Anneliese Jane Dodds (born 16 March 1978) is a British
Labour and Co-operative
Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party.
Candidat ...
politician and public policy analyst serving as
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, and
Chair of the Labour Party
The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position ...
since 2021. She was
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition and ...
from April 2020 to May 2021, the first woman to hold the position. She has been
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Oxford East
Oxford East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Anneliese Dodds of the Labour Party, who also serves as party chair.
Created in 1983, the constituency covers the eastern and southern parts of Oxfor ...
since 2017 and was a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(MEP) for
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
from
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
to 2017.
Born in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and privately educated at
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational Independent school (UK) for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6.
History
Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th century ...
, Dodds read
Philosophy, Politics and Economics as an undergraduate at
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...
and subsequently took a master's degree in
Social Policy
Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society.
Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...
at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
and a PhD in Government at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
. She lectured in Public Policy at
King’s College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
and
Aston University
Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...
. After joining the
Labour Party, she unsuccessfully contested
Billericay
Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...
at the
2005 general election and
Reading East at the
2010 general election.
Dodds was elected to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
at the
2014 European Parliament election
The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014.
It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...
. She resigned her
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
seat when she was elected to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
at the
2017 general election. She served in the
Shadow Treasury Team of Shadow Chancellor
John McDonnell
John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...
as
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In British politics, the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury (or colloquially Shadow Financial Secretary) is a shadow ministerial position of the Official Opposition that acts as the primary opposition to the equivalent position Financial ...
from 2017 to 2020. In this role, she supported calls for a confirmatory
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. In April 2020, she was appointed
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition and ...
by new Labour leader
Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...
. She was demoted from the role in a
reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of Political minister, ministers in their Cabinet (government), cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ...
after the
2021 local elections, and appointed Chair of the Party and Policy Review. She gained the additional
Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary brief in September 2021, following
Marsha de Cordova
Marsha Chantal de Cordova (born 23 January 1976) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Battersea since 2017. She was Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities from 6 April 2020 until her resig ...
's resignation.
Early life and career
Anneliese Jane Dodds was born in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Scotland and was educated at the council-run Dunnottar Primary School and, later, the private co-educational day school
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational Independent school (UK) for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6.
History
Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th century ...
. She moved to southeast England in 1996, where she studied
Philosophy, Politics and Economics at
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...
. While at Oxford, she was involved with student activism and ran for president of
Oxford University Student Union
The Oxford University Student Union is the official students' union of the University of Oxford. It is better known in Oxford under the branding Oxford SU or by its previous name of OUSU. It exists to represent Oxford University students in t ...
(OUSU) in 1998. She was fined £75 for breaking election rules by canvassing using email.
In 1999, she became OUSU president, serving until 2000. She took part in protests against the introduction of
tuition fees
Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spen ...
in 2000 and in support of
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 33 ...
.
She graduated in 2001 with a first-class degree.
Dodds later studied for a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
Social Policy
Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society.
Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...
at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, and a PhD degree in Government at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
, where she completed a thesis on liberalisation in higher education in France and the UK in 2006.
She also had her postdoctoral fellowship at the LSE funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...
.
Dodds was a lecturer in Public Policy at
King’s College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
from 2007 to 2010 and a senior lecturer in Public Policy at
Aston University
Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...
from 2010 to 2014.
Her research interests have been stated as being in regulation and risk in the public sector,
and she has been published in journals such as
The Political Quarterly
''The Political Quarterly'' is an academic journal of political science that first appeared from 1914 to 1916 and was revived by Leonard Woolf, Kingsley Martin, and William A. Robson in 1930. Its editors-in-chief are Ben Jackson (University of Ox ...
,
Public Policy and Administration
''Public Policy and Administration'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of public administration. The editors-in-chief are Alessandro Sancino (The Open University), and Edoardo Ongaro (The Open University). It was ...
,
and the
British Journal of General Practice
The ''British Journal of General Practice'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal for general practitioners and primary care researchers.
History
The journal was established in 1953 as the ''College of General Practitioners' Research Newsl ...
.
In 2018, the second edition of her book, ''Comparative Public Policy'', was published by Red Globe Press, an imprint of
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
.
Political career
![Official portrait of Anneliese Dodds crop 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Official_portrait_of_Anneliese_Dodds_crop_2.jpg)
Dodds stood unsuccessfully for election in the constituency of
Billericay
Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...
at the
2005 general election and the constituency of
Reading East at the
2010 general election. She was also unsuccessful in the
2006 Oxford City council elections for the ward of Holywell.
Dodds was elected as a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
for the
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
region in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. In the European Parliament, she sat on the
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) is a committee of the European Parliament which is responsible for the regulation of financial services, the free movement of capital and payments, taxation and competition policies, oversight ...
. In the
2015 Labour leadership election, she supported
Yvette Cooper
Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department, Shadow Home Secretary since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2015. She served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as ...
