Owen Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Owen Smith
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 14 June 2017 – 23 March 2018
Leader	Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by	David Anderson
Succeeded by	Tony Lloyd
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 14 September 2015 – 27 June 2016
Leader	Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by	Stephen Timms (acting)
Succeeded by	Debbie Abrahams
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
In office 15 May 2012 – 14 September 2015
Leader	Ed Miliband Harriet Harman
Preceded by	Peter Hain
Succeeded by	Nia Griffith
Shadow Minister for Wales
In office 25 September 2010 – 15 May 2012
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Wayne David
Succeeded by	Nia Griffith
Member of Parliament for Pontypridd
In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by	Kim Howells
Succeeded by	Alex Davies-Jones
Personal details
Born	(1970-05-02) 2 May 1970 (age 55) Morecambe, Lancashire, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Elizabeth Wood ​ (m. 1995)​
Alma mater	University of Sussex

Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former politician from the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd from 2010 to 2019.

After finishing university, Owen Smith worked as a producer for the BBC for ten years. He then became an adviser to a government minister and later worked as a lobbyist for pharmaceutical companies. In 2010, he was elected to the House of Commons.

During his time in Parliament, he held important roles in the Labour Party. He was the Shadow Welsh Secretary from 2012 to 2015 and the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary from 2015 to 2016. In 2016, he ran to become the leader of the Labour Party but was not successful.

After the 2017 general election, he became the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. However, he was later removed from this role in 2018. He decided not to run for re-election in 2019. Since leaving Parliament in 2020, he has continued his career in lobbying, working for a pharmaceutical company.

Early Life and Career Path

Owen Smith was born in Morecambe, England, on 2 May 1970. His father, David "Dai" Smith, was a well-known Welsh historian and writer. Owen grew up in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and went to Barry Comprehensive School.

He joined the Labour Party when he was 16 years old. He later studied History and French at the University of Sussex. After university, he worked for the BBC for ten years. He produced many radio shows in both Wales and London. These included Today for BBC Radio 4 and Dragon's Eye for BBC Cymru Wales.

After his time at the BBC, Owen Smith worked in the pharmaceuticals industry for five years. He became the Head of Policy and Government Relations for Pfizer in 2005. In 2008, he moved to another pharmaceutical company called Amgen.

Political Journey

Before Becoming an MP

In 2002, Owen Smith became a special adviser to Paul Murphy. At that time, Paul Murphy was the Secretary of State for Wales. Owen Smith later followed Murphy to the Northern Ireland Office.

In 2006, while still working for Pfizer, Smith ran in a special election for the Blaenau Gwent area. He said that Pfizer supported his goal to work in public office. He lost this election to an independent candidate. During the campaign, he supported private companies helping the NHS. However, he has since said that these ideas did not work well.

Serving as a Member of Parliament

Owen Smith in 2013

After the special election, Owen Smith was chosen to be the Labour candidate for Pontypridd. This was considered a safe Labour area. In the 2010 general election, he won the seat. His win was by a smaller margin than the previous Labour MP.

He then joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. He was also appointed as a Shadow Minister for Wales. In 2012, he was promoted to Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet. He became the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales after Peter Hain stepped down.

In 2015, Owen Smith was considered a possible candidate for the Labour leadership election. However, he did not run. On 14 September 2015, he became the new Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This happened after Jeremy Corbyn was elected as the Leader of the Labour Party. In January 2016, Smith said he was interested in leading the Labour Party one day.

On 27 June 2016, Owen Smith resigned from his role as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This was part of a series of resignations from the Labour Shadow Cabinet. He resigned because he was concerned about Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. He stated that he did not believe Corbyn could continue as leader.

On 29 October 2019, Owen Smith announced he would not stand for re-election. He sent a letter to Jeremy Corbyn explaining his decision. He said it had been a great honor to serve the people of Pontypridd.

2016 Labour Leadership Election

On 10 July 2016, Owen Smith claimed that Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters were ready for the Labour Party to split. He stated this on Twitter. He also claimed that John McDonnell seemed to agree with this idea.

Three days later, on 13 July 2016, Smith announced he would run for the Labour Party leadership. He said he agreed with many of Corbyn's policies. However, he felt Corbyn could not lead Labour to win an election. He suggested that only one candidate, either himself or Angela Eagle, should go forward to a vote. He delayed his campaign launch due to a tragic event in Nice, France. When he launched his campaign on 17 July, he called for changes to the party's rules. He wanted to focus more on tackling inequality.

On 18 July 2016, Angela Eagle withdrew from the leadership race. She had fewer nominations than Smith. Smith praised Eagle and said she would be a key part of his campaign. He explained that he decided to run because the future of the Labour Party was at risk. He believed a party split was a real danger.

On 24 September 2016, Jeremy Corbyn won the Labour leadership election. He received 61.8% of the vote, while Smith received 38.2%.

After the 2017 General Election

After the 2017 United Kingdom general election, Jeremy Corbyn appointed Owen Smith as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. However, Smith later said he supported the UK staying in the European single market. He also supported a second referendum on the final Brexit deal. These views went against the Labour Party's policy at the time. Because of this, Corbyn removed Smith from his frontbench role in March 2018. Tony Lloyd replaced him.

Leaving Parliament

Owen Smith announced on Twitter that he had informed Jeremy Corbyn of his decision. He would not be standing in the 2019 United Kingdom general election.

After leaving Parliament, Smith became the UK government relations director for the pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb. In 2024, he was promoted to Vice President and General Manager for their Australia and New Zealand division.

Political Views

Owen Smith describes himself as a democratic socialist. In a July 2016 interview, he said he believes in achieving socialism within a capitalist society. He aims to improve things rather than completely overthrow the system. He has named Nye Bevan, a former Minister of Health, as his political hero. He is also a member of Labour Friends of Israel.

Economic Policies

Smith is against austerity, which means cutting public spending. He has strongly criticized the government's plans for public spending cuts. In 2010, he apologized for an article where he compared the government's austerity program to domestic violence. As Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, he criticized the government's welfare reforms. He called the bedroom tax "unlawful and discriminatory."

Regarding tax, Smith promised to reverse cuts to Corporation Tax. He also wanted to reverse cuts made to Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax.

When he launched his leadership campaign in July 2016, he proposed investing £200 million to "rebuild Britain." This included building new infrastructure and council housing. He also suggested increasing income tax rates for the highest earners to 50%. He felt that recent party policy had been "too timid." He also emphasized doubling the number of homes built.

Employment Policies

In July 2016, Smith pledged to ban zero-hour contracts if he became Labour leader. He also wanted to end the salary freeze for public sector workers. He said that public sector pay should not be frozen while living costs rise. He also planned to bring back Wage Councils for hotel, shop, and care workers. These councils would discuss fair wages and working conditions for specific industries.

During his 2016 leadership bid, Smith proposed policies to improve workers' rights. These included repealing the "Trade Unions Act." He also wanted workers to be represented on committees that decide pay. Smith also suggested replacing the Department for Work and Pensions with a new 'Ministry for Labour' and a revived Department for Social Security.

Views on the European Union

Owen Smith supported the campaign for the UK to remain in the European Union. This was during the referendum in June 2016. After the vote to leave, Smith said that people voted to leave because they felt a sense of loss in their communities. He believed they felt politicians, especially the Labour Party, had not stood up for them. He recommended putting in place policies to improve people's lives.

On 13 July 2016, after the vote to leave the EU, he promised to push for an early general election. He also said he would offer another referendum on the final Brexit deal if he became Labour leader. He stated, "I don't think we should accept we're on a definite path out." He wanted to make sure people were satisfied with the outcome.

In November 2016, Smith stated he would vote against starting Brexit negotiations. He also reaffirmed his support for a second referendum on leaving the EU. In March 2019, he voted against his party's stance. He supported an amendment for a second public vote on Brexit.

National Health Service (NHS)

During a speech in South Yorkshire in July 2016, Owen Smith proposed a new tax. This tax would be on the richest 1% of society. It would be a 15% tax on unearned income for those earning over £150,000 a year. He said this would raise £3 billion for the NHS. He also stated he would give the NHS an extra 4% funding each year.

Nuclear Defense

In a July 2016 interview, Smith said he used to be a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He stated he "fundamentally wants the world to be without nuclear bombs." He described himself as a "sceptic" of the Trident nuclear program. He favors a multilateralist approach to nuclear disarmament. In 2016, he said he would vote to renew Trident. He believed that getting rid of nuclear weapons would not happen faster by disarming alone. On 18 July 2016, he voted in favor of the government's Trident renewal program. This was in line with the Labour Party's long-standing policy.

Military Actions

In 2006, Owen Smith discussed the Iraq War. He said he thought the Labour Party's tradition of intervening to remove dictators was a "noble, valuable tradition." However, later during the same election campaign, he argued that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. He believed the world would have been safer without it.

He was among the MPs who voted in favor of the UN-backed air strikes on Libya in 2011.

In December 2015, Smith agreed with the Labour leadership. He opposed the government's plans for military action in the Syrian civil war. He called for lessons to be learned from past interventions in the Middle East. He also suggested a more diplomatic approach instead.

Personal Life

Owen Smith is married to Liz, who works as a primary school teacher. After being elected in 2010, he moved to Llantrisant from Surrey. They have three children. In 2023, after his promotion with Bristol Myers Squibb, Smith and his family moved to Melbourne, Australia.

See also

In Spanish: Owen Smith para niños