Preceded by John Leech Name Jeff Smith Majority 14.873 (29.8%) Role Politician | Political party Labour Party Labour Party Occupation Member of Parliament | |
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Jeff Smith (born 26 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician from Manchester. He was elected at the 2015 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Withington. He had previously represented the Old Moat ward on Manchester City Council since 1997.
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Early life and career
Smith was a pupil at Manchester Grammar School, and graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Politics and Economics in 1984.
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. He was selected in preference to the candidate backed by Unite the Union.
Parliamentary career
At the general election in May 2015 Smith was elected MP for Manchester Withington, defeating the incumbent Liberal Democrat John Leech, with a majority of 14,873. In the 2017 General Election Smith increased his majority to almost 30,000 over Leech, turning the once Liberal Democrat marginal seat into one of Labour's safest.
Smith is a whip for the Labour Party. Smith was one of the 184 Labour MPs to abstain on the controversial Conservative welfare Bill. In February 2017, he voted twice against the bill to trigger Article 50 to leave the European Union, saying that a clear majority of his constituents had voted to remain in the EU.
An atheist and humanist, he was elected Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group in 2017.
Personal life
Smith is also a part-time DJ and has performed regularly at V Festival and club nights Poptastic in Manchester and Star in Leeds