Wayne David

Wayne David MP (born 1 July 1957) is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Caerphilly since 2001. A member of the Labour Party, he was Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party from 1994 to 1998. As a Member of the European Parliament, he represented South Wales from 1989 to 1994 and South Wales Central from 1994 to 1999.

Wayne David
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales
In office
5 October 2008 – 11 May 2010
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byHuw Irranca-Davies
Succeeded byDavid Jones
2023–Middle East and North Africa
2020–2021Middle East and North Africa
2016–2020Armed Forces and Defence Procurement
2015–2016Political Reform
2015–2016Scotland
2015–2016Youth Justice
2011–2013Political and Constitutional Reform
2010–2011Europe
2010–2010Wales
Member of Parliament
for Caerphilly
Assumed office
7 June 2001
Preceded byRon Davies
Majority6,833 (17.0%)
Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party
In office
1994–1998
UK Party LeaderTony Blair
Preceded byPauline Green
Succeeded byAlan Donnelly
Member of the European Parliament
for South Wales Central
South Wales (1989–94)
In office
15 June 1989 – 10 June 1999
Preceded byWin Griffiths
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1957-07-01) 1 July 1957
Bridgend, Wales
Political partyLabour
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1991; div. 2007)​
  • Jayne Edwards
    ​
    (m. 2016)​
Alma materCardiff University
Swansea University
Websitewaynedavid.co.uk

David served in government as an Assistant Whip from 2007 to 2008 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales from 2008 to 2010. He was a Shadow Minister under every Leader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2021, and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ed Miliband during his tenure in the role. He was ranked as the best MP in the United Kingdom by constituents in Change.org's People-Power Index in 2019.[1]

Early life and education

David was born in Bridgend, the son of a teacher and grandson of a coal miner. He grew up in the local village of Cefn Cribwr and later attended Cynffig Comprehensive School before attending University College, Cardiff, where he was awarded a BA in History and Welsh History in 1979. After studying Economic History at University College, Swansea, he returned to Cardiff and qualified as a teacher in 1983 with a PGCE from University College Cardiff. He was awarded the Charles Morgan Prize for Welsh history in 1979.

Professional career

David taught history at the Brynteg Comprehensive School, Bridgend from 1983 to 1985, when he left to work for the Workers' Educational Association. He became the chairman of War on Want Cymru in 1987, stepping aside in 1989. He joined the United Nations Association's Cardiff branch in 1989.

Political career

David was an elected representative on the Welsh Executive of the Labour Party from 1981 to 1982 and 1986 to 1989. He was served as a councillor to the Cefn Cribwr Community Council in 1985, and was its chairman from 1986 until 1990. He was a member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee from 1994 to 1998.

European Parliament

David was elected as Member of the European Parliament for South Wales in 1989, and re-elected to South Wales Central in 1994 following constituency boundary changes. He served as Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party from 1994 to 1998, and was previously treasurer of the group from 1989 to 1991.

He stood down to contest the Rhondda in the first National Assembly for Wales elections in 1999. David lost to the Plaid Cymru candidate by over 2,000 votes.

UK Parliament

David was elected as Member of the UK Parliament for Caerphilly for at the 2001 general election, succeeding former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies in the safe Labour seat. He made his maiden speech on 17 June 2001, in which he called for a new hospital in his constituency.[2]

David was a member of the European Scrutiny Committee from 2001 to 2007. In 2005, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Ministry of Defence team and then subsequently to Adam Ingram, Minister of State for the Armed Forces. He resigned as a PPS on 6 September 2006, along with a number of others, citing Prime Minister Tony Blair's refusal to name a departure date.

After Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, David was appointed as an Assistant Whip to the Department for Work and Pensions and Wales Office in July 2007. Following the October 2008 government reshuffle, he was promoted to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales.

Following Labour's defeat at the 2010 general election, he served as Shadow Wales Minister from May to October 2010. David was appointed Shadow Europe Minister in October 2011. He served as Shadow Political and Constitutional Reform Minister from October 2011 until October 2013, when he became PPS to Ed Miliband.

In July 2015, he was appointed as a Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, Justice and Scotland. David was re-appointed to the three positions by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, but resigned in June 2016 after losing confidence in his leadership. He supported Owen Smith in his unsuccessful Labour leadership challenge in 2016,[3] and re-joined the front bench as Shadow Armed Forces and Defence Procurement Minister the following October.

David briefly departed the front bench from January until April 2020, when he became Shadow Middle East and North Africa Minister. He stood down from the position in December 2021,[4] and announced his intention retire at the next general election in February 2022.[5] He chose to not to seek re-election due to his age.[6] He returned to the position of Shadow Middle East and North Africa Minister in June 2023.[7]

Personal life

David was to married Catherine Thomas from 1991 until their divorce in 2007. Thomas was employed by David during his tenure in the European Parliament, and later served as a Welsh Assembly member. He married Jayne Edwards in 2016.[8]

Publications
  • Building on Maastricht: A Left Agenda for Europe by Wayne David, 1993, Tribune Group of Euro MPs
  • Going Forward in Europe by Wayne David, 1994
  • Contributor to The Future of Europe: Problems and Issues for the Twenty-First Century by Wayne David, 1996, St Martin's Press, ISBN 0-333-66600-3
  • Remaining True: A biography of Ness Edwards by Wayne David, Foreword by Neil Kinnock, 2006, Published by the Caerphilly Local History Society, ISBN 0-9542782-1-6

References
  1. "Every UK MP has been ranked from best to worst in new 'People-Power Index' - this is how yours scored". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  2. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 27 Jun 2001 (Pt 23)". Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  3. "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  4. David, Wayne (4 December 2021). "After a number of years on the @UKLabour Front Bench, I have decided to return to the back benches". Twitter.
  5. "Caerphilly Labour MP Wayne David to retire at next election". BBC News. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  6. "Welsh Labour MP announces plan to retire at the next General Election". The National Wales. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  7. Harpin, Lee. "Wayne David to step up as Labour's shadow Middle East minister". www.jewishnews.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  8. "Wayne David MP marries Jayne Edwards - Wayne David". Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
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