Susan Elan Jones (born 1 June 1968) is a former

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the

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 Clwyd South, replacing the previous Labour MP

Martyn Jones Martyn David Jones (born 1 March 1947) is a former British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clwyd South from 1987 until his retirement at the 2010 general election. Early life Born in Wrexham, he attended Gr ...

after his retirement. She returned to the voluntary sector after leaving Parliament.

Biography

Jones comes from

Ponciau Ponciau is a village within the community of Rhosllanerchrugog, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is close to the villages of Legacy, Pentre Bychan and Johnstown and is overlooked by Ruabon Mountain. The village name is also applied to a la ...

near

Rhosllannerchrugog RhosllanerchrugogDavies, Jenkins and Baines (eds) ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales'', 2008, p.752 (also spelled Rhosllannerchrugog, or simply Rhos) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies within the histor ...

and studied at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. She worked as a charity manager and professional fundraiser for 15 years before becoming an MP. In the 1997 general election, Jones stood for Labour in

Surrey Heath Surrey Heath is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Camberley. Much of the area is within the Metropolitan Green Belt. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local ...

, coming third. From

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

to 2009 she was a councillor in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

and was deputy leader of the opposition from 2007 to 2009.

Parliamentary career

Following the 2010 general election, as the new

for Clwyd South, Jones took her Parliamentary

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

to the Queen in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

; she is fluent in the language. When making her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

on 9 June 2010 Jones spoke of the historic discrimination faced by speakers of the Welsh language. In her speech, she compared the ordinary people who campaigned for the Welsh language at times when it had not been fashionable to do so as civil rights activists "in the mould of Mrs

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...

". During her time as MP she returned to the issue in her speeches in the Commons, including on the Welsh television channel

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

and campaigned successfully for Welsh to be used in Parliament at meetings of the Welsh Grand Committee She campaigned on military issues, and used her first appearance at Prime Minister's Questions to support a

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

campaign against the planned abolition of the Chief Coroner's office, which they argued would have undermined the independence and quality of investigations into military deaths. Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

reversed his decision two weeks later and announced that the service would not be scrapped. She assailed Conservative Justice Secretary

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

over "secret inquests" opposed by military families, provoking a "swipe" at the Royal British Legion from the Minister. She frequently backed various local business interests in parliamentary debates, including solar panel businesses concerned about cuts to subsidies for domestic solar panels, and wood panelling businesses which employ many people in the Clwyd South constituency. Jones strongly advocated the publication of all MPs' expenses and published her own expense claims on her website each month. She is a past recipient of the Brake Parliamentarian of the Year award for her campaigning on road safety. From October 2010 to October 2011, Jones served as

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...

MP, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, in her role as

Shadow Secretary of State for International Development The shadow cabinet minister for international development is the lead spokesperson for the United Kingdom's Official Opposition on issues related to international aid, most notably to the third world. The shadow cabinet minister holds the Ministe ...

. In the October 2011 reshuffle, Jones was appointed to the Labour front bench as a

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. Jones resigned from

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 ...

's Shadow Ministerial Team, along with dozens of her colleagues, in June 2016 and, in calling Corbyn "unelectable", also urged him to resign as Labour leader. She supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...

in the failed attempt to replace

in the

2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 2016 Labour Party leadership election was called when a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party arose following criticism of his approach to the Remain campaign in the referendum on membership of the European Union and q ...

. Via a statement on her website, Jones called Brexit "a disaster" and supported the campaign for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal. Jones is a proponent of proportional representation and a supporter of the

Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform The Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform (LCER) is an organisation formed of members and supporters of the British Labour Party, who are interested in issues of democratic renewal and electoral reform. LCER campaigns on a range of constitution ...

. She was defeated in the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party receiving a Landslide victory, landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 4 ...

. Jones turned down an Honour in 2020 in protest at some of the Honours awarded by

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

's administration.

Voluntary Sector

Susan Elan Jones returned to the voluntary sector after leaving Parliament. As an MP, she was Co-Chair of th
All Party Parliamentary Group for Charities and Volunteering
She served as a member of the Bill Committees for the Small Charitable Donations Bill, the Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill and the National Citizen Service Bill. Jones co-authored the 'Red Book of the Voluntary Sector' (CAF/ACEVO,2015) and has also written on social enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility. She is a regular platform speaker at voluntary sector conferences and events. Jones introduced the Charity Trustees (Time Off for Duties) Bill to Parliament in March 2019.

References

External links

Susan Jones MP
Labour Party profile
Susan Jones MP
Welsh Labour Party profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Susan Elan 1968 births 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the University of Bristol Councillors in the London Borough of Southwark Living people Welsh Labour Party MPs Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies People from Wrexham UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 Welsh-speaking politicians Women councillors in England