Owen Smith is a British

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...

 Labour Party

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...

, who has been the Member of Parliament

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,...

 (MP) for Pontypridd

Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:...

 since 2010, replacing the previous Labour MP Kim Howells

Kim Howells

Kim Scott Howells is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Pontypridd from 1989 to 2010, and held a number of ministerial positions within the Government.-Biography:...

, who decided to step down. He was appointed on the 11th of October 2010 as Shadow Minister for Wales

Wales Office

The Wales Office / Swyddfa Cymru is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999....

Born in Morecambe

Morecambe

Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...

, Smith joined the Labour Party at the age of 16, studying History and French at 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....

. He worked for the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 as a radio producer for 10 years, working on a variety of programmes in both Wales and London, including Today

Today programme

Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...

 for BBC Radio Four and Dragon's Eye for BBC Wales

BBC Wales

BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...

.

In 2002 he left to become special advisor for Paul Murphy, then the Secretary of State for Wales

Secretary of State for Wales

The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...

. He later followed Murphy to the Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office

The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...

. Smith previously stood as Labour candidate for Blaenau Gwent

Blaenau 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 :...

 in a 2006 by-election

Blaenau Gwent by-elections, 2006

Two by-elections were held for the constituency of Blaenau Gwent in Wales following the death of Member of Parliament and Assembly Member Peter Law on 25 April 2006. As Law was the MP and Assembly Member , his death required by-elections in both the parliamentary seat and the equivalent Welsh...

, but was defeated by independent candidate Dai Davies

Dai Davies (politician)

David Clifford Davies, commonly known as Dai Davies, was the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Member of Parliament for the Blaenau Gwent constituency in South Wales from 2006 to 2010...

. He has three children.

External links

• Owen Smith MP Welsh Labour Party profile
• Owen Smith author archives at WalesHome.org
• Pontypridd Town website