Northern Ireland Exectutive

Direct rule portfolios
2005–2006	Education
2005–2006	Employment and Learning
2005–2006	Enterprise, Trade and Investment
2003–2005	Health, Social Services and Public Safety
2002–2005	Culture, Arts and Leisure
2002–2005	Environment
2002–2003	Regional Development

Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal

Life Peerage

Assumed office
8 July 2010

Member of Parliament
for Basildon

In office
1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010

Preceded by

David Amess

Succeeded by

Stephen Metcalfe

Personal details

Born

Angela Evans

7 January 1959 (age 66)
London, England

Political party

Labour Co-op

Spouse

Nigel Smith

Alma mater

Leicester Polytechnic (BA)

Angela Evans Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon (born 7 January 1959), is a British politician. She is a life peer, which means she has a special title that allows her to be a member of the House of Lords for life.

Since 2024, she has been the Leader of the House of Lords and the Lord Privy Seal. These are important roles in the UK government. She is a member of the Labour and Co-operative Parties. Before joining the House of Lords, she was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Basildon from 1997 to 2010.

Baroness Smith has held several government positions. She was an Assistant Whip and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. She also worked closely with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. After losing her MP seat in 2010, she became a member of the House of Lords. There, she served as the Labour Party's Leader of the Opposition in the Lords from 2015 to 2024.

Early Life and Education
- Early Career and Public Service
Parliamentary Career
Northern Ireland Executive Roles (2002–2006)
- Appointment and Responsibilities
Leader of the House of Lords (2024–Present)
Political Views
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Education

Angela Smith was born in London, England, on 7 January 1959. She went to Pitsea Junior School and Chalvedon Comprehensive in Basildon. Later, she studied Public Administration at Leicester Polytechnic, where she earned a degree.

In 1978, she married Nigel Smith. He is a writer who has created many history books for students.

Early Career and Public Service

From 1982 to 1983, Angela Smith trained as an accountant in the London Borough of Newham. She then worked for the League Against Cruel Sports from 1983 to 1995. In this role, she became the head of Political and Public Relations. From 1995 to 1997, she worked as a political researcher.

Angela Smith was also involved in local government. She was a member of Essex County Council starting in 1989. She also served on the Fire Authority for the County of Essex.

Parliamentary Career

Serving in the House of Commons

Angela Smith first ran for election in Southend West in 1987. Nearly ten years later, in December 1995, she was chosen to run for the Labour Party in Basildon. She was elected as the MP for Basildon in the 1997 general election. She took over the seat from the Conservative MP David Amess.

She was re-elected easily in 2001 and 2005. In December 1997, Smith introduced a new law to help reduce waste. This law successfully passed through Parliament and became the Waste Minimisation Act 1998.

Government Roles

In 2001, Smith became a Government Whip. This role helps ensure that members of a political party vote in line with their party's policies. In October 2002, she was promoted to Parliamentary under-secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

In 2006, she moved to the Department for Communities and Local Government. Here, she was responsible for Fire Services. On 28 June 2007, Smith became a Parliamentary private secretary to the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. This role allowed her to attend Cabinet meetings.

She left this role in June 2009 to join the government as Minister of State for the Third Sector. At this time, she also became a member of the Privy Council.

Moving to the House of Lords

The old Basildon seat was changed for the 2010 general election. Angela Smith ran for the new South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency but lost to the Conservative candidate Stephen Metcalfe. Changes to the constituency boundaries played a part in her defeat.

After her defeat, Angela Smith was made a Life Peer on 7 July 2010. This meant she became Baroness Smith of Basildon, representing Basildon in Essex. She officially joined the House of Lords the next day.

Smith at the Lords' dispatch box in 2021

In the House of Lords, Baroness Smith served as a Labour Spokeswoman for different areas. These included Energy and Climate Change (2010–2013), Northern Ireland (2011–2012), and the Home Office (2012–2015). She also worked as the Opposition Deputy Whip in the House of Lords from 2012 to 2015.

On 27 May 2015, she was chosen as Labour's Leader in the Lords without anyone opposing her. This made her part of the Harriet Harman's Shadow Cabinet. In June 2016, she briefly stopped attending shadow cabinet meetings but returned four months later.

In September 2017, she was recognized as one of the '100 Most Influential People on the Left' by commentator Iain Dale.

Shadow Cabinet and House of Lords Reform

In April 2020, after Jeremy Corbyn resigned as Labour leader, Keir Starmer became the new leader. Baroness Smith continued in her role as Shadow Leader of the House of Lords.

In September 2021, she spoke about the importance of supporting Keir Starmer's efforts to change the Labour Party. She believed that former leader Jeremy Corbyn should not try to disrupt these changes.

Baroness Smith strongly supports changing the House of Lords. She agrees with Labour's idea to replace the current House with a chamber where members are elected. She has called the current system "indefensible." However, she also understands that such a big change would take a lot of time and effort. She believes that a Labour government would first focus on urgent issues like the economy and the cost of living.

Northern Ireland Executive Roles (2002–2006)

Appointment and Responsibilities

In October 2002, Angela Smith was chosen by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, John Reid, to serve in a special government called a direct rule Executive. This happened after the Northern Ireland Assembly was temporarily stopped.

During this time, she held several important roles:

Minister for Regional Development (2002–2003): She looked into ways to fund Northern Ireland Water.
Minister of the Environment (2002–2005): She dealt with issues like planning decisions and protecting animals. She also recognized good housing design.
Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (2002–2005): She helped release funds for the Irish Football Association. She also highlighted the importance of creative industries to Northern Ireland's economy. She worked to introduce laws to stop racism in football.
Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (2003–2005): She made decisions about healthcare, including the location of a new maternity hospital. She also launched campaigns to tackle violence in homes. She started an inquiry into Hyponatraemia.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (2005–2006): She was involved in business and investment matters.
Minister for Employment and Learning (2005–2006): She spoke about how creative industries create jobs.
Minister of Education (2005–2006): She discussed the future of schools and was involved in debates about academic selection in schools.

Leader of the House of Lords (2024–Present)

Smith holding the Cap of Maintenance at the 2024 King's Speech.

After the Labour Party won the 2024 general election by a large margin, Baroness Smith of Basildon received a new appointment. On 5 July, she was named Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. These roles were given to her by the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

Political Views

Baroness Smith is a strong supporter of animal welfare. She is a patron of Freedom for Animals. This charity works to end the use of animals in circuses, zoos, and the exotic pet trade.

Images for kids

Official portrait, 2024
Smith at the Lords' dispatch box in 2021
Smith holding the Cap of Maintenance at the 2024 King's Speech.

Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon facts for kids

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