Paul Murphy, Baron Murphy of Torfaen

Background

Paul Peter Murphy was born to Ronald and Marjorie (née Gough) Murphy. He has a younger brother, Neil. Murphy's father, Ronald, was a miner of Irish descent. The family was devoutly Catholic. His mother, Marjorie (née Gough), was English, and her family were businesspeople.

Paul Murphy attended St Francis Roman Catholic School, Abersychan and West Monmouth School, Pontypool. He later attended Oriel College, Oxford to study History. He was a management trainee with the CWS, before becoming a lecturer in Government and History at Ebbw Vale College of Further Education, now part of Coleg Gwent. He has never married. Murphy once said in an interview "I have so many books, there's only enough room for me".

Early political career

Murphy joined the Labour Party at age 15, and is a member of the Transport and General Workers Union. He was Secretary of the Pontypool/Torfaen Constituency Labour Party from 1971–87. He was a member of Torfaen Council from 1973–87 and was Chair of its Finance Committee from 1976–86. He contested Wells Constituency in Somerset in the 1979 General Election.

Senior Cabinet posts

He has been MP for Torfaen, Wales since the 1987 election. In opposition he served as a foreign affairs spokesperson and then in defence as navy spokesperson. He has served twice as Secretary of State for Wales on 28 July 1999 to 24 October 2002 and again from 2008 to 2009. He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 24 October 2002 to 5 May 2005. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1999.

He was succeeded by Peter Hain and left the government, becoming chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee in May 2005. He was also British Chair of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body and an Executive Committee member of the British-American Parliamentary Group.

He was re-appointed Secretary of State for Wales on 24 January 2008, following the resignation of Peter Hain. He was also given the job of chairing a new Cabinet Committee on the sensitive issue of IT and information security, in the wake of a rash of scandals surrounding the loss of personal data by Government agencies. In April 2008 he was appointed as the Government's Minister for Digital Inclusion. Prior to joining the Cabinet he was Minister of State for political development in the Northern Ireland Office from 1997 to 1999 – acting as Mo Mowlam's deputy – and was largely responsible for negotiating the so-called strand two ('North-South' or 'Island of Ireland') arrangements agreed in the Good Friday Agreement.

In 2009 Murphy failed to secure his place in the reshuffle. Murphy was replaced with Peter Hain. It has never been made public why Murphy was replaced. David Davies, MP for Monmouth once said: "Paul Murphy is clearly a very experienced member of parliament and whilst I and my colleagues will disagree with his policies and his government's policies and will certainly take him to task for that, he's a man who is, I think I probably can say, is widely respected on all sides of the House of Commons." (After hearing Murphy had been asked to become Secretary of State for Wales.)

Voting record

In 1979 Murphy was a fierce opponent of devolution. Murphy recently said "I have been trying to work out whether or not I am a devo-sceptic and I have come to the conclusion that I am not. In 1978, I was a devo-opponent, and in 1997 I voted for devolution. My constituents agreed with me in 1978, but they did not agree with me in 1997, because they voted against a Welsh Assembly on both occasions. However, I would rather describe myself as a devo-realist, in the sense that what is here is here. I am not all that keen on a coalition in Cardiff, but we are where we are, and we have to work in the current political climate for the benefit of the people whom we represent, whether we are members of parliament, Assembly Members or members of local authorities".

In a free parliamentary vote on 20 May 2008, Murphy voted for cutting the upper limit for abortions from 24 to 12 weeks, along with two other Catholic cabinet ministers Ruth Kelly and Des Browne. In 2013, he became one of the few Labour MPs to vote against the bill that legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales, which was eventually passed with cross-party support.

Parliamentary expenses

Murphy was subject to criticism over his expenses claims, revealed by the Daily Telegraph during the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal. Most notable of these was his £3,419.25 claim to have a new boiler installed in his Westminster house, stating that the previous one was a hazard as "The hot water was far too hot".

Other claims submitted by Paul Murphy relate to purchases of a toilet roll holder, new carpeting and a television, as well as mortgage payments and stamp duty. Murphy was ordered to repay some of the money improperly "claimed back" in the amount of £2,237.72 in cleaning costs, mortgage payments and a wardrobe that exceeded the guideline price.

Personal life

Murphy was created a life peer taking the title Baron Murphy of Torfaen, of Abersychan in the County of Gwent on 20 October 2015.

He is a member of the Oxford and Cambridge Club.