Eleanor Smith (politician) explained

Eleanor Smith
Office:Member of Parliament
for Wolverhampton South West
Predecessor:Rob Marris
Successor:Stuart Anderson
Term Start:8 June 2017
Term End:6 November 2019
Office1:President of Unison
1Blankname1:General Secretary
1Namedata1:Dave Prentis
2Blankname1:Vice President
2Namedata1:Chris Tansley
Maureen Le Marinel
Predecessor1:Angela Lynes
Successor1:Chris Tansley
Term Start1:24 June 2011
Term End1:22 June 2012
Office2:Vice President of Unison
Alongside2:Angela Lynes and Chris Tansley
1Blankname2:General Secretary
1Namedata2:Dave Prentis
2Blankname2:President
2Namedata2:Gerry Gallagher
Angela Lynes
Predecessor2:Gerry Gallagher
Successor2:Maureen Le Marinel
Term Start2:8 July 2009
Term End2:24 June 2011
Birth Date:5 July 1957[1]
Birth Place:Birmingham, England
Nationality:British
Party:Labour Party

Eleanor Patricia Smith (born 5 July 1957) is a British Labour politician and trade unionist who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South West from 2017 to 2019. She served as the President of the trade union Unison from 2011 to 2012, and the Vice President from 2009 to 2011.

Early career

Smith started training to be a nurse in 1977, and worked as theatre nurse from 1984–2017 at Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust.[2]

Smith was elected to serve as the first black woman President, from 2011 to 2012,[3] [4] and Vice President, from 2009 to 2011,[5] of the trade union Unison.[6] [7] She later became the regional council chair of Trades Union Congress Midlands.[8]

Parliamentary career

Smith was elected as the MP for Wolverhampton South West at the 2017 general election, succeeding outgoing Labour MP Rob Marris with an increased majority.[9] [10] She credited her victory to backing from Unison and Momentum activists rather than her Constituency Labour Party, who she said made her feel like "cannon fodder".[11]

Smith was the first British African-Caribbean person to represent a constituency in the West Midlands in the House of Commons, in a seat that was held for more than two decades by Enoch Powell (but had also been held by Paul Uppal, a British Indian).[12]

Smith was a member of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. She was also the Co-chair of two All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs): one on obesity,[13] and the other on adult social care.[14]

Smith commissioned an outside agency to produce a review into BAME blood, organ and stem cell donation. The review suggested some actions for the Government to take to increase the number of BAME donations. This led to the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care) Jackie Doyle-Price agreeing to meet Smith.[15]

At the 2019 election, Smith lost her seat to the Conservative Party candidate, Stuart Anderson.[16]

Voting record

Smith never rebelled against her party whip on any vote in Parliament.[17] While her constituency voted to leave the European Union, she generally voted for more EU integration,[18] and consistently voted against reducing central government funding of local government.

Black Country flag controversy

Shortly after her election to the House of Commons, Smith was reported to have criticised the design of the flag of the Black Country because of the association of locally-made chains with the slave trade, and to have suggested that the design of the flag be changed.[19] [20] On Twitter, she denied calling the flag racist or calling for it to be banned,[21] and in her Commons maiden speech, said that her comments "had been taken out of proportion", and that she had received "many abusive messages" over the issue.[22] The flag had previously been described as "offensive and insensitive" in 2015 by Wolverhampton-born, London-based activist Patrick Vernon, who claimed that its chains were a "disturbing" image of an industry that profited from the transatlantic slave trade and colonial rule in Africa.[23]

In 2018, a UK Independence Party supporter from Castlecroft (an area in Smith's constituency) was given a nine-week suspended prison sentence for sending racist and threatening emails to several MPs, including Smith, in which he told her to be put on "the first banana boat" to "the jungle clearing you came from".[24] Both the prosecution and defence cited Smith's reported comments about the flag as having motivated the abusive emails.

Post-parliamentary life

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith participated in a round-table event involving church leaders in Birmingham in response to comments the previous week saying uptake of the vaccine in some of the city's most vulnerable communities was as low as 50%. She said as a Christian, she would like to see strong interventions from church leaders, "When people are being misinformed on such a grand scale, churches need to step up. I am a Christian myself and I think they need to be clear. In my view they need to tell people it's OK to be vaccinated or it's a bit of a cop out". She also praised efforts in other faith communities, adding, "Many imams seem to be doing a good job in trying to get these messages out, we need to see the same".

