Jeff Smith (British politician)


Jeff Smith is a British Labour Party politician from Manchester.
He was elected at the 2015 general election as the Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington. He had previously represented the Old Moat ward on Manchester City Council since 1997.

Early life and career

Smith was a pupil at the private Manchester Grammar School, and graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Politics and Economics in 1984. Smith was a member of the University of Manchester Students' Union Executive 1984–85 as Entertainments Officer.
He is a former Executive Member for Finance on Manchester City Council and a former governor of Parrs Wood High School.
He was chosen in June 2013 as the Labour candidate for Manchester Withington ahead of Angela Rayner and fellow Manchester Councillor Andrew Simcock.

Parliamentary career

At the general election in May 2015, Smith was elected MP for Manchester Withington on behalf of Labour, defeating the incumbent Liberal Democrat John Leech, with a majority of 14,873. Smith was re-elected in the 2017 snap general election, securing 71.7% of the vote and more than doubling his majority over next-placed John Leech to 29,875.
Smith is a senior Opposition whip.
In July 2015, Smith voted to prevent the government's Welfare Bill going through on the second reading, and voted against it at the third reading.
He supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.
Smith campaigned to remain in the European Union. In January 2017, he voted against triggering Article 50. On 14 March 2019, Smith voted to reject Theresa May's Brexit deal and a no-deal Brexit.
He is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health and sits on the advisory board of the .
Smith co-founded the with Thangam Debbonaire and is Co-Chair of the . On April 20th 2020, Smith appeared in a virtual online 4/20 event hosted by Voltfacehub, where he spoke in favour of the decriminalisation and regulation of the drug Cannabis.
He is Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group.

Personal life

Smith's Jewish great-grandmother, Rosa Simonson, came to Manchester in the 1880s to escape anti-Semitic persecution in what is now Poland.
Before being elected, Smith was an event manager and DJ, and has performed regularly at V Festival and club nights Poptastic in Manchester and Star in Leeds.