WikiPortallus: Jacqui Smith.html

Born in Malvern, Worcestershire, Smith attended Dyson Perrins High School in Malvern. Her parents were teachers. Her local MP there, Conservative backbencher Sir Michael Spicer, recalled in Parliament in 2003 how he had first met her when he was addressing the sixth form at The Chase School, where Smith's mother was a teacher.^[3] "So great was my eloquence that she immediately rushed off and joined the Labour party."^[4] Smith went on to study for a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Hertford College, Oxford. After Oxford, she did a PGCE at Worcester College of Higher Education. Smith lived in Redditch until she was made home secretary when she moved to London to be closer to her job, whilst keeping the family home based in her constituency in Redditch.

Member of Parliament

She was elected MP for Redditch at the 1997 general election, becoming one of the "Blair Babes" as part of a (then) record number of female MPs elected to the House of Commons. However, it must be acknowledged that with a majority of only 2,719 Smith is in danger of losing her seat at the next election.

Minister for Schools

Government Chief Whip

In the 2006 reshuffle she was appointed as the Government's Chief Whip. In a period when supporters of Gordon Brown were pushing Prime Minister Tony Blair to resign, she was successfully able to calm the situation down.^[8] The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson described her as being effective at "making peace between the warring Blair and Brown factions".^[9]

Smith was regarded as a loyal Blairite during Tony Blair's premiership, a fact confirmed by her voting record,^[10] and she was brought to tears by Blair's farewell appearance in the House of Commons.^[8]

Home Secretary

On 24 January 2008 she announced new sweeping powers for the police, including the proposal to hold "terrorist suspects" or those "linked to terrorism" for forty-two days without charge.^[12] In the same month Smith was involved in controversy when she admitted that she wouldn't feel safe on the street of London at night. Such statements were compounded by her suggestion that walking on streets at night wasn't "a thing that people do". Critics suggested her statements were an admission that the government had failed to tackle crime effectively.^[13]

On the 19 July 2007 Smith admitted to smoking cannabis a number of times in Oxford in the 1980s.^[14] She stated her behaviour had been wrong, and urged people not to try it especially considering the side effects and alleged strengthening of cannabis that had occurred since that time. She also added that having smoked cannabis, it had "given her the experiences to understand that she wants crime tackled". This information was made public the day after Gordon Brown appointed her head of a new government review of the UK Drugs strategy. The incident left some in the news media to rename her Jacqui Spliff and Wacky Baccy Jacqui.^{citation needed} In May 2008 Smith reversed the government's decision in 2004 to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug, returning it to class B status in 2009.^[15]

In June 2008 she wrote a letter to the NUJ stating that police may restrict photography, going against a long-standing principle of not inhibiting the freedom to take photographs, stating that the police can "restrict or monitor photography in certain circumstances".^[16]

Personal life

Smith married Richard J Timney (born 1963 in Ealing) in October 1987 in Malvern and has two sons (born September 1993 and June 1998). She is a very keen supporter of Aston Villa who she regularly enjoys watching in her spare time.^[17]

Jacqui Smith.html

Contents

Early life

Member of Parliament

Minister for Schools

Government Chief Whip

Home Secretary

Personal life

See also

References

External links

Video clips

Offices held