Smith said official efforts to dispel myths and reassure people needed to be stepped-up, "Historically black people have not always been listened to, or treated equally in terms of medical care, so there is a lack of trust sometimes. We need to deal with it and we need role models within the community".[25]

Personal life

Smith's parents arrived in Great Britain from Barbados in 1954 as part of the Windrush generation. Smith is a Christian.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Members' Names Data Platform query . UK Parliament . 24 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190424204847/http://data.parliament.uk/membersdataplatform/services/mnis/members/query/id%3D4609/BasicDetails/ . 24 April 2019 . live .
  2. Web site: About – Eleanor Smith MP . Smith . Eleanor . The Labour Party . 20 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191224085751/https://eleanorsmithmp.co.uk/about/ . 24 December 2019 . live .
  3. Unison. unisontheunion. 84295847206060034. Congratulations to Eleanor Smith, first #UNISON black president. She will be a great leader for our union.. 28 July 2021. en.
  4. Web site: 22 June 2012. New presidential team elected. 28 July 2021. UNISON National. en-US.
  5. Web site: First black nurse elected vice-president of UNISON. 9 July 2009. Nursing Times. 14 July 2022.
  6. News: Five Nurses take seats in the House of Commons. 13 June 2017. NursingNotes. 20 June 2017. en-GB. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180108233529/https://nursingnotes.co.uk/four-nurses-take-seats-house-commons/. 8 January 2018.
  7. News: Unison union elects first black woman president . . 28 June 2011 . 9 June 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180121234612/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-13943369 . 21 January 2018 .
  8. Web site: TUC General Council members: Eleanor Smith – UNISON . tuc.org.uk . . https://web.archive.org/web/20170619092759/https://www.tuc.org.uk/about-tuc/tuc-general-council-members#eleanor . 19 June 2017 . 19 June 2017.
  9. News: Election 2017: Wolverhampton South West. BBC News. live. 9 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606131021/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14001051. 6 June 2017.
  10. News: Banner. David. 5 June 2017. Wolverhampton South West General Election profile: Will tables be turned in city seat?. en. Express & Star. live. 9 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170605133023/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2017/06/05/wolverhampton-south-west-general-election-profile-will-tables-be-turned-in-city-seat/. 5 June 2017.
  11. Web site: Eleanor Smith: City Labour group failed to back me – I only won because of Union and Momentum | Express & Star . Peter . Madeley . . 1 February 2018 . 15 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191015143416/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2018/02/01/city-labour-group-failed-to-back-me---mp/ . 15 October 2019 . live .
  12. News: Espinoza. Javier. UK general election delivers most diverse parliament in history. Financial Times. 11 June 2017. 12 June 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170729224621/https://www.ft.com/content/3bbb5af2-4ea7-11e7-bfb8-997009366969?mhq5j=e3. 29 July 2017.
  13. Web site: About the Group – All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity. 25 November 2019.
  14. Web site: All-Party Parliamentary Group on Adult Social Care. 25 November 2019.
  15. News: Eleanor Smith MP: BAME patients will continue to die unless organ donation is normalised. PoliticsHome. 26 July 2018. 25 November 2019.
  16. News: Wolverhampton South West parliamentary constituency – Election 2019. 13 December 2019. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20190412214430/https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/E14001051. 12 April 2019. live.
  17. Web site: Voting Record – Eleanor Smith MP, Wolverhampton South West (25631). 19 November 2019. The Public Whip.
  18. Web site: Eleanor Smith, former MP, Wolverhampton South West. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191224091155/https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25631/eleanor_smith/wolverhampton_south_west. 24 December 2019. 19 November 2019. TheyWorkForYou.
  19. Web site: Madeley, Peter . Black Country flag is 'racist' and should be scrapped says Wolverhampton MP Eleanor Smith . . 15 July 2017 . 19 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191015134831/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2017/07/15/black-country-flag-is-racist-and-should-be-scrapped-says-wolverhampton-mp-eleanor-smith/ . 15 October 2019 . live .
  20. Web site: Wright, Paul . Labour MP calls for popular Black Country flag to be scrapped because it's 'racist' . . 15 July 2017 . 15 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191015135226/https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/labour-mp-calls-popular-black-country-flag-be-scrapped-because-its-racist-1630469 . 15 October 2019 . live .
  21. News: MP Eleanor Smith denies calling Black Country flag racist . BBC News . 17 July 2017 . 19 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190415122309/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-40633849 . 15 April 2019 . live .
  22. Web site: Madeley, Peter . Black Country flag row: Wolverhampton MP Eleanor Smith defends stance in Commons . . 19 July 2017 . 19 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191015134801/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2017/07/19/smith-defends-flag-stance-in-commons/ . 15 October 2019 . live .
  23. News: . Black Country flag row: Thousands join backlash over 'offensive' label . Express & Star . Wolverhampton . 14 July 2015 . 17 July 2020 .
  24. News: Man given suspended sentence over racist emails to MPs . The Guardian . 4 June 2018 . 19 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190227205043/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/04/pensioner-given-suspended-sentence-over-racist-emails-to-mps . 27 February 2019 . live .
  25. News: Madeley . Peter . 22 January 2021 . Mistrust of the NHS leading to black people refusing Covid jab, former MP says . Express & Star . Wolverhampton .

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