Siân James (politician)

Siân Catherine James (born 24 June 1959) is a Welsh Labour Party politician, who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Swansea East from 2005 to 2015.

Siân James
Siân James at Amsterdam Gay Pride, 2016
Member of Parliament
for Swansea East
In office
5 May 2005 – 30 March 2015
Preceded byDonald Anderson
Succeeded byCarolyn Harris
Personal details
Born (1959-06-24) 24 June 1959
Morriston, Glamorgan, Wales
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Alma materSwansea University

Early life

She spent most of her childhood in the Swansea Valley, where her parents ran a public house. She attended Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School on Afan Valley Road in Cimla, Neath. James married at age 16 and had two children by age 20.[1] Living as a young housewife, James said: "As long as my lace curtains were the cleanest, my children immaculately dressed, their hand-knitted clothes made with love, I was happy."[1][2]

During the 1984 miners' strike, James helped feed over 1,000 families a week from nine different centres.[1] After the strike, James decided to take her A-Levels, before attending Swansea University.[1] In the 2014 film Pride, Jessica Gunning portrays a young Siân James during the time of the miners' strike.

Career

After raising her children, she attended Swansea University as a mature student, studying for a degree in the Welsh Language. She was heavily involved with the students' union and an enthusiastic member of the women's group.

After graduation, she worked for a series of organisations, with her final role before entering Parliament as Director of Welsh Women's Aid.

Political career

As a young mother, James became involved in the family support networks surrounding the 1984 miners' strike, that were working to safeguard South Wales communities and the way of life. After the end of the strike, she became involved in women's rights campaigns.

In 2004 she resigned from the role in Welsh Women's Aid to stand as the Labour Party candidate in Swansea East. She was elected in May 2005 with a majority of 11,249 votes, the first woman to represent Swansea East and one of only eight women MPs from Wales.

After being elected to Parliament, James was Parliamentary Private Secretary to both Gareth Thomas, the Minister of State for Trade, and to Paul Murphy, the Welsh secretary, until resigning in March 2009. She cited overwork as the cause of her resignation but it also allowed her to sign the early day motion opposing the part privatisation of the Royal Mail.[3]

On 25 February 2014, James announced her intention to stand down at the 2015 general election, saying that she wanted to spend more time campaigning out of Parliament.[4] On 26 September 2014, James was one of 25 Labour MPs who broke party discipline to vote against renewed air strikes in Iraq.[5]

She was placed number 1 on the South Wales West Labour list for the 2021 Senedd election.[6] As Labour had taken all the constituency seats in the region, she was not elected.

References
  1. Kellaway, Kate (31 August 2014). "When miners and gay activists united: the real story of the film Pride". The Guardian.
  2. "It is with great pleasure and some..." TheyWorkForYou.
  3. Oliver, Jonathan (8 March 2009). "Lord Mandelson feels heat in mail row". The Times. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  4. "Swansea East MP Sian James to stand down at next election". BBC News. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  5. "MPs who voted against the motion". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. Mosalski, Ruth (28 March 2021). "Senedd election 2021: Who's standing in the South Wales West region?". WalesOnline. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
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