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Stephen Doughty

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This article is about the UK Member of Parliament. For the cricketer, see Stephen Doughty (cricketer).

Stephen John Doughty[1] (born 15 April 1980)[2] is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff South and Penarth since 2012.[3] He has served as Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories since July 2024.[4][5]

Stephen Doughty
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byNus Ghani (Europe)
David Rutley (Americas and Overseas Territories)
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Minister for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs[a]
In office
9 April 2020 – 5 July 2024
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byAfzal Khan
In office
28 October 2015 – 6 January 2016
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byDavid Hanson
Succeeded byFabian Hamilton
Shadow Minister for International Development
In office
9 April 2020 – 4 December 2020
LeaderKeir Starmer
Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry
In office
22 June 2015 – 28 October 2015
LeaderHarriet Harman
Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded byIain Wright[b]
Succeeded byKevin Brennan[c]
Member of Parliament
for Cardiff South and Penarth
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 November 2012
Preceded byAlun Michael
Majority11,767
Personal details
Born (1980-04-15) 15 April 1980 (age 44)
Cardiff, Wales
Political partyLabour Co-op
Residence(s)Splott, Cardiff, Wales
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Oxford
University of St Andrews
Websitestephendoughty.wales

Early life and education

Stephen Doughty was born on 15 April 1980 in Cardiff, with his family moving to the Vale of Glamorgan when he was young. After attending Llantwit Major Comprehensive School, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Canada.[6][7] While a student at UWC Pearson, he served as a member of British Columbia Youth Parliament.

He went to university at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from which he graduated with an upper second-class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.[8] Whilst at Oxford, Doughty was a member of an all-male singing group, Out of the Blue.[9] He also studied at the University of St Andrews.[10]

Career

After time spent working in Denmark, Doughty returned to the UK, where he became an advisor to Labour MP Douglas Alexander.[11] He then worked in various roles for Oxfam International, before becoming the head of Oxfam Cymru in 2011.[12]

From 2004 to 2009, Doughty was a trustee of the British section of United World Colleges.[2]

Doughty and his father had been long-time family friends of Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MP Alun Michael. Michael said, "Stephen Doughty’s father and I first met 40 years ago when I was a youth worker and he was involved with an Army youth group. I have known Stephen since he was a baby."[13] After Michael's intervention Doughty's name was included in the final short list along with four other candidates, Kate Groucutt, Karen Wilkie, Nick Thomas-Symonds and Jeremy Miles. Doughty was selected in a vote by constituency Labour Party members on 14 July 2012.[14]

Parliamentary career

At the 2012 Cardiff South and Penarth by-election, Doughty was elected to Parliament as MP for Cardiff South and Penarth with 47.3% of the vote and a majority of 5,334.[3][15] Doughty made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 28 November 2012.[16]

In January 2013, Doughty was appointed to the Labour Shadow Treasury team as an aide to Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.[17]

Doughty was re-elected as MP for Cardiff South and Penarth at the 2015 general election with a decreased vote share of 42.8% and an increased majority of 7,453.[18][19][20]

Following Iain Wright's election as the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee chair, Doughty succeed him in the Shadow BIS team as the Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry in a June 2015 mini-reshuffle.[21][22]

In October 2015, he was moved to a position as a Shadow Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for Africa, South Asia and International Organisations, under Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn.[23]

In December 2015 Doughty supported air strikes against Syria, a decision for which he was criticised by many of his constituents and political activists via social media. He called the police to deal with the "personal threats" he had received.[24]

He supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.[25]

At the snap 2017 general election, Doughty was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 59.5% and an increased majority of 14,864.[26][27][28] He was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 54.1% and a decreased majority of 12,737.[29][30][31]

Doughty endorsed Keir Starmer in his successful campaign in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.[32]

Starmer appointed Doughty Shadow Minister for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development, responsible for Africa and international development.[33]

In May 2021, Doughty apologised for asking a constituent to provide him with diazepam, a Class C-controlled drug, without a prescription for anxiety ahead of a flight in 2019.[34] South Wales Police did not take further action because they determined that the allegation he possessed a controlled substance "cannot be proved in these circumstances". The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards ruled in October 2021 that he had not broken the MPs' code of conduct.[35] The constituent who was cautioned for supplying the diazepam complained to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, who asked South Wales Police to re-examine the case in May 2022.[36] They announced in December 2022 that they stood by their original decision.[35]

Doughty was again re-elected at the 2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 44.5% and a decreased majority of 11,767.[37]

Resignation

In January 2016, Doughty announced that he had resigned as a shadow Foreign Minister on the live Daily Politics programme, saying that he supported the sacked Pat McFadden's views on terrorism and accusing members of the Labour leadership team of lying about the reasons for McFadden's sacking.[38] According to McFadden, he was sacked for comments in the debate on the Paris bombings which condemned "the view that sees terrorist acts as always being a response or a reaction to what we in the west do".[39]

Doughty's appearance on Daily Politics became contentious after it emerged that Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC's political editor, had arranged for Doughty to make his public announcement on the programme just before Prime Minister's Questions. According to Labour's spokesman, it was an "unacceptable breach of the BBC's role and statutory obligations. By the BBC's own account, BBC journalists and presenters proposed and secured the resignation of a shadow minister on air ... apparently to ensure maximum news and political impact."[40] The Labour Party's Director of Communications, Seumas Milne, made a formal complaint to the BBC.[41] The BBC's head of live political programmes, Robbie Gibb, wrote to Milne: "Neither the programme production team, nor Laura, played any part in his decision to resign. As you know it is a long standing tradition that political programmes on the BBC, along with all other news outlets, seek to break stories. It is true that we seek to make maximum impact with our journalism which is entirely consistent with the BBC’s editorial guidelines and values."[41][42] Doughty said on Twitter that he had resigned "shortly before I did the interview so there was not time for spin doctors to start smearing me".[41]

