Rebecca Long-Bailey
 Rebecca Long-Bailey     (solicitor, politician) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 22 September 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Manchester Metropolitan University | ||||||||||||||||||
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Rebecca Roseanne Long–Bailey (born 22 September 1979) is a British Labour Party politician and former solicitor. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles constituency since the 2015 General Election and the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet since February 2017.
On 6 January 2020, Rebecca Long-Bailey confirmed in an article published by Tribune magazine that she will stand in the Labour leadership contest to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.[1]
Early life and career
Rebecca Long-Bailey[2] was born on 22 September 1979[3] in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, to Irish parents.[4] Her father, Jimmy Long, was a Salford docker and a trade union representative at Royal Dutch Shell, Barton Docks.[5] She attended Chester Catholic High School.[6]
She began her working life serving customers in a pawnbrokers, something she says "taught [her] more about the struggles of life than any degree or qualification ever could." She also worked in various call centres, a furniture factory, and in postal delivery before eventually studying to become a solicitor.[7]
She studied Politics and Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, then completed "various part-time law conversion and solicitors' courses."[8] She has worked for the law firm Pinsent Masons and in 2003, she began working as a landlord and tenant solicitor for the law firm Halliwells; she moved in 2007 to work for Hill Dickinson,[9][10] specialising in commercial law, commercial property, NHS contracts and NHS estates.
Parliamentary career
When Hazel Blears stood down as the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles at the 2015 General Election, Long-Bailey received the backing of Unite the Union when the Labour Party decided to have a woman-only shortlist. She was elected with a vote share of 49.4% and a majority of 20%.[11]
Long-Bailey was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the 2015 Labour leadership election.[12] On 18 September 2015, after Corbyn was elected as leader, she was appointed as a Shadow Minister for the Treasury as part of his first frontbench team.[13] She was also appointed to Labour's National Executive Committee by Corbyn as one of three representatives of the front bench, replacing Hilary Benn.[14]
Long-Bailey was appointed as the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 27 June 2016 after resignations from the Shadow Cabinet.[15] On Clive Lewis's resignation from the Shadow Cabinet over Corbyn's whipping of the European Union Article 50 vote, Long-Bailey was appointed as the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 9 February 2017.[16] She was re-elected in the UK/2017 General Election with an increased vote share of 65.5% and an increased majority of 40.2%.[17]
Long-Bailey was re-elected in the 2019 General Election with a vote share of 56.8%, a reduction of 8.7 percentage points on the 2017 Election result.[18] On 6 January 2020 she announced she was standing to be Leader of the Labour Party, as it needed a socialist candidate.[19]
Personal life
Long-Bailey is married and has a son.[20] She is a Roman Catholic.[21]
References
- ↑ "To Win We Must Unite All of Labour’s Heartlands"
- ↑ "Rebecca Roseanne Long-Bailey"
- ↑ "Members of the House of Commons since 1979: Rebecca Long Bailey"
- ↑ "High-flying solicitor is in the running to stand for Hazel Blears seat"
- ↑ "Female MPs: Parliament's future front bench stars"
- ↑ "Rebecca Long Bailey: Corbyn loyalist seen as heir apparent"
- ↑ "About Me"
- ↑ "Working class woman transformed into fervent politician"
- ↑ "Labour's legal leaders join Shadow Cabinet rebellion"
- ↑ "Long Bailey, Rebecca"
- ↑ "Salford and Eccles – 2015 Election Results"
- ↑ "Who nominated who for the 2015 Labour leadership election?"
- ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn's full frontbench team unveiled"
- ↑ "Hilary Benn bumped off NEC as Trident debate looms"
- ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn unveils new top team after resignations"
- ↑ "Corbyn replaces Lewis in shadow cabinet reshuffle"
- ↑ "Salford and Eccles – 2017 Election Results"
- ↑ "Salford & Eccles"
- ↑ "Our task is to build a winning vision of a socialist future"
- ↑ "High-flying solicitor chosen to stand for Labour in Hazel Blears' Salford and Eccles seat"
- ↑ "As it happened: Clashes over NHS, Brexit and economy"
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