Alison McGovern

British politician

Alison McGovern

Official portrait, 2019

Member of Parliament
for Wirral South

Incumbent

Assumed office
6 May 2010

Preceded by

Ben Chapman

Majority

6,105 (14.0%)

Shadow portfolios

2021–present	Employment
2020–2021	Cultural Industries and Sport
2015–2015	Economic Secretary
2014–2015	Children and Families
2013–2014	International Development
2013–2013	Whip

Member of Southwark Council
for Brunswick Park

In office
4 May 2006 – 6 May 2010

Personal details

Born

(1980-12-30) 30 December 1980 (age 43)
Clatterbridge, Merseyside, England

Political party

Labour

Spouse

Ashwin Kumar

(m. 2008)

Alma mater

University College London (BA)

Alison McGovern (born 30 December 1980) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wirral South since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she was a member of Southwark Council from 2006 to 2010.

Early life and career

The granddaughter of songwriter and activist Peter McGovern,^[1] she was born in Clatterbridge, Merseyside,^[1] the daughter of a British Railways telecoms engineer father and a mother who was a nurse.

She was educated at Brookhurst Primary School, and then Wirral Grammar School for Girls, where she was the Head Girl from 1998 to 1999. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from University College London.^[2]

On graduation, she worked as a researcher at the House of Commons, before handling communications for development projects at Network Rail,^[2] then working for the Art Fund and Creativity, Culture and Education.^[3]

McGovern was first elected as a councillor for Brunswick Park in the London Borough of Southwark in 2006, later becoming the Deputy Leader of the borough council's 29-member group of Labour councillors.^{[citation needed]}

Parliamentary career

McGovern was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Wirral South in December 2009, following Ben Chapman's decision to stand down at the next election for family reasons following adverse publicity in The Daily Telegraph over the expenses scandal, and subsequently won the seat in the 2010 general election, defeating the Conservative candidate, Jeff Clarke, by 531 votes.

McGovern made her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 3 June 2010 in a debate on European Affairs.^[4] She became former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's parliamentary private secretary in July 2010.^[5] On 14 September 2010, she held her first adjournment debate regarding employment prospects for young people in Wirral. In November 2010. She was selected by the PLP to become a member of the International Development Select Committee.^[6]

In December 2010, she introduced a Private member's bill before Parliament that would amend the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to broaden the scope of the general duty of library authorities so as to include a duty to provide related cultural facilities alongside the library service. In March 2011, she visited India as part of an International Development Select Committee delegation.^[7]

In the 2013 Labour reshuffle, she was added to the Shadow International Development team.^[8] In 2014, she was moved to the shadow Children and Families portfolio.^[9]

In May 2015, McGovern was appointed Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, also known as Shadow City Minister, in Labour's Treasury team.^[10] She departed the opposition front bench after Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour leader in September 2015.^[11] In October 2015, McGovern was appointed as Chair of Progress, a political organisation associated with the development of New Labour.^[2]

In the 2015 Labour Party leadership election, McGovern endorsed Liz Kendall.^[12]

In January 2016, McGovern resigned from Labour's policy review on child poverty and combating inequality, as a protest against Progress being described by shadow Chancellor John McDonnell as having "a hard right agenda". She commented that she had been "backed into a corner". A Labour Party spokesperson stated "She is resigning from something that doesn't exist", as the initiative had not been confirmed or launched yet.^[13] McGovern supported Owen Smith in the unsuccessful attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.^[14]

McGovern served as chair of the Advisory Committee on Works of Art from July 2016 until April 2020, when she rejoined the opposition front bench. In September 2016, she was elected co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group Friends of Syria.^[15]

In the 2016 Labour Party leadership election, McGovern backed Owen Smith.^[16]

In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, McGovern supported Jess Phillips.^[12]

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies means her constituency will be dissolved as the Wirral will move from 4 MPs to 3.^[17] She challenged Mick Whitley in Birkenhead for the Labour selection for the 2024 general election and was successful on 16 June 2023.^[18]

McGovern is seen to be within the political right of the Labour Party and chairs Progressive Britain (formerly Progress), a group founded to support Tony Blair.^[12]

Personal life

In 2008 McGovern married economist Ashwin Kumar, formerly a senior civil servant in the Department for Work and Pensions and Passenger Director at Passenger Focus.^[1]^[19] The couple have a daughter, born in 2011.^[20]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Murphy, Liam (7 May 2013). "Wirral South MP Alison McGovern to have a baby". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gimson, Sally (30 October 2015). "No one can sit on their laurels". Progress Online. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
^ "Alison McGovern". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
^ Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South (3 June 2010). "European Affairs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 635–638.
^ Collins, Ray (27 July 2010). "Gordon Brown announces PPS". gordonbrown.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
^ "Weekly Information Bulletin: Session 2010–12: Select Committees". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. 6 November 2010.
^ "Annex: Committee's Visit Programme in India". The Future of DFID's Programme in India: Eighth Report of Session 2010–12, Volume I. House of Commons Library for the International Development Committee. 7 June 2011. Pdf.
^ Staff writer (8 October 2013). "Confirmed: Labour's new frontbench team in full". LabourList. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
^ Ferguson, Mark (5 November 2014). "Powell joins Shadow Cabinet – and gets major campaign role – as Miliband shuffles front bench". LabourList. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
^ Liam Murphy (20 May 2015). "Promotion for Wirral South MP Alison McGovern". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
^ Waugh, Paul (14 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn Signals Shift in Labour Policy on Wiping The UK Deficit, Party Source Claims". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "McGovern, Alison". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
^ Price, Ellie (10 January 2016). "Labour MP quits party review group over leadership disagreement". BBC News. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
^ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ Alison McGovern (20 September 2016). "How do I sleep, thinking about Syria? Not well. We can and must do more". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
^ Pope, Conor (21 July 2016). "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". labourlist.org. LabourList. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
^ "Wirral boundary changes prompt Birkenhead Labour candidate fight". BBC News. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
^ Neame, Katie (16 June 2023). "Frontbencher McGovern beats left-winger Whitley in Birkenhead selection". LabourList. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
^ "Our team: Ashwin Kumar". Tooley Street Research. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
^ Staff writer (10 December 2011). "Baby girl for Wirral MP". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.