Lucy Powell

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Lucy Powell
MP
File:Lucy Powell crop.jpeg
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Assumed office
13 September 2015
Leader Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by Tristram Hunt
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
In office
5 November 2014 – 13 September 2015
Leader Ed Miliband
Harriet Harman (Acting)
Preceded by Michael Dugher
Succeeded by Tom Watson
Member of Parliament
for Manchester Central
Assumed office
15 November 2012
Preceded by Tony Lloyd
Majority 21,639 (47.7%)
Personal details
Born (1974-10-10) 10 October 1974 (age 49)
Manchester, United Kingdom
Political party Labour Co-operative
Children 2 children
Alma mater Somerville College, Oxford
King's College London
Website Official website

Lucy Maria Powell (born 10 October 1974)[1] is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and Member of Parliament for Manchester Central in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. She was first elected at the Manchester Central by-election in November 2012. In September 2015 she was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet.

Early life

Powell was born in Moss Side. She attended Beaver Road Primary School and Parrs Wood High School in the suburb of Didsbury, and then studied for A-levels at Xaverian College.[2] She read chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford and King's College London, gaining a Bachelor of Science (BSc).[citation needed]

Powell joined the Labour Party at the age of 15.

Political career

Powell started her career working as a parliamentary assistant for Beverley Hughes MP after having worked at the Labour Party Headquarters in Millbank Tower during the 1997 general election campaign.[3]

She joined the pro-Euro and pro-EU Treaty pressure group Britain in Europe (BiE) originally in a public relations role and later as head of regional campaigning.[4] She later replaced Simon Buckby as Campaign Director of BiE and in this capacity she worked with Chris Patten, Neil Kinnock, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander.[5]

After Britain in Europe was wound down in June 2005 because of the referendum "No" votes in France and the Netherlands, she worked for the non-departmental public body or quango NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) inititally in a public affairs role and later to establish and manage the Manchester Innovation Fund project.

She was selected as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Manchester Withington in April 2007 to contest the seat against the incumbent Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, John Leech for the 2010 general election. In her leaflets Powell promised to stick up for Withington residents and stay in the area. She failed to defeat Leech and moved to the safe seat of Manchester Central.

From May 2010 to September 2010 Powell managed Ed Miliband's successful campaign for the Labour Party leadership.[6]

She then served as Ed Miliband's acting and later deputy chief of staff from September 2010 to April 2012.

She was selected by the local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) in April 2012 for the 15 November 2012 Manchester Central by-election. She was chosen (with 400 party members eligible to vote) from a shortlist of four candidates which also included local councillor Mike Amesbury; local councillor Rosa Battle and London councillor Patrick Vernon. The by-election was triggered by Tony Lloyd who stepped down as its MP to contest the England and Wales Police and Crime Commissioner elections, 2012 for Greater Manchester Police area.

Powell was given the position of Shadow Education Secretary on 13 September 2015 by Jeremy Corbyn, succeeding Tristram Hunt.

Member of Parliament (2012–present)

Powell was elected at the Manchester Central by-election held in November 2012. She won the election with a majority of 9,936 votes[7] and is Manchester's first female Labour member of parliament.[8] The voter turnout of 18.2% at the by-election is believed to be the lowest ever in a by-election since the Second World War.[9] Powell also became the only woman elected from Manchester since 1964.[10]

A month after her election, Powell announced she was pregnant with her second child. On 27 May 2013 she gave birth to a boy, Tom James Williamson.[11] In December, The Sun published a news story featuring a list of the "Top 10 Laziest MPs" based on voting records, without acknowledging that Powell had been on maternity leave.[12] The article also failed to note that Powell had been paired.[12] The Sun removed its article from its website and later printed an apology to Powell in its newspaper.[13]

In November 2014 she was appointed shadow Cabinet Office minister and vice-chair of the 2015 General Election campaign by Ed Miliband.[14] Her appearance on Daily Politics on 19 December was reported by several newspapers for refusing to say who published an anti-UKIP document and for not remembering Ed Miliband's six-point plan which she promoted.

In a further interview on 29 March 2015, she told Andrew Neil: 'In the real world where I live, OK, unlike where you live Andrew,'[15][not in citation given] (in reference to figures he had provided on zero hours contracts which contradicted her own).

She was vice-chairman of Labour's 2015 general election campaign, which saw Labour suffer a net loss of 26 seats including 40 in Scotland.[16] She wrote a letter of protest to the BBC about their coverage of the election, saying: 'Your bulletins and output have become disproportionately focused on the SNP and Tory claims that Labour would enter into a deal which would damage the rest of the UK … We strongly object not only to the scale of your coverage but also the apparent abandonment of any basic news values, with so much reporting now becoming extremely repetitive.'[17]

Patrick Wintour of The Guardian described this letter as 'desperate'.[17] She was heavily criticised for allegedly saying that Labour's election pledges were not 'carved in stone', although she responded she had been quoted out of context.[18] She was also responsible for Ed Miliband's interview with Russell Brand.[19] As a result of these gaffes coupled to the result, Tanya Gold of The Times described her as 'discredited.'[20] Powell herself accepted 'I bear my share of responsibility in this.'[21]

As Shadow Education Secretary, she has argued for bringing free schools and academies under Local Education Authority control.[22]

Political views

In a July 2012 interview, she stated: 'I've always said it's never been economically right for Britain to be part of the Euro, but I've always argued that Britain should be at the centre of Europe rather than on its fringes.'[23]

Personal life

She is married to James Williamson, an emergency medicine doctor, and has three children – a step-son, daughter and a son who was born on 27 May 2013.[23]

She supports Manchester City football club.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/lucy-powell-lab-602060
  3. ↑ http://labourlist.org/2009/07/ppc-profile-lucy-powell/
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Florence Horsbrugh was a Manchester member from 1950 to 1959, and Eveline Hill from 1950 to 1964 The Big Interview at manchesterconfidential.com
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. video: 8:29
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ The Independent 26/9/2015
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Manchester Central
2012–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
2014–2015		 Succeeded by
Tom Watson
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Education
2015–present		 Incumbent
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