Jeff Smith (born 26 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Manchester Withington Manchester Withington is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jeff Smith (British politician), Jeff ...

since

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (Government Whip) since 2024. A former

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

lor, he served as an opposition whip in Parliament from 2015 to 2021, as Shadow Minister for Local Government from May to December 2021; as Shadow Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Music from December 2021 to August 2023, as Shadow Minister for Clean Power and Consumers from September to December 2023, and Senior Whip in the Opposition Whips Office from December 2023 to July 2024.

Early life and career

Smith was a pupil at the private

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

, and graduated from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

with a degree in Politics and Economics in 1984. A former councillor for Old Moat ward on

from 1997, he served as the Executive Member for Finance on the council and was a governor at Parrs Wood High School.

Parliamentary career

Smith was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the

constituency in June 2013, ahead of

Angela Rayner Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since 2024 United Kingdom general election, Jul ...

and fellow Manchester councillor Andrew Simcock. At the general election in May 2015, Smith was elected, defeating the incumbent MP, Liberal Democrat John Leech, with a majority of 14,873. Smith served as a senior Opposition whip from 2015 to 2021. He supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...

in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election. In July 2015, Jeff Smith voted to prevent the government's Welfare Bill going through on the second reading, and voted against it at the third reading. Smith campaigned to remain in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. In January 2017, he voted against triggering Article 50. On 14 March 2019, Smith voted to reject the then prime minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

deal and a

no-deal Brexit A no-deal Brexit (also called a clean-break Brexit) was the potential Brexit, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal agreement. Under Withdrawal from the European Union, Article 50 o ...

. Smith was re-elected at the 2017 snap general election, securing 71.7% of the vote and more than doubling his majority over John Leech, re-contesting the seat, to 29,875 (55.8%). Smith is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health, and sits on the advisory board of theMoney and Mental Health Policy Institute. He is Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group. Smith co-founded the Labour Campaign for Drug Policy Reform with Thangam Debbonaire, and is Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform. On 20 April 2020, Smith appeared in a virtual online 4/20 event hosted by Voltfacehub, where he spoke in favour of the decriminalisation and regulation of the drug

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. Smith was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Local Government in the May 2021 Labour reshuffle, filling the position made vacant following Kate Hollern's resignation. Smith was appointed Shadow Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Music on 4 December in the Shadow Culture department. In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Clean Power and Consumers on 5 September 2023. Smith is a parliamentary supporter of both Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East. In 2024, Smith voted in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill proposed by fellow Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.

Personal life

Smith's mother was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. His grandfather, Jack McDermott, was an Irish trade unionist who brought his family to Manchester when he was elected general secretary of the

Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers The Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers (ASW) was a British trade union representing carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materia ...

. Smith's Jewish great-grandmother, Rosa Simonson, came to Manchester in the 1880s to escape antisemitic persecution in what is now Poland. Before being elected, Smith was an event manager and DJ, and has performed regularly at

V Festival V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...

and club nights Poptastic in Manchester and Star in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jeff 1963 births Living people People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of the University of Manchester Councillors in Manchester Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English people of Jewish descent UK councillors 1997–2001 UK councillors 2001–2005 UK councillors 2005–2009 UK councillors 2009–2013 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present British drug policy reform activists English atheists English humanists Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East