.
Dodds was elected as the Member of Parliament for Oxford East at the
2017 snap general election, succeeding Andrew Smith. On 3 July 2017, she was appointed as a Shadow Treasury Minister by Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
. In April 2019, she supported calls for a
second Brexit referendum.
She was Vice-Chair of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group
An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament.
Description and functions
All-party ...
on Whistleblowing from 2018 to 2019.
On 5 April 2020, Dodds was appointed
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition and ...
by new Labour leader
Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...
, becoming the first woman to hold this position. Some commentators argued that she struggled to make an impact on the political discussion in the context of generous government spending during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In March 2021, ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' reported that Starmer was preparing to dismiss Dodds. Two months later, after a set of relatively poor results for Labour at the
2021 local elections she was removed from her position in a
shadow cabinet reshuffle and replaced with
Rachel Reeves
Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician and economist serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010.
Born in Lewis ...
. She was then given a role previously held by Deputy Leader
Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work since 2021. She has been Shad ...
as the party's chair.
Dodds became
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities in September 2021, following the resignation of previous office holder
Marsha de Cordova
Marsha Chantal de Cordova (born 23 January 1976) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Battersea since 2017. She was Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities from 6 April 2020 until her resig ...
.
Political positions
LabourList
LabourList is a British news website supportive of, but independent of, the Labour Party, launched in 2009. Describing itself as Labour's "biggest independent grassroots e-network", the site's content includes news, commentary, interviews, campa ...
has described Dodds as a "unity candidate", explaining that although she is not a ''
Corbynite
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
'', she is supported by her predecessor as Shadow Chancellor,
John McDonnell
John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...
,
and the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' has said that she is on the "
soft left
The soft left is a faction within the British Labour Party. The term "soft left" was coined to distinguish the mainstream left of Michael Foot from the hard left of Tony Benn.
History
The distinction between hard and soft left became eviden ...
" of the party.
In terms of her position on
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
, she is a
remainer
In the wake of the referendum held in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2016, many new pieces of Brexit-related jargon entered popular use.Al Jazeera. (2018)''Brexit jargon: From backstop to no deal, 17 key terms explained'' (Al Jazeera) Retrieved 2 ...
, and supported calls for a
second referendum on the issue.
While Labour candidate for Reading East in the 2010 election, she explained several of her policy positions, including how she wouldn't take the full salary available to MPs if elected, instead, only taking the average salary of the constituency and "invest
ngthe rest in an improved service" for constituents.
On the economy, she argued for increased support for those who need retraining, and those who are
long-term unemployed. Furthermore, she stated her desire for "smarter" regulation of the financial system.
In terms of criminal justice, she said that helping drug addicts end their dependency, and prosecuting drug dealers whose customers end up dying was important; and in terms of education, she maintained it was important to "better join up children’s services across the fields of education, child care, health care and social services".
She described the problem of
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
as a "
climate ’emergency’", and wanted to see "far more radical change" to protect against the
risks of climate change, suggesting several actions that could help do so, such as banning domestic flights, making it easier to build wind farms, and increased investment in
green technology
Environmental technology (envirotech) or green technology (greentech), also known as ''clean technology'' (''cleantech''), is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic device ...
.
However, she further explained how these actions should be "realistic and fair", and not be funded by "expensive green taxes".
In September 2019, she wrote on her website that she had taken part in
climate marches, and explained her interest in ideas to promote increasing cycling and
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
in Oxford, and how "we simply cannot return to business as usual in the next parliamentary session".
During the
2019 general election campaign, she argued in support of Labour's plans to increase
corporation tax
A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed at ...
because she believes "those with the broadest shoulders" should contribute more.
After being appointed Shadow Chancellor in early 2020, she stated that she remained committed to "co-operative and mutual ownership", as was supported under Corbyn's leadership of the party,
and opposed the introduction of a
universal basic income
Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...
.
Personal life
Dodds lives in
Rose Hill, Oxford
Rose Hill is a residential area, with some housing that has been council-owned, on the southern outskirts of Oxford, England. According to the 2001 Census, the population of Rose Hill and the adjoining village of Iffley was 4,667.
Location
The ...
and is the partner of Labour Party councillor Ed Turner, the deputy leader of
Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council is the lower-tier local government authority for the city of Oxford in England, providing such services as leisure centres and parking. Social Services, Education and Highways services (amongst others) are provided by Oxfo ...
, and has a son and daughter.
Publications
*''Comparative Public Policy'' (2018, 2nd ed.)
References
External links
*
*
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodds, Anneliese
1978 births
Living people
21st-century women MEPs for England
Academics of Aston University
Academics of King's College London
Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Labour Co-operative MEPs
Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies
MEPs for England 2014–2019
People from Aberdeen
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
Shadow Chancellors of the Exchequer