Carolyn Harris

Carolyn Harris (born 18 September 1960) is a Welsh politician serving as Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour since 2018. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Swansea East since 2015.

For other people named Carolyn Harris, see Carolyn Harris (disambiguation).

Carolyn Harris
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour
Assumed office
21 April 2018
LeaderCarwyn Jones
Mark Drakeford
Preceded byOffice established
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition
In office
6 April 2020 – 11 May 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byTanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
Succeeded bySharon Hodgson
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
In office
3 July 2017 – 10 April 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byKate Osamor
Succeeded byGill Furniss
Shadow Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability
In office
24 September 2016 – 3 July 2017
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded bySarah Champion
Succeeded byJess Philips
Member of Parliament
for Swansea East
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded bySiân James
Majority7,970 (23.7%)
Personal details
Born (1960-09-18) 18 September 1960
Swansea, Wales
Political partyLabour
Alma materSwansea University
WebsiteOfficial website

Harris served as Shadow Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability from 2016 to 2017, and a junior Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities from 2017 to 2020. She was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer, from 2020 to 2021.

Early life and career

Harris was born on 18 September 1960 in Swansea, Wales.[1] She attended Swansea University from 1994 to 1998, where she studied a joint degree in Social History and Social Policy.

Following university, Harris worked for Swansea-based community projects such as the Guiding Hand Association and the Joshua Foundation. She has previously worked as a barmaid and a dinner lady.[2] Before her election to the Commons, she was a Parliamentary assistant to her predecessor, Siân James.

Parliamentary career

Harris was elected to Parliament at the 2015 general election.[3] She gave her maiden speech on 8 June 2015, in which she argued that Dylan Thomas was wrong about his description of Swansea as "this ugly, lovely town".[4]

Harris served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the shadow Home Affairs team from September 2015 to October 2016. She was promoted within the team as Shadow Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability in September 2016,[5][6] and became a junior Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities in July 2017.

Harris is a friend and ally of Keir Starmer,[7] encouraging him to stand in the 2020 Labour leadership election and co-chairing his campaign.[8] She was appointed PPS to Starmer when he became Leader of the Opposition in April 2020,[9][10] serving until her resignation in May 2021.

Deputy leadership of Welsh Labour

The Labour Party announced in September 2017 that it would create the position of Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour, and that the post would be held by a woman.[11] On 24 January 2018, Harris was confirmed as one of three candidates, alongside Newport City Council leader Debbie Wilcox and Assembly Member (AM) and former MP Julie Morgan[12]

Harris was elected on 21 April 2018[13] after securing 51.5% of the electoral college vote, narrowly defeating Morgan.[14] Harris won the majority of votes from affiliated groups, AMs and MPs, but lost the membership by a margin of 2 to 1.[15][16] The electoral college system was abolished in favour of one member, one vote in September 2018.[17]

Campaigns

Harris has led many successful campaigns during her time in Parliament, on issues including children's funerals, fixed-odds-betting terminals and electricity fires in homes. During her first year in Parliament, she raised issues such as the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, electrification of the South Wales mainline to Swansea, and various consumer issues such as fixed odds betting terminals and faulty electrical goods.

After losing her son Martin in 1989, Harris was forced to take out a loan and rely on donations from the community to cover the funeral costs. Not wanting other parents to suffer the same hardship, Harris spoke about her grief in an adjournment debate on 28 November 2016. She went on to work with the Fair Funerals Campaign to press the Government to create a Children's Funeral Fund.[18] The fund was announced for Wales in March 2017,[19] by PM Theresa May for England in March 2018, and Scotland in May 2018.[20][21]

Following a two-year campaign to reduce the maximum stake on fixed-odds-betting terminals from £100 per spin to £2, on 17 May 2018 the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport announced that they would be reducing the stake in line with Harris's suggestion of £2 a spin.[22]

Harris started a campaign on fires caused by electrical products in people's homes as a result of a death of a constituent, Linda Merron in Penlan, Swansea.[23] Her campaign is to raise awareness of cheap electrical goods being sold online and the potential impact of unsafe goods and she has had several debates in the House of Commons on the issue.[24]

Controversies

Harris faced allegations of making homophobic remarks by a former colleague in July 2018, as well as an alleged assault. She apologised for her conduct, which occurred before Harris was an MP, but added that her remarks would have been "office banter".[25] Due to the equivocal nature of the apology, some party colleagues called for her to step down as a Shadow Equalities Minister.[26] However, party leader Jeremy Corbyn, First Minister Carwyn Jones, and other LGBT colleagues supported Harris.[27]

