Huw Irranca-Davies - Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

In 2001 he was Labour candidate for the Brecon & Radnor constituency in 2001, but finished third, behind the Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates.

In the by-election of 14 February 2002 he was elected to the parliamentary seat of Ogmore in the South Wales Valleys (a Labour seat since 1918), after the death of MP and Government Whip Sir Ray Powell. (Irranca-Davies was himself appointed Government Whip for Wales in May 2006 after spells as a Parliamentary Aide in several government departments.) He was re-elected to serve Ogmore in the general elections of May 2005 and May 2010. For the first time in 2010, Ogmore became the largest parliamentary majority of any party and constituency in Wales.

Since his election in 2002 Irranca-Davies has worked on a range of local and national issues, including sitting on the Procedures Select Committee to discuss ways of modernising the work of Parliament and has also sat on Standing Committees for the Police Reform Bill, Fireworks Bill and Communications Bill, amongst others.

He has also held positions on the Welsh Grand Committee and the Northern Ireland Grand Committee. Huw has worked on Parliamentary Labour Party ('PLP') Committees on Welsh Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Home Affairs and International Development. He was also the backbench MP representative on the board of the Coal Health Claims Monitoring Subgroup for Wales. He has campaigned on many issues including the modernisation of rail lines in Wales, flood protection, and access to the countryside and coast. Irranca-Davies has spoken in the House of Commons on topics as varied as international trade union rights, compulsory voting, anti-social behaviour, renewable energy and climate change, fair trade, social justice and poverty and inequality.

In June 2005 he became Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Tessa Jowell, having previously served as PPS to Jane Kennedy at the Northern Ireland Office. Irranca-Davies has served as PPS to Ministers of the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He has also worked as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of Wales, and as an Environment Minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Between October 2010 and October 2011, Irranca-Davies served as the Shadow Energy Minister where he led the Labour campaign on the protection of the Feed-In Tariff for solar power. In October 2011, he was appointed as the Shadow Minister on Food and Farming, where he currently works on issues regarding food policy, farming and rural affairs (including extending the availability of broadband).

Irranca-Davies is a Member of many additional diverse All Party Groups. These include the All Party Groups for British Council (Vice-Chair), China Group, Citizens Advice, Clean Coal, Coalfield Communities, Energy Intensive Industries (Vice-Chair), Manufacturing, Maritime and Ports, Steel and Metal Related Industry, Children in Wales, Patient and Public Involvement in Health and Social Care (Co-Chair), University Group (Vice-Chair), and Waterways (Co-Chair).

Irranca-Davies serves as Chair of the All Party Group for the Recognition of Munitions Workers. During World War II, many ‘munitioneers’ settled in Ogmore and across South Wales to work at the Welsh Arsenal in Bridgend. There, they worked to supply troops with weaponry and ammunition. However, their efforