Alison McGovern
| Alison McGovern MP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alison McGovern and Shaun Woodward | |
| Member of Parliament for Wirral South | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Ben Chapman |
| Majority | 531 (1.3%) |
| Southwark Borough Councillor for Brunswick Park ward | |
| In office 4 May 2006 – 6 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Lilian Naish |
| Succeeded by | John Friary |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 December 1980 Bromborough, Merseyside, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Ashwin Kumar |
| Alma mater | University College London |
| Website | www.alisonmcgovern.org.uk |
Alison McGovern (born 30 December 1980) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Wirral South since 2010.
Early life
The granddaughter of song writer and activist Peter McGovern, she was born in Bromborough, Merseyside, the daughter of a British Railways telecoms engineer father and a mother who was a nurse.
She was educated at Brookhurst Primary School, and then Wirral Grammar School for Girls, where she was the Head Girl from 1998-1999. She then studied Philosophy at University College London.
On graduation, she worked as a researcher at the House of Commons, before handling communications for development projects at Network Rail.
Political life
She was first elected as a Councillor for Brunswick Park in the London Borough of Southwark in 2006, later becoming the Deputy Leader of the 29 strong group of Labour councillors.
She was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Wirral South in December 2009 due to Ben Chapman's decision to stand down at the next election for family reasons following adverse publicity in The Daily Telegraph over the expenses scandal, and subsequently won the seat in the 2010 general election beating the Conservative Party candidate, Jeff Clarke, by 531 votes.
Parliamentary career
She made her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 3 June 2010 in a debate on European Affairs. In accordance with Parliamentary tradition, she spoke in glowing terms of her constituency and praised her predecessor Ben Chapman, whom she described as "very amiable".[1]
She became former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's parliamentary private secretary in July 2010.[2] On 14 September 2010 she held her first adjournment debate regarding employment prospects for young people in Wirral. In November 2010 she was selected by the PLP to become a member of the International Development Select Committee.[3]
In December 2010 she introduced a private member's bill before Parliament that would amend the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to broaden the scope of the general duty of library authorities so as to include a duty to provide related cultural facilities alongside the library service. In March 2011 she visited India as part of an International Development Select Committee delegation.[4]
In the 2013 Labour reshuffle, she was added to the Shadow International Development team.[5] In 2014, she was changed to shadow Children and Families [6]
Personal life
She is married to economics consultant Ashwin Kumar, formerly the Passenger Director at Passenger Focus.
References
- ↑ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (2010-06-03). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 03 Jun 2010 (pt 0014)". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ↑ http://www.gordonbrown.org.uk/gordon-brown-announces-pps
- ↑ "Weekly Information Bulletin: Session 2010-12: Select Committees". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ↑ "The Future of DFID's Programme in India – International Development Committee – Annex: Committee's Visit Programme in India".
- ↑ http://labourlist.org/2013/10/confirmed-labours-new-frontbench-team-in-full/
- ↑ http://labourlist.org/2014/11/powell-joins-shadow-cabinet-and-gets-major-campaign-role-as-miliband-shuffles-front-bench/
External links
- Alison McGovern MP official site
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ben Chapman |
Member of Parliament for Wirral South 2010 |
Incumbent |