Owen Smith | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 14 June 2017 – 23 March 2018 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | David Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Tony Lloyd |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |
| In office 14 September 2015 – 27 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Stephen Timms (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Debbie Abrahams |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | |
| In office 15 May 2012 – 14 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband Harriet Harman |
| Preceded by | Peter Hain |
| Succeeded by | Nia Griffith |
| Shadow Minister for Wales | |
| In office 25 September 2010 – 15 May 2012 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Wayne David |
| Succeeded by | Nia Griffith |
| Member of Parliament for Pontypridd | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Kim Howells |
| Succeeded by | Alex Davies-Jones |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 May 1970 Morecambe, Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Wood (m. 1995) |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex |
| Website | Official website |
Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970)[2] is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd from 2010 to 2019.
After graduating from the University of Sussex, Smith worked as a radio and television producer for the BBC for a decade, then as a special adviser for Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, and as a political lobbyist for Pfizer and Amgen before being elected to the House of Commons. Smith went on to serve as Shadow Welsh Secretary under Ed Miliband from 2012 until 2015, and then as Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary under Jeremy Corbyn from 2015 until he resigned in June 2016.
On 13 July 2016, he contested the leadership of the Labour Party and was defeated. After the 2017 general election, Corbyn appointed Smith as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Corbyn sacked him from the Labour frontbench in March 2018 after he publicly called for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, a position that was against Labour policy of the time. Smith did not stand for reelection in 2019.
In 2020, after leaving Parliament, he resumed his lobbying career when he joined pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb as their UK government relations director, eventually being promoted to Vice President and General Manager of their Australia and New Zealand division in 2024.
- ^ Nelson, Nigel (23 July 2016). "How Owen Smith's mining family background propelled him to become Labour leadership candidate". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
he fell in love with Liz Wood
- ^ Criddle, Cristina (13 July 2016). "Who is Owen Smith? Meet the other Labour MP who is challenging Corbyn for the leadership". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.