Susan Jones

Susan Elan Jones
MP
Member of Parliament
for Clwyd South
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Martyn Jones
Majority 4,356 (11.6%)
Southwark Borough Councillor
for The Lane ward
In office
4 May 2006 – 11 November 2009
Preceded by Aubyn Graham
Succeeded by Nick Dolezal
Personal details
Born (1968-06-01) 1 June 1968
Ponciau, Wrexham, Wales, UK
Nationality British
Political party Welsh Labour
Website www.susanelanjones.co.uk

Susan Elan Jones (born 1 June 1968[1]) is a British Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Clwyd South, replacing the previous Labour MP Martyn Jones after his retirement.[2]

Biography

Jones comes from Ponciau near Rhosllannerchrugog and studied at Bristol University and Cardiff University. She worked as a fundraiser for charities for 15 years before becoming an MP.[3]

In the 1997 general election, Jones stood for Labour in Surrey Heath, coming third. From 2006 to 2009 she was a councillor in the London Borough of Southwark and was deputy leader of the opposition from 2007 to 2009.[4]

Parliamentary career

Following the 2010 general election, as the new Member of Parliament for Clwyd South, Jones took her Parliamentary Oath of Allegiance to the Queen in Welsh; she is fluent in the language. An active supporter of Welsh language use, she wrote in one article: "I would contend that for a Labour supporter being actively pro-Welsh language is a natural part of our DNA, as much as supporting public services, tackling low pay or taking on any other equalities cause".

When making her maiden speech in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom 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".[5][6] She has returned to the issue in her speeches in the Commons, including on the Welsh television channel S4C.[7]

She has campaigned on military issues, and used her first appearance at Prime Minister's Questions to support a Royal British Legion 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.[8] Prime Minister David Cameron reversed his decision two weeks later and announced that the service would not be scrapped.[9] She assailed Conservative Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke over "secret inquests" opposed by military families,[10] provoking a "swipe" at the Royal British Legion from the Minister.,[11]

She has frequently backed various local business interests in parliamentary debates, including solar panel businesses concerned about cuts to subsidies for domestic solar panels,[12] and wood panelling businesses[13] which employ many people in her Clwyd South constituency.

Jones has strongly advocated the publication of all MPs' expenses and publishes her own expense claims on her website each month.[14]

From October 2010 to October 2011, Jones served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Harriet Harman MP, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, in her role as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. In the October 2011 reshuffle, Jones was appointed to the Labour front bench as a Whip.[15]

Jones resigned from Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet, along with dozens of her colleagues, in June 2016 and, in calling Corbyn "unelectable", also urged him to resign as Labour leader. Via a statement on her website, Jones called Brexit "a disaster", although 60% of her Clwyd South constituency voted to leave the European Union.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Susan Elan Jones MP". Democracy Live. BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "Wrexham and Clwyd South stay Red but majorities are slashed". The Leader. NWN Media Ltd. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Susan Jones – Parliamentary Candidates". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  4. ↑ "Susan Elan Jones profile". UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "A bevy of maidens". Democracy Live. British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Cymraeg". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 12 July 2011. col. 229.
  8. ↑ "Abolition of Chief Coroner's Office". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 2 November 2011. col. 918–919.
  9. ↑ "Chief coroner: Royal British Legion welcomes U-turn". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 November 2011.
  10. ↑ Chapman, James (9 March 2012). "Inquests MUST be open says British Legion chief who fears secret justice plans would 'compound grief of bereaved'". Daily Mail. London, UK.
  11. ↑ Deacon, Michael (13 March 2012). "Sketch: Ken Clarke's swipe at the Royal British Legion". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK.
  12. ↑ "Solar paneling". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 23 November 2011. col. 397–398.
  13. ↑ "Solar paneling". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 16 March 2011. col. 108WH.
  14. ↑ "Expenses/Treuliau". Susan Jones MP. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Ed Miliband's new frontbench team". Labour Party. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  16. ↑ "Statement by Susan Elan Jones MP". Susan Elan Jones. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Martyn Jones		 Member of Parliament for Clwyd South
2010–2017 		Succeeded by
To be announced
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