Jo Stevens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jo Stevens
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Secretary of State for Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | David T. C. Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Cardiff East Cardiff Central (2015–2024) |
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| Assumed office 7 May 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Jenny Willott | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 9,097 (23.3%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Joanna Meriel Stevens
6 September 1966 Swansea, Wales |
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| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Manchester Manchester Metropolitan University |
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Joanna Meriel Stevens (born 6 September 1966) is a Welsh politician. She has been the Secretary of State for Wales since July 2024. She is a member of the Labour Party.
Jo Stevens has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015. She represents Cardiff East in the UK Parliament. Before 2024, she represented Cardiff Central.
She also served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales twice. First from 2016 to 2017, and again from 2021 to 2024. From 2020 to 2021, she was the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jo Stevens was born in Swansea, Wales, on 6 September 1966. She grew up in Mynydd Isa, Flintshire. She attended Argoed High School and Elfed High School.
She went on to study law at Manchester University. In 1989, she completed her Solicitors' Professional Examination at Manchester Polytechnic.
Before becoming an MP, Stevens worked as a director at Thompsons Solicitors. This company helps people with legal issues.
Becoming a Member of Parliament
Jo Stevens was first elected as an MP for Cardiff Central on 7 May 2015. She won with a majority of 4,981 votes. She defeated the Liberal Democrat MP, Jenny Willott.
In 2015, she said she would be happy as a "backbench MP." This means an MP who is not a government minister or a shadow minister. However, she later took on important roles in the Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet.
Roles in the Shadow Cabinet
In January 2016, Jo Stevens became the shadow solicitor general. This role involves advising on legal matters for the opposition party. She also became a shadow justice minister.
In October 2016, she became the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. This role meant she was the main spokesperson for the Labour Party on Welsh issues.
She resigned from this role in January 2017. This was so she could vote against triggering Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This article was about the UK leaving the European Union, known as Brexit. She voted against her party's instructions because she opposed Brexit.
In March 2019, she again voted against her party. She supported a public vote on Brexit.
Later Roles and Current Position
Jo Stevens supports Keir Starmer, the current leader of the Labour Party. In 2020, he appointed her Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This role involved speaking for the Labour Party on topics like technology, arts, and sports.
In November 2021, she returned to the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.
In 2023, her office was affected by protestors. She described this as a difficult situation.
In the general election in July 2024, she ran for the new Cardiff East area. She won the seat with a large majority of 9,097 votes. After the election, she was appointed Secretary of State for Wales in the new government led by Keir Starmer.
On 10 July 2024, Jo Stevens became a member of the Privy Council. This is a group of senior advisors to the King. This honor allows her to use the title "The Right Honourable" for life.
Political Views
Jo Stevens believes in the union of the United Kingdom. She has opposed giving more powers to Wales in areas like policing and justice.
She was against Brexit, saying she was a "passionate European" in 2017. She wants laws to make social media companies deal with false information. She also supports making it easier for people to register to vote. She believes the voting age should be lowered to 16.
Personal Life
In January 2021, Jo Stevens was treated in hospital for COVID-19.