Personal life

Doughty lives in the Splott area of Cardiff. He has been a Cub and Scout leader since 2004, and is a Cardiff City season ticket holder.[43] He features in the Pinc List of leading Welsh LGBT figures.[44] Doughty is a Christian.[45] He came out as gay to family and friends in his late 20s.[46]

Notes

  1. ^ 2015-2016 Africa, South Asia and International Organisations
    2020-2021 Africa and International Development
    2021-2024 Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories
  2. ^ (Competitiveness and Enterprise)
  3. ^ (Trade, Investment and Intellectual Property)

References

  1. ^ Acting Returning Officer (16 November 2012). "Declaration of Result of Poll". Cardiff Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b "U.W.C. Great Britain Limited". Dellam Corporate Information. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Labour victory in Cardiff South and Penarth by-election". BBC. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Minister of State (Europe, North America and Overseas Territories) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Stephen Doughty, Pearson College alumnus elected MP in Wales". UWC Pearson College. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  7. ^ Stephen Doughty (1 March 2013). "Optimistic, interventionist Labour government". Progress Online. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  8. ^ Oxford University Registry
  9. ^ "Alumni". Out of the Blue. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  10. ^ "About Stephen". Stephen Doughty. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  11. ^ Withers, Matt (19 June 2012). "Lobbyist says Labour's candidate for by-election must be a woman". Wales Online. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  12. ^ "Penarth by-election: Labour, Communist, Socialist Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates". Penarth Times. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  13. ^ Martin Shipton (13 July 2012). "Alun Michael at the centre of selection row over next Cardiff South MP". walesonline.
  14. ^ "Oxfam boss Stephen Doughty is Labour by-election candidate". BBC. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  15. ^ "Cardiff South and Penarth result". Election results for Cardiff South and Penarth. City of Cardiff Council. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  16. ^ Cornock, David (28 November 2012). "Stephen Doughty makes his maiden speech in Commons". BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  17. ^ "Penarth MP Stephen Doughty appointed to Labour's shadow Treasury team". Penarth Times. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  18. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Cardiff South and Penarth result". Election results for Cardiff South and Penarth. City of Cardiff Council. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  20. ^ "Cardiff South and Penarth Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015. BBC News. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  21. ^ "New role for Dan Jarvis in mini-reshuffle". LabourList. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Cardiff South and Penarth MP promoted in shadow cabinet reshuffle". Penarth Times. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Appointment of Stephen Doughty MP as Shadow Foreign Office Minister". press.labour.org.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  24. ^ David Deans (4 December 2015). "Cardiff MP Stephen Doughty believed to have made police complaint over 'personal threats' after Syria vote". walesonline.
  25. ^ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Cardiff South and Penarth Parliamentary constituency". Election 2017 Results. BBC. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  28. ^ "Election Results". Cardiff Council. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Scheduled elections and polls" (PDF). Cardiff Council. Retrieved 16 November 2019.[permanent dead link]
  30. ^ "Cardiff South and Penarth parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  31. ^ "Election-Results/General-Election-2019". Cardiff Council. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  32. ^ AS, Stephen Doughty MP / (7 January 2020). "Talented group of friends putting themselves forward for @UKLabour Leader. Crucial issues being raised we *all* need to listen to. But after talking to many on challenges the UK, Wales + our party face I have nominated @Keir_Starmer to best help us oppose Tories, reunite + win.pic.twitter.com/z4aAkiFNNQ".
  33. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (9 April 2020). "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  34. ^ "Stephen Doughty: MP sorry for asking constituent for diazepam". BBC News. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  35. ^ a b "Stephen Doughty: Police 'standing by its decision' in MP's diazepam case". BBC News. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  36. ^ "Stephen Doughty: Police told to re-examine MP's diazepam case". BBC News. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  37. ^ "Cardiff South and Penarth - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  38. ^ "MP quits Labour team over leader's office 'lies'". BBC. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  39. ^ Watt, Nicholas (6 January 2016). "McFadden's supporters describe removal as vindictive". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  40. ^ "Labour files official complaint about BBC 'orchestrating' Doughty resignation". The Herald. Glasgow. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  41. ^ a b c Watt, Nicholas; Sweney, Mark (8 January 2016). "BBC justifies decision to allow Stephen Doughty to resign live on Daily Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  42. ^ Waugh, Paul (8 January 2016). "Labour Party Formally Complains To BBC Over Stephen Doughty's Live On-Air Resignation In Jeremy Corbyn's Reshuffle; BBC Rejects 'Orchestrated' Charge". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  43. ^ Best, Jessica (13 November 2012). "Cardiff South and Penarth by-election: The candidates". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  44. ^ "Pinc List 2017". Wales Online. 19 August 2017.
  45. ^ "Endorsements for Christians on the Left". Christians on the Left. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  46. ^ Baldwin, Philip (11 October 2020). "MP Stephen Doughty: "Don't deny your true potential for love and to be loved"". Gay Times. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
 
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