Andy McDonald
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Middlesbrough
Assumed office
29 November 2012
Preceded byStuart Bell
Majority8,390 (24.6%)
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Secretary of State
2020–2021Employment Rights and Protections
2016–2020Transport
Shadow Minister
2016–2016Rail
Member of Middlesbrough Council
for Westbourne
In office
4 May 1995 – 6 May 1999
Personal details
Born
Andrew Joseph McDonald

(1958-03-08) 8 March 1958
Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England
Political partyLabour[lower-alpha 1]
Alma materLeeds Polytechnic (BA)
Websiteandymcdonaldmp.org

Andrew Joseph McDonald (born 8 March 1958) is a British politician and solicitor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough since 2012. A member of the Labour Party, he has sat as an independent MP since 2023 after being suspended from the party whip because of comments he made at a pro-palestinian rally that were described as "deeply offensive".

McDonald served as Shadow Employment Secretary in Keir Starmer's Shadow Cabinet from 2020 until his resignation 2021. Previously, he served as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet from 2016 to 2020.

Early life

Andy McDonald was born on 8 March 1958,[1] in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire.[2]

He was educated at a number of local schools, including St. Francis Primary School, St. Edward's Primary School and St. George's Secondary School (which later became Trinity Catholic College, Middlesbrough). He attended St. Mary's Sixth Form College before studying a degree in law at Leeds Polytechnic.

Following completion of his law degree, McDonald worked as a solicitor for over 25 years. He was a senior solicitor at the Middlesbrough office of Thompsons Solicitors and led the firm's Serious Injury Unit for the Cumbria, Humberside, North East and Yorkshire areas. He was also the firm's Head of Military Claims for members of the British Armed Forces.[3] Whilst working for the firm, McDonald acted as an adviser to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee for its 2003 report on Armed Forces Pensions and Compensation.[4] He has also served as both Chair and as Secretary of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers' Military Special Interest Group, and was a founder member of The Royal British Legion's Solicitors Group.[5]

Early political career

McDonald was active in local politics in Middlesbrough for many years. He served as a Labour councillor for Westbourne ward from 1995 to 1999.[6] At the time of his selection as a parliamentary candidate, he was chairman of Middlesbrough Labour Party Local Government Committee.[7]

Labour shortlisted McDonald as a potential candidate for the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the 2010 United Kingdom general election. However, Tom Blenkinsop was the eventual choice.[2]

Parliamentary career

McDonald became a parliamentarian when he won the Middlesbrough by-election held on 29 November 2012, retaining the seat for Labour following the death of Sir Stuart Bell. McDonald increased the party's share of the vote to 60.5%, though his majority was reduced by 500 to 8,211.[8]

Since his election to Parliament, he has campaigned against the "Bedroom Tax" (part of the Welfare Reform Act 2012) and in favour of nationalisation of the East Coast Main Line franchise, arguing that the Scotland-London railway had been the only one in the country "which comes close to paying for itself" and that journey numbers, revenue and customer satisfaction had grown since nationalisation in 2009.[9]

In February 2013, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Attorney General.

Following the Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet reshuffle in October 2013, he became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Chuka Umunna, in Umunna's role as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.[10]

In January 2016, McDonald was appointed to Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet to replace Jonathan Reynolds, who resigned as Shadow Minister for Rail in protest after Corbyn sacked Pat McFadden.[11][12]

In June 2016, he was promoted to Shadow Transport Secretary during Corbyn's post-Brexit Shadow Cabinet reshuffle.[13] In his time as Shadow Transport Secretary, McDonald oversaw the development of Labour's policy to nationalise the railways. On the 25th anniversary of the privatisation of the railways, McDonald said privatisation had failed since the taxpayer was "putting in even more money to the privatised system than when it was nationalised", and that nationalisation would allow a Labour government to cap fares and run the railways in the interest of passengers.[14]

In March 2018, McDonald was accused of comparing the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust by Karen Pollock, the chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust[15]

In April 2020, incoming leader Keir Starmer moved McDonald to the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections.[16] McDonald was the chair of Labour's "Power in the Workplace Taskforce" which provided input into Labour's Employment Rights' Green Paper published in September 2021. The paper stated that "Labour is demanding that the minimum wage is immediately raised to at least £10 per hour for all workers".[17] In September 2021, McDonald resigned as Shadow Secretary, citing lack of support from Starmer for an increase in the minimum wage to £15 per hour. He said he had been instructed by Starmer's office to argue at the Labour Party Conference "against a national minimum wage of £15 an hour and against statutory sick pay at the living wage".[18]

In April 2023, using parliamentary privilege when speaking in the House of Commons, McDonald alleged "shocking, industrial-scale corruption" surrounding the ongoing Teesworks free port development near Redcar.[19] Prior to this, the alleged corruption had been reported in Private Eye.[19] McDonald's comments led to a high-profile row with the Conservative Party Tees Valley metro mayor, Ben Houchen, who had significant involvement with the project. Following McDonald's comments, Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, called for a independent inquiry by the National Audit Office (NAO) into the Teesworks development.[20] The government refused the request for an independent inquiry by the NAO, instead deciding to appoint a government-chosen panel to investigate the allegations.[21][22]

In June 2023, McDonald condemned the government's proposal to house 1,500 asylum seekers on a barge, possibly in Middlesbrough.[23]

In October 2023, McDonald lost the Labour whip for giving a speech at a pro-Palestine rally in October 2023. Consequently, he currently sits as an independent MP.[24] He stated "We won't rest until we have justice, until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea can live in peaceful liberty". The party described McDonald's comment as "deeply offensive".[25][26] He sued Conservative MP Chris Clarkson over his response to his comments.[27]

Trustee and governor roles

McDonald was a governor of Abingdon Primary School for fifteen years until 2010, and became a governor of Middlesbrough College in 2012.[5] He has also been chair of two charities in his constituency, the Davison Trust, which works with children with special needs, and the Teesside branch of Headway, which works with people with brain injuries.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ Whip suspended since October 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Thompsons Solicitors LLP". Dellam Corporate Information. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Andy McDonald chosen as Middlesbrough Labour candidate in by-election to replace the late Sir Stuart Bell". Darlington and Stockton Times. 4 November 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Andrew McDonald". Thompsons Solicitors. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "House of Commons Defence Committee: Armed Forces Pensions and Compensation :First Report of Session 2003–04 Volume I:Report, together with formal minutes" (PDF). The Stationery Office Limited. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Governing Body Membership:Mr Andrew McDonald College Governor". Middlesbrough College. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Black day for jobs; Your Say". Evening Gazette. 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Trade Union solicitor Andy McDonald will stand as Labour candidate in Middlesbrough bi-election". The Northern Echo. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Middlesbrough by-election: Labour's Andy McDonald wins". BBC News. 30 November 2012. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "East Coast railway line reprivatisation 'baffling' – MP". BBC News. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Dale, Sarah (11 December 2013). "'Nothing can prepare you for this': Andy McDonald looks back on first year as Middlesbrough MP". Teesside Live. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn finalises shadow cabinet reshuffle". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  12. ↑ "Shadow Rail Minister Quits After Reshuffle". Sky News. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn unveils new top team after resignations". BBC News. 27 June 2016. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "Privatising Britain's railways cost taxpayers £5bn per year and increased fares, Labour claims". The Independent. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  15. ↑ Brown, Mike (26 March 2018). "Andy McDonald denies comparing Palestine situation to Holocaust amid Jeremy Corbyn anti-Semitism row". TessideLive. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  16. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna (9 April 2020). "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  17. ↑ McDonald, Andy; Rayner, Angela; Hussain, Imran (2021). Employment Rights Green Paper: A New Deal for Working People (PDF). Brighton: The Labour Party. p. 4.
  18. ↑ "Shadow cabinet member Andy McDonald quits in protest at Sir Keir Starmer". BBC News. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Mayor brands MP 'liar and a coward' in project row". BBC News. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  20. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (16 May 2023). "Labour demands full investigation into Teesside freeport project". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  21. ↑ Gill, Oliver (3 May 2023). "BP demands guarantee that Britain's biggest freeport is not corrupt". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  22. ↑ "Fresh Teesworks investigation ordered by government following 'corruption' allegations". Sky News. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  23. ↑ Frazer, Kayleigh (7 June 2023). "MP condemns 'out of touch' Middlesbrough barge proposals". Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  24. ↑ "Andy McDonald: Labour suspends MP after speech at pro-Palestinian rally". BBC News. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  25. ↑ Boffey, Daniel (31 October 2023). "'From the river to the sea': where does the slogan come from and what does it mean?". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  26. ↑ Gutteridge, Nick (30 October 2023). "Labour MP Andy McDonald suspended over 'between the river and the sea' speech". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  27. ↑ Adu, Aletha; correspondent, Aletha Adu Political (2 November 2023). "Andy McDonald sues Tory MP who accused him of 'seeking to justify' Hamas atrocity". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
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