Jacqui Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Right Honourable Jacqui Smith MP |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 28 June 2007 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
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| Preceded by | John Reid |
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| In office 5 May 2006 – 28 June 2007 |
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| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Hilary Armstrong |
| Succeeded by | Geoff Hoon |
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Member of Parliament
for Redditch |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Majority | 2,716 (6.7%) |
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| Born | 3 November 1962 Malvern, England, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Hertford College, Oxford |
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith (born 3 November 1962) is a British politician for the Labour Party. She is currently the Home Secretary and has been Member of Parliament for Redditch since 1997. She was made a Member of the Privy Council in 2003.
Smith is the first female Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, and only the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister) and Margaret Beckett (Foreign Secretary). She has been tipped by political pundits [1] as potential successor to Gordon Brown following his recent slide in the opinion polls.[2]
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[edit] Early life
Born in Malvern, Worcestershire, Smith attended Dyson Perrins High School in Malvern. Her parents were teachers. Her local MP there, Conservative backbencher Sir Michael Spicer, recalled in Parliament in 2003 how he had first met her when he was addressing the sixth form at The Chase School, where Smith's mother was a teacher.[3] "So great was my eloquence that she immediately rushed off and joined the Labour party."[4] Smith went on to study for a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Hertford College, Oxford. After Oxford, she did a PGCE at Worcester College of Higher Education. Smith lived on Bromsgrove Road, Redditch, up until being made home secretary when she moved partly to London to be closer to her job, whilst keeping the family home based in her constituency in Redditch.
From 1986 to 1988, she taught Economics at Arrow Vale High School in Redditch[5], followed by a post at Worcester Sixth Form College before becoming Head of Economics and GNVQ Co-ordinator at Haybridge High School, Hagley in 1990.
[edit] Member of Parliament
She was elected MP for Redditch at the 1997 general election, becoming one of the "Blair Babes" as part of a (then) record number of female MPs elected to the House of Commons.
Smith, who has been called feminist,[6] entered the Government in July 1999 as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Employment, working with the Minister for School Standards Estelle Morris.[7] She then became a Minister of State at the Department for Health after the 2001 general election. She was appointed as the Government's deputy Minister for Women in 2003, working alongside Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt. In this role she published the Government's proposals for Civil Partnerships, a system designed to offer same-sex couples an opportunity to gain legal recognition for their relationship with an associated set of rights and responsibilities.
[edit] Minister for Schools
Following the 2005 general election, Smith, a former teacher, was appointed to serve as the Minister of State for Schools in the Department for Education and Skills, replacing Stephen Twigg who had lost his seat.[8] She received praise in this role – often outperforming her superior Ruth Kelly. Teacher trade union sources stated that Smith "talked to us on our level".[9]
[edit] Government Chief Whip
In the 2006 reshuffle she was appointed as the Government's Chief Whip. In a period when supporters of Gordon Brown were pushing Prime Minister Tony Blair to resign, she was successfully able to calm the situation down.[9] The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson described her as being effective at "making peace between the warring Blair and Brown factions".[10]
Smith was regarded as a loyal Blairite during Tony Blair's premiership, and was brought to tears by Blair's farewell appearance in the House of Commons.[9]
[edit] Home Secretary
Jacqui Smith was appointed Home Secretary in Gordon Brown's first Cabinet reshuffle of 28 June 2007. Just one day into her new job bombs were found in London and a terrorist attack took place the following day. On 24 January 2008 she announced new sweeping powers, including the proposal to hold "terrorist suspects" or those "linked to terrorism" for forty-two days without charge.[11] Smith has also reversed the government's decision in 2004 to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug, returning it to class B status in 2009.[12]
Also in January, Smith was involved in controversy when she admitted that she wouldn't feel safe on the street of London at night. Such statements were compounded by her suggestion that walking on streets at night wasn't "a thing that people do". Critics suggested her statements were an admission that the government had failed to tackle crime effectively. [13]
[edit] Voting record in Parliament
Smith hardly ever rebels (votes against) the position of her Party and in the most divisive votes over Labour's term she has voted according to the Party line (They Work For You).[14] Her position on some of the divisive or controversial votes since 2001:
- Voted against a transparent Parliament.
- Voted for introducing a smoking ban.
- Voted for introducing ID cards.
- Voted for introducing foundation hospitals.
- Voted for introducing student top-up fees.
- Voted for Labour's anti-terrorism laws.
- Voted for the Iraq war.
- Voted against an investigation into the Iraq war.
- Voted for replacing Trident.
- Voted for the hunting ban.
- Voted for equal gay rights.
[edit] Personal life
Smith married Richard J Timney (born 1963 in Ealing) in October 1987 in Malvern and has two sons (born September 1993 and June 1998). Her eldest son enjoys playing rugby and was part of his school County Champion side.
On the 19 July 2007 she admitted to smoking cannabis a number of times in Oxford in the 1980s. She at first stated her behaviour had been wrong, and urged people not to try it especially considering the side effects and alleged strengthening of cannabis that had occurred since that time. Later on in the statement, she made a virtue of her having smoked cannabis, as having "given her the experiences to understand that she wants crime tackled". This information was made public the day after Gordon Brown appointed her head of a new government review of the UK Drugs strategy. The incident left some in the news to rename her Jacqui Spliff,[15] and Wacky Baccy Jacqui.
She is a very keen supporter of Aston Villa who she regularly enjoys watching in her spare time.[16]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2008/06/premier_perform.html#commentsanchor
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/feb/20/uk.polls
- ^ Minister visits high school, This is Worcestershire, 8 June 2001.
- ^ House of Commons Hansard, 1 April 2003, column 876: Michael Spicer on Jacqui Smith.
- ^ New Minister of State for Health, UK Transplant Bulletin, Autumn 2001
- ^ Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Sorry, Billie, but prostitution is not about champagne and silk negligees
- ^ "Education ministers change in reshuffle", BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
- ^ "Adviser Adonis made a minister", BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
- ^ a b c "First woman at the Home Office: Jacqui Smith", The Independent . Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Profile: Jacqui Smith", BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
- ^ UK plans tougher terrorism laws - CNN.com
- ^ Cannabis to be upgraded to class B drug, Daily Telegraph, retrieved on 15 May 2008.
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3216678.ece
- ^ http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/jacqui_smith/redditch
- ^ ITV evening news, 19 July 2007, "I smoked cannabis"
- ^ Government Approval | Aston Villa | News | Football News | Football News
[edit] External links
- Jacqui Smith official site
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Jacqui Smith MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Jacqui Smith MP
- [1]
- Profile
- BBC Politics page
- Open Directory Project — Jacqui Smith directory category
[edit] Video clips
[edit] Offices held
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Redditch 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Barbara Roche |
Deputy Minister for Women 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by Meg Munn |
| Preceded by Stephen Twigg |
Minister of State for Schools 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by Jim Knight |
| Preceded by Hilary Armstrong |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 2006–2007 |
Succeeded by Geoff Hoon |
| Government Chief Whip 2006–2007 |
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| Preceded by John Reid |
Home Secretary 2007–present |
Incumbent |
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