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Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

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The Right Honourable
The Baroness Jones
of Whitchurch
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded bySaqib Bhatti
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byOffice established
Baroness-in-waiting
Government Whip
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 July 2006
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born (1955-05-22) 22 May 1955 (age 69)
Political partyLabour
Alma materWhitchurch High School
University of Sussex

Margaret Beryl Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (born 22 May 1955)[1] is a British Labour Peer and previously a trade union official and Labour politician. She was Chair of the Labour Party from 2000 to 2001. She has served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation and as a Baroness in Waiting since July 2024.

Early life

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Jones was born in Cardiff to Bill and Audrey Jones, and was educated at Whitchurch High School. She then studied at the University of Sussex, gaining a BA in Sociology.[1][2] She now lives in Hove.[3]

Non-political positions

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Jones was Director of Policy and Public Affairs of the trade union UNISON until 2006. In 1979 she became a regional official of National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), which merged into UNISON.

She has a background as a housing campaigner and environmentalist as well as fighting low pay and discrimination at work. She was previously a trustee of Shelter and the Waste & Resources Action Programme as well as being on the board of the Circle 33 Housing Trust.[4] She has been a Development Board member of ClientEarth,[5] board member of Ombudsman Services, Chair of Rothamsted Enterprises, and President of Friends of the South Downs.[citation needed]

In 2020, Lady Jones was appointed as a member of the South Downs National Park Authority.

Political career

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Labour Party positions

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Jones was a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) within the trade union section from 1993 to 2005. She was elected Chair of the Labour Party in 2000, the year the Prime Minister Tony Blair controversially appointed Charles Clarke to be the similarly named Party Chairman.[6] She was co-convener, along with Tony Blair, of the NEC Joint Policy Committee for much of her time on the NEC.

Unsuccessful parliamentary candidate

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Jones was the Labour Party parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Blaenau Gwent at the 2005 general election, the safest Labour seat in Wales, and fifth safest in the UK. She was selected from a women-only shortlist which was controversially imposed upon the local party;[7] subsequently eight of twelve members of the local executive resigned in protest.[8] The retiring MP Llew Smith also criticised the selection method.[9]

Peter Law, the Labour Welsh Assembly Member for the constituency, resigned from the party and stood against her as an independent. Prior to the announcement of Law's rumoured candidacy, Jones stated that Law would be "very foolish" to stand against her. She argued "Blaenau Gwent is solidly Labour and I don't think people will vote for anyone else."[10]

Law won the seat with a majority of 9,121 votes, creating one of the media highlights of the election. The Daily Telegraph described Jones' defeat as "one of the most spectacular general election results of modern times".[11]

House of Lords

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Following her election defeat, Jones was nominated for a Life Peerage in 2005 by the Labour Party, according to a list leaked to The Times.[12][13][14] This leaked list eventually led to the Cash for Peerages scandal in which Jones was not implicated. On 10 April 2006, her nomination for a peerage was officially announced,[15] and she was gazetted as Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, of Whitchurch in the County of South Glamorgan on 5 June 2006.[16] Jones' peerage was widely criticised, with Law stating "That is the way New Labour works. It's a poor example of patronage and power." Labour MP Paul Flynn was also critical, he argued: "This is standing democracy on its head. The House of Lords shouldn't be used to reward a candidate who has been emphatically rejected by the electorate."[17]

On 16 November 2006, she made her maiden speech in the House of Lords during a debate on the Queen's Speech.[18]

In June 2010 Jones joined Labour's Shadow Ministerial Team, as Labour's House of Lords spokeswoman on Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. She was then promoted to the Shadow Education Minister. From 2015, she was Labour's Shadow Environment Minister in the Lords.

In July 2024, she was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation and as a Baroness in Waiting.[19][20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Dod's Parliamentary Companion - Google Books
  2. ^ Martin Shipton (17 February 2005). "Controversial candidate strikes back at 'smear'". Western Mail. WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  3. ^ Brighton and Hove News » Brighton Labour member accused of spitting at party meeting makes formal complaint
  4. ^ "Maggie Jones". Labour Lords. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Development Board". ClientEarth. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016.
  6. ^ Roy Hattersley (26 July 2001). "Blair mistook his Clarke for a chair". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
  7. ^ "Row as candidate elected". BBC News. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  8. ^ "Resignations over women-only shortlist". BBC News. 12 December 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  9. ^ "Victorious Law attacks 'thuggery'". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  10. ^ Martin Shipton (17 February 2005). "Controversial candidate strikes back at 'smear'". WalesOnline. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Peter Law". The Daily Telegraph. 26 April 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  12. ^ Greg Hurst (8 November 2005). "Sleaze row as election donors get peerages". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  13. ^ Martin Shipton (10 November 2005). "Peerage for woman who lost safest seat". Western Mail. WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  14. ^ "Losing candidate may become peer". BBC News. 9 November 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  15. ^ "Working Life Peers List". Number10.gov.uk. 10 April 2006. Archived from the original on 14 April 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  16. ^ "No. 58005". The London Gazette. 8 June 2006. p. 7857.
  17. ^ Losing candidate tipped for peerage | South Wales Argus
  18. ^ Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (16 November 2006). "Debate on the Address". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 687. United Kingdom: House of Lords. col. 33–35.
  19. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
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Political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Labour Party
2000–2001 		Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Ladies
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch 		Followed by
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