Siobhain McDonagh

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Siobhain McDonagh
honorific-suffix =

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constituency_MP = Mitcham and Morden
parliament =
majority = 12,560 (31.5%)
predecessor = Angela Rumbold
successor = Incumbent
term_start = 1 May 1997
term_end =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1960|02|20|df=yes
birth_place = Colliers Wood, London
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = University of Essex
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Siobhain Ann McDonagh (born 20 February 1960, London) is a British Labour Member of Parliament for the Mitcham and Morden constituency in London. She previously served as an Assistant Whip in the Labour Government, but was fired following comments regarding a leadership contest to replace PM Gordon Brown.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7613086.stm]

Early life

McDonagh is a Roman Catholic of Irish descent [ [http://siobhainmcdonagh.org.uk/about/ Siobhain McDonagh MP] ] and was educated at the Holy Cross Catholic Girls' School on Sandal Road in New Malden and later studied Politics at the University of Essex. Her sister is Baroness McDonagh of Mitcham and Morden who was General Secretary of the Labour Party between 1998 and 2001 and was instrumental in the modernisation of the Labour Party in both its campaigning and policy.

She was a clerical officer for the DHSS between 1981-3, then a Housing benefit from 1983-4, then a receptionist at the Wandsworth Homeless Persons Unit from 1984-6, and a housing adviser from 1986-8.

Prior to being elected to Parliament she worked as a Development Manager for Battersea Churches Housing Trust from 1988-97. She also served as a councillor on London Borough of Merton for Colliers Wood ward between 1982 and 1998, chairing the Housing Committee between 1990 and 1995 where she was instrumental in the rebuilding of Phipps Bridge Estate.

Parliamentary career

She was first elected in 1997 on her third attempt, defeating the Conservative incumbent, Dame Angela Rumbold, who was her opponent in both 1987 and 1992 General Elections.

Siobhain McDonagh had a record of loyalty to the Labour Party. Locally, she generally has a reputation for being an assiduous local Member of Parliament holding a weekly surgery along with regular coffee mornings.

She has been extremely pro-active and instrumental in securing two Academy schools for East Mitcham, an area that suffers from considerable educational underachievement with GCSE results far below the national average. Recently she was also successful along with Merton Council in getting the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt, to locate the new critical care hospital at St Helier near the southern edge of her constituency. This overturned a decision by local health chiefs to locate the hospital at the Sutton Hospital site a number of miles away from her Mitcham and Morden constituency.

After the May 2005 General Election she served as PPS to Dr. John Reid in his position as Secretary of State for Defence and from May 2006 to June 2007 Secretary of State for Home Affairs. She was appointed to the position of Assistant Whip on 28 June 2007 in the re-shuffle brought about by Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister.

Expenses Controversy

In 2007 McDonagh attracted widespread criticisms for her vast expenditure on stationery and postage, spending more than other MP on postage from 2003 to 2006. In total she spent £126,833 on postage alone in the four year period, an average of almost £32,000. When adding in stationery costs, her expenditure was close to £50,000 in both 200 and 2006. [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/siobhain_mcdonagh/mitcham_and_morden#expenses]

As a result of excessive spending on postage by MPs, a £7,000 limit was introduced for postage costs in 2007. [ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-451398/Crackdown-free-postage-Labour-MP-claims-50-000-stationery.html] Some critics such as Martin Bell have expressed concern that excessive postage spending gave incumbent MPs an advantage over challengers in elections as the funds mights be inappropriately used for party political purposes. [ [http://www.spinwatch.org/content/view/3620/9/ Spinwatch - MPs set to vote for another handout... at the taxpayer's expense ] ]

Dismissal

On Friday 12 September, McDonagh broke government ranks and became the first member of the government to call for a leadership contest. McDonagh said "It's about time we let party members and people involved in the Labour Party and the wider community in on that debate" in a BBC interview and was told live on air by a Channel 4 interviewer that she had been dismissed by Number 10.

Voting record

How Siobhain McDonagh voted on key issues since 2001 ( [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/siobhain_mcdonagh/mitcham_and_morden They Work For You] ):

* Has never voted on a transparent Parliament.
* Voted against introducing a smoking ban.
* Voted for introducing ID cards.
* Voted for introducing foundation hospitals.
* Voted for introducing student top-up fees.
* Voted for Labour's anti-terrorism laws.
* Voted for the Iraq war.
* Voted against investigating the Iraq war.
* Voted for replacing Trident.
* Voted for the hunting ban.
* Voted for equal gay rights.

References

External links

* [http://www.siobhainmcdonagh.org.uk Siobhain McDonagh MP official site]
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-3824,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Siobhain McDonagh MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/siobhain_mcdonagh/mitcham_and_morden TheyWorkForYou.com - Siobhain McDonagh MP]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/407.stm BBC Politics]