Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Encyclopedia
Margaret Beryl Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (born 22 May 1955) is a British
trade union
official and Labour
politician
. She was Chair of the Labour Party from 2000 to 2001.
Jones is Director of Policy and Public Affairs of the trade union UNISON
. In 1979 she became a regional official of National Union of Public Employees
(NUPE), which merged into UNISON. She has a background of fighting low pay and discrimination at work. She is on the boards of the charities Shelter
and the Empty Homes Agency
, both of which campaign for affordable housing for all, in conjunction with which she is chairperson of the Board of Directors of Circle 33 housing trust. In 2005 Jones was appointed to the board of the School Food Trust
, a new public body.
Jones was born and brought up in South Wales
, and was educated at Whitchurch High School
in Cardiff
and then the University of Sussex
. She now lives in Brighton
.
's National Executive Committee
(NEC) within the trade union section from 1993 to 2005. She was elected Chair of the Labour Party in 2000, the year the Prime Minister
Tony Blair
controversially appointed Charles Clarke
to be the similarly named Party Chairman. She was co-convener, along with Tony Blair, of the NEC Joint Policy Committee
for much of her time on the NEC.
at the 2005 general election
, the safest Labour seat in Wales
, and fifth safest in the UK
. She was selected from a women-only shortlist imposed upon the local party; subsequently eight of twelve members of the local executive resigned in protest. The retiring MP
Llew Smith
also criticised the selection method.
Peter Law
, the Labour Welsh Assembly Member
for the constituency, stood against her as an Independent and won with a majority of 9,121 votes, creating one of the media highlights of the election.
. This leaked list eventually led to the Cash for Peerages
scandal. On 10 April 2006, her nomination for a peerage was officially announced, and she was gazetted as Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, of Whitchurch
in the County of South Glamorgan
in June 2006.
In June 2010 Maggie joined Labour's Shadow Ministerial Team, as Shadow Health Minister and also Labour's House of Lords spokeswoman on Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
official and Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. She was Chair of the Labour Party from 2000 to 2001.
Jones is Director of Policy and Public Affairs of the trade union UNISON
UNISON
UNISON is the largest trade union in the United Kingdom with over 1.3 million members.The union was formed in 1993 when three public sector trade unions, the National and Local Government Officers Association , the National Union of Public Employees and the Confederation of Health Service...
. In 1979 she became a regional official of National Union of Public Employees
National Union of Public Employees
The National Union of Public Employees was a British trade union which represented public sector workers. The union was founded in 1908 as the National Union of Corporation Workers, which split from the Municipal Employees Association, following Albin Taylor's dismissal as General Secretary...
(NUPE), which merged into UNISON. She has a background of fighting low pay and discrimination at work. She is on the boards of the charities Shelter
Shelter (charity)
Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
and the Empty Homes Agency
Empty Homes Agency
The Empty Homes Agency was established in 1992 as a registered charity in England that works to help people create homes from empty properties and campaigns for more empty homes to be brought into use for the benefit of those in housing need...
, both of which campaign for affordable housing for all, in conjunction with which she is chairperson of the Board of Directors of Circle 33 housing trust. In 2005 Jones was appointed to the board of the School Food Trust
School Food Trust
The School Food Trust is a UK Charity and specialist advisor to government on school meals, children’s food and related skills.-History:The trust was created in 2005 by the Department for Education and Skills , following celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's critique of the nutritional quality of school...
, a new public body.
Jones was born and brought up in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, and was educated at Whitchurch High School
Whitchurch High School
Whitchurch High School is a large, co-educational, comprehensive secondary school in the suburb of Whitchurch in Cardiff, Wales. It is considered to be one of the better secondary schools in Cardiff, and was described in its 2009 Estyn report as a 'good school' which is 'moving forward from...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and then the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
. She now lives in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
Labour Party positions
Jones was a member of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
(NEC) within the trade union section from 1993 to 2005. She was elected Chair of the Labour Party in 2000, the year the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
controversially appointed Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
to be the similarly named Party Chairman. She was co-convener, along with Tony Blair, of the NEC Joint Policy Committee
Joint Policy Committee
The Joint Policy Committee of the British Labour Party is part of the policy-making system of the party, set up by leader Tony Blair as part of the Partnership in Power process....
for much of her time on the NEC.
Parliamentary candidate for Blaenau Gwent
Jones was the Labour Party parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Blaenau GwentBlaenau Gwent (UK Parliament constituency)
Blaenau Gwent is a county constituency in South Wales, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
at the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, the safest Labour seat in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and fifth safest in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. She was selected from a women-only shortlist imposed upon the local party; subsequently eight of twelve members of the local executive resigned in protest. The retiring MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Llew Smith
Llew Smith
Llewellyn Thomas Smith is a former Welsh Labour Party politician.Smith was Member of the European Parliament for South Wales East from 1984 to 1994, and at the 1992 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament for Blaenau Gwent. A member of the Socialist Campaign Group, he stood down...
also criticised the selection method.
Peter Law
Peter Law
Peter John Law was a Welsh politician.- Labour Co-operative AM and Independent MP :For most of his career Law sat as a Labour Councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly Member for Blaenau Gwent...
, the Labour Welsh Assembly Member
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
for the constituency, stood against her as an Independent and won with a majority of 9,121 votes, creating one of the media highlights of the election.
Peerage & Shadow Minister
Jones was nominated for a Life Peerage in 2005 by the Labour Party, according to a list leaked to The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. This leaked list eventually led to the Cash for Peerages
Cash for Peerages
Cash for Honours is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and the award of life peerages...
scandal. On 10 April 2006, her nomination for a peerage was officially announced, and she was gazetted as Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, of Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Cardiff
Whitchurch is a suburb in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is approximately 3 miles north of the centre of the city on the A470 road and A4054 road. Its estimated population as of 2004 was 15,649. It falls within the Whitchurch & Tongwynlais ward.-History:Whitchurch draws its name from...
in the County of South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...
in June 2006.
In June 2010 Maggie joined Labour's Shadow Ministerial Team, as Shadow Health Minister and also Labour's House of Lords spokeswoman on Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.