUnited Nations Association's Cardiff branch in 1989.
David was an elected representative on theWelsh Executive of the Labour Party from 1981 to 1982 and 1986 to 1989. He was served as a councillor to the Cefn Cribwr Community Council in 1985, and was its chairman from 1986 until 1990. He was a member of theLabour Party National Executive Committee from 1994 to 1998.
David was elected asMember of the European Parliament forSouth Wales in1989, and re-elected toSouth Wales Central in1994 following constituency boundary changes. He served as Leader of theEuropean Parliamentary Labour Party from 1994 to 1998, and was previously treasurer of the group from 1989 to 1991.
He stood down as an MEP to contest theRhondda in the firstNational Assembly for Wales elections in1999. David lost to thePlaid Cymru candidate by over 2,000 votes.
David was first elected to theHouse of Commons at the2001 general election, when he was elected as MP forCaerphilly with 58.2% of the vote and a majority of 14,425.[3][4] He made hismaiden speech on 17 June 2001, in which he called for a new hospital in his constituency.[5]
David was a member of theEuropean Scrutiny Committee from 2001 to 2007. In 2005, he was appointed asParliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to theMinistry of Defence team and then subsequently toAdam Ingram,Minister of State for the Armed Forces. He resigned as a PPS on 6 September 2006, along with a number of others, citingPrime MinisterTony Blair's refusal to name a departure date.
At the2005 general election, David was re-elected as MP for Caerphilly, with a decreased vote share of 56.6% and an increased majority of 15,359.[6][7]
AfterGordon Brown became Prime Minister, David was appointed as an AssistantWhip to theDepartment for Work and Pensions andWales Office in July 2007. Following the October 2008 government reshuffle, he was promoted toParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales.
At the2010 general election, David was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 44.9% and a decreased majority of 10,755.[8][9]
Following Labour's defeat at the 2010 general election, he served as Shadow Wales Minister from May to October 2010. David was appointed ShadowEurope Minister in October 2011. He served as Shadow Political and Constitutional Reform Minister from October 2011 until October 2013, when he became PPS to opposition leader Ed Miliband alongsideKaren Buck. At the2015 general election, David was again re-elected with a decreased vote share of 44.3% and a decreased majority of 10,073.[10][11][12]
In July 2015, he was appointed to shadow theCabinet Office,Scotland Office, andJustice Department with three portfolios; Political and Constitutional Reform, Scotland, and Youth Justice. David was re-appointed to the roles by Labour LeaderJeremy Corbyn in September 2015, but resigned the following June after losing confidence in his leadership. He supportedOwen Smith in the2016 Labour leadership election.[13]
David re-joined the Corbyn's front bench in October 2016 as Shadow Armed Forces and Defence Procurement Minister. He was re-elected at the snap2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 54.5% and an increased majority of 12,078.[14][15] He was again re-elected at the2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 44.9% and a decreased majority of 6,833.[16][17]
David briefly departed the front bench from January until April 2020, when he became ShadowMiddle East and North Africa Minister. He stood down from the position in December 2021,[18] and announced in February 2022 his intention to retire at the2024 general election.[19] He chose not to seek re-election due to his age.[20] He returned to the position of ShadowMiddle East and North Africa Minister in June 2023.[21]
David is a member ofLabour Friends of Israel.[22]
He stood down as an MP at the2024 general election.
In 2025 he replaced former Labour MPKevin Brenan asChief Special Adviser to First MinisterEluned Morgan. He stepped down on 25 July 2025 for health reasons saying there was "no political reason whatsoever" for his resignation.[23]
David was to marriedCatherine Thomas from 1991 until their divorce in 2007. Thomas was employed by David during his tenure in theEuropean Parliament, and later served as aWelsh Assembly member. He married Jayne Edwards in 2016.[24]
| European Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of European Parliament forSouth Wales Central 1989–1999 | Constituency abolished |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCaerphilly 2001–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Europe 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces 2016–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theEuropean Parliamentary Labour Party 1994–1998 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |