Ann Clwyd Cynon Valley MP

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Ann Clwyd MP
Ann Clwyd MP

Ann Clwyd Roberts (born 21 March 1937, Denbigh in North Wales) is a British Labour MP. She has represented Cynon Valley in Wales since 1984.

Contents

Early life

She is the daughter of Gwilym and Elizabeth Lewis. She lived in Pentre Halkyn in Flintshire and went to the Holywell Grammar School (now Holywell High School), then the independent Queen's School in Chester. She studied at the University College of Wales in Bangor. Although a Labour Party member as an adult, as a pupil, Clwyd once won a mock election as a Plaid Cymru supporter in her school. She was a student teacher at Hope School in Flintshire. She worked as a journalist, working for the BBC as a studio manager and then became Welsh correspondent for the Guardian and Observer newspapers for 1964-79. She was Vice-Chair of the Arts Council of Wales from 1975-9. She is a member of the NUJ and TGWU.

Parliamentary career

She was persuaded to stand for Parliament by Huw T Edwards, who felt that there should be more women in parliament. She was the unsuccessful Labour candidate in Denbigh in 1970 and Gloucester in October 1974. From 1979 to 1984, Ann Clwyd was MEP for Mid and West Wales. She was elected to Parliament in a byelection following the death of Ioan Evans and became the first woman to sit for a Welsh valleys constituency. She served as Shadow Minister of Education and Women's Rights from 1987 but was sacked in 1988 for rebelling against the party whip on a defence matter. She returned as Shadow Minister for Overseas Development from 1989 to 1992 and then served as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales in 1992 and for National Heritage from 1992 to 1993.

She was the Opposition Spokesperson for Employment from 1993 to 1994 and for Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1995 when she was again sacked, along with Jim Cousins, for taking a foreign trip without permission (in this case, visiting Kurdish sites in northern Iraq). In 1994 she staged a sit-in down Tower Colliery mine in her constituency to protest at its closure. She was accompanied by the late Glyndwr 'Glyn' Roberts (Senior) of Penywaun.

She was a member of the International Development Select Committee from 1997 to 2005. Having been prominent in her concern for the situation in Iraq before the war there in 2003, Tony Blair made her a Special Envoy on Human Rights in Iraq in the run-up to the War. She was the first journalist to put forward claims that Iraqis were killed in woodchippers. On August 9, 2004, she became a member of the Privy Council.

Clwyd was a Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 2001 until 2005, and was elected as Chair by 167 to 156 (beating Tony Lloyd) on May 24, 2005. However on December 5, 2006 she was defeated by Lloyd by 11 votes when she sought re-election, with her closeness to Tony Blair being cited as a reason for her defeat. [1]

Ann Clwyd, chosen for a Private Member's Bill via Ballot was pressurised by hundreds of pressure groups in order to publisise their group. Clwyd chose the Female Genital Mutilation Bill (to prohibit parents from sending, or taking, their daughters abroad for operations such as female circumcision) By Ann Clwyd speaking about this bill, Female Circumcision was banned in 1985. She has traditionally been regarded as on the left wing of the party, and has been a vocal supporter of the Iraq War.

Ann Clwyd on Aberdare Blog

Aberdare Blog » Ann Clwyd on Aberdare Blog

  1. Two More to Hear from Aberdare MP
    Two more people wanted from Aberdare...

    If two more people sign up for the free Hear From Your MP service, Aberdare's MP will receive an invitation to contact her constituents via the service. The Hear From Your MP service is free and it enables MPs to communicate with their constituents.

    In the words of Tom Steinberg and the [...]
  2. Ann Clwyd and the Ten Million Dollar Bag of Tomatoes
    Ann Clwyd - Aberdare's MP - drew attention to the plight of starving people in Zimbabwe yesterday in a debate in the House of Commons. She contributed a persuasive anecdote concerning her recent trip to South Africa...


    While I was in South Africa a few weeks ago, Zimbabwean refugees handed me a note for 10 [...]
  3. Ann Clwyd on the Iraq Inquiry Debate
    Ann Clwyd - Aberdare's MP - contributes towards the Iraq Inquiry debate in Parliament yesterday. She talks about her work with the Indict campaign and her contribution towards "the removal of the regime". I think that I have been quite consistent during the time that I have spoken about Iraq in this Chamber. I [...]
  4. The only Woman from Wales here for 14 years
    Aberdare's MP Ann Clwyd ponders being "the only woman from Wales here for 14 years" at the House of Commons this week.

    Her contributions came in a debate on International Women's Day at the House of Commons on Thursday, 6 March 2008.

    Speaking in the House, Ann Clwyd MP says : "I am pleased to see all [...]
  5. An Emotional Spasm from the Labour Party
    At Prime Minister's Question Time last week, Ann Clwyd the MP for Aberdare and Cynon Valley, invited Gordon Brown to congratulate the miners of Tower Colliery on their successful management of a coalmine ... "despite the efforts of the Conservatives to shut them down" (Source: Hansard via TheyWorkForYou). Prime Minister Brown replied in kind ... "I [...]
  6. Ann Clwyd’s Early Day Motion on the Sikh Case
    Aberdare's MP Ann Clwyd has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament on the Aberdare Girls School Sikh case.

    An Early Day Motion enables an MP to express their opinions on a subject and gather support. There is no guarantee of a debate in Parliament. The EDM reads thus :

    That this House takes serious note [...]
  7. Aberdare’s MP reopens Children’s Room at Aberdare Library
    Member of Parliament Ann Clwyd officially reopened the children’s room in the Library which has been revamped amidst much excitement for the many thousands of children who use it every year.

    The Library on Green Street, Aberdare opened in 1963 and has remained virtually the same until recent refurbishments to improve access to the building.

    A lift [...]
  8. Aberdare MP at Remembrance Sunday
    Aberdare MP Ann Clwyd (Labour, Cynon Valley) came to Aberdare Town today November 11th 2007 for Remembrance Sunday to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph in Aberdare, along with representatives from other groups in the Community and several hundred of her constituents. Photo : Laying the wreath at Aberdare Cenotaph - Ann Clwyd MP and [...]
  9. Ann Clwyd on Burma
    Aberdare's MP Ann Clwyd made a thoughtful contribution to the Burma debate yesterday : "I was flying over Burma at about 1 am this morning, and I wondered what was happening below in that country. Like many, I have not had the opportunity to visit it, but I have been to the border camps and [...]
  10. Hands Off Iraqi Oil - Come to Cardiff to hear a Story of Resistance
     

    Come and hear the powerful stories of the Iraqi oil workers and trade unions resisting the military and economic occupation of their homeland . . . Tuesday 2 October at 7 pm WALLACE LECTURE THEATRE Main Building Cardiff University Park Place (opp. Student Union Building)   Speakers-   EWA JASIEWICZ  

    UK rep for the Basra Oil Workers [...]

Personal life

She married Owen Roberts in 1963.

In the News

External links

News items


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Ann Clwyd.


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