Harris was criticised for inviting Nicole Elkabbas, a convicted criminal, to speak at a parliamentary event on anti-gambling in February 2021. Two months earlier, Elkabbas was found guilty of eliciting tens of thousands in donations by faking a cancer diagnosis.[28][29] Harris gave Elkabbas a character reference at her sentencing, which she defended as being "in connection with her addiction leading her to crime."[28][30]

Harris resigned as PPS to Starmer on 11 May 2021, accused of inflaming party tensions following the 2021 local elections and subsequent shadow cabinet reshuffle.[31] The Guardian reported that a Labour MP had made a formal complaint about Harris' conduct and comments about the private lives of shadow cabinet ministers,[32] which The Times reported to include Deputy Leader Angela Rayner.[33] Harris denied being forced to step down, attributing her decision to personal issues and a high workload.[8]

References
  1. "Carolyn Harris MP". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. Nelson, Nigel (29 October 2016). "MP was forced to borrow money and take out loan just so she could afford to bury tragic son". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. "Election 2015: Swansea East parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  4. Cornock, David (9 June 2015). "MP: Dylan Thomas wrong about his 'ugly, lovely town'". BBC News. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  5. "Jeremy Corbyn welcomes 10 returning MPs to shadow team". ITV News. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. "Second reading: correspondence from the Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability to Carolyn Harris MP (accessible version)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  7. Proctor, Kate; Hoffman, Noa (23 December 2021). "Labour Insiders Say Prioritising Talent Over Loyalty On His Front Bench Could Be Keir Starmer's Undoing". Politics Home. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  8. Masters, Adrian (29 July 2021). "Welsh MP 'still friends with Starmer' after quitting as aide to Labour leader". ITV News. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  9. Rodgers, Sienna. "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  10. Harris MP, Carolyn (6 April 2020). "Over the moon to be appointed as @Keir_Starmer's Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) at such a crucial time for our country. Looking forward to working with him and his fantastic new Shadow Cabinet as we address the pressing challenges ahead". @carolynharris24. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  11. "Welsh Labour to appoint woman as deputy leader in 2018". BBC News. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  12. Davies, Daniel (24 January 2018). "Morgan, Wilcox and Harris in running for Welsh Labour deputy". BBC News. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  13. "Harris elected Welsh Labour deputy leader". BBC News. BBC. 21 April 2018.
  14. "Carolyn Harris elected Welsh Labour deputy leader". LabourList. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  15. Mosalski, Ruth (21 April 2018). "Julie Morgan demands change after losing with the most votes". WalesOnline. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  16. "Welsh Labour election sees right defy members". Socialist Worker. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  17. "Welsh Labour leader election to use one-member-one-vote". BBC News. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  18. "Fair Funerals". fairfuneralscampaign.org.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  19. "Welsh Government | Child burial fees will no longer apply in Wales". gov.wales. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  20. "Child burial and cremation fees to end". Scottish Government News. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  21. "Children's Funeral Fund for England". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  22. "Government to cut Fixed Odds Betting Terminals maximum stake from £100 to £2". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  23. "Air purifier caused fatal fire, MP warns". BBC News. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  24. "Faulty Electrical Imports". theyworkforyou.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  25. Williamson, David (3 August 2018). "Carolyn Harris under pressure to quit over homophobic allegation". Wales Online.
  26. "Labour MP facing calls to stand down over her handling of alleged homophobic comments". ITV News. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  27. "Carolyn Harris: Corbyn backs under fire MP in gay slur row". BBC News. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  28. Dathan, Matt (13 February 2021). "Starmer aide invited swindler to address MPs". The Times. London. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  29. "Woman guilty of fake cancer GoFundMe fundraising fraud". BBC News. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  30. Sharp, Jess (10 February 2021). "Judge criticises MP's remarks about woman jailed after £45,000 scam and faking cancer". Sky News. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  31. Mosalski, Ruth (11 May 2021). "Carolyn Harris resigns as aide for Labour leader Keir Starmer amid allegations of spreading rumours". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  32. Elgot, Jessica (11 May 2021). "Keir Starmer aide Carolyn Harris resigns". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  33. Zeffman, Henry; Maguire, Patrick; Courea, Eleni; Wright, Oliver (11 May 2021). "Keir Starmer's aide Carolyn Harris resigns amid accusations of spreading rumours about Angela Rayner". The Times. London. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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