Andrew Smith (politician)

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The Right Honourable Andrew Smith MP

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 29 May 2002 – 8 September 2004
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Alistair Darling
Succeeded by	Alan Johnson
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office 11 October 1999 – 29 May 2002
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Alan Milburn
Succeeded by	Paul Boateng
Member of Parliament for Oxford East
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 June 1987
Preceded by	Steven Norris
Majority	4,581 (8.9%)
Personal details
Born	(1951-02-01) 1 February 1951^[1] Wokingham, Berkshire, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Val Smith^[2]
Alma mater	St John's College, Oxford
Website	www.andrewsmithmp.org.uk

Andrew David Smith (born 1 February 1951^[1]) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford East since 1987. He served in the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1999 to 2002 and then as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2002 to 2004.

Early life

He was educated at Reading School and St John's College, Oxford, where he gained a BA and BPhil. He was the Member Relations Officer for Oxford and Swindon Co-op Society from 1979-87. He became an Oxford City Councillor in 1976, leaving the council in 1987. He contested Oxford East in 1983.

Parliamentary career

Smith has been the Member of Parliament for Oxford East, which he won in 1987 from the Conservative Party. After Labour's victory in the 1997 general election he was made a minister in the Department for Education and Employment. He was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1999 to 2002, when he became Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; he resigned from this post on 6 September 2004, to spend more time with his family. He won re-election in his Oxford East seat in the 2005 General Election, but saw his majority slashed by 90%.

He is best remembered by some for his opposing of the privatisation of air traffic control in 1996 stating "Our air is not for sale" only for Labour to switch policies and thereby propose a public-private partnership for the National Air Traffic Services. Others point to his stewardship of the Department for Work and Pensions and his focus on reducing child poverty when Minister there.

Smith is also the Chairman and one of the founding members of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua, launched in October 2008.^[3]

Smith has occasionally rebelled against his party in Parliament, on issues such as a third runway at Heathrow, the Government's renewal of Trident, although he has been known to back opposition Liberal Democrat motions on votes concerning the rights of Gurkhas to remain in Britain and the introduction of Single Transferable Vote for elections.

In 2005 the Liberal Democrats came within 963 votes of winning the seat, with the drop in support for Labour widely attributed to the Iraq war, but in 2010 Andrew Smith secured a comfortable victory with a 4.1% swing to Labour, bucking the national trend.

Personal life

His wife Val Smith is a county councillor on Oxfordshire County Council and city councillor on Oxford City Council. He married Valerie Miles on 26 March 1976. They have a son and live on the southeast Oxford council estate of Blackbird Leys.

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 "Democracy Live: Your representatives: Andrew Smith". Retrieved 21 November 2012.
↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/110124/part2.htm
↑ "International Parliamentarians for West Papua outline". IPWP. 5 January 2007. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Steven Norris	Member of Parliament for Oxford East 1987–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Alan Milburn	Chief Secretary to the Treasury 1999–2002	Succeeded by Paul Boateng
Preceded by Alistair Darling	Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2002–2004	Succeeded by Alan Johnson

v t e Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions

Ministers of Pensions	Barnes Hodge Worthington-Evans Macpherson Tryon Roberts Tryon Roberts Tryon Hudson Ramsbotham Womersley Paling Hynd Buchanan Marquand Isaacs Heathcoat-Amory

Ministers of Social Insurance/National Insurance	Jowitt Hore-Belisha Griffiths Summerskill Peake

Ministers of Pensions and National Insurance	Peake Boyd-Carpenter Macpherson Wood Herbison

Ministers of Social Security	Herbison Hart

Secretaries of State for Social Services	Crossman Joseph Castle Ennals Jenkin Fowler Moore

Secretaries of State for Social Security	Moore Newton Lilley Harman Darling

Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions	Darling Smith Johnson Blunkett Hutton Hain Purnell Cooper Duncan Smith

v t e Chief Secretaries to the Treasury

Brooke Boyd-Carpenter Diamond Macmillan Jenkin Boardman Barnett Biffen Brittan Rees MacGregor Major Lamont Mellor Portillo Aitken Waldegrave Darling Byers Milburn Smith Boateng Browne Timms Burnham Cooper Byrne Laws Alexander

Persondata
Name	Smith, Andrew
Alternative names
Short description	British politician
Date of birth	1 February 1951
Place of birth	Wokingham, United Kingdom
Date of death
Place of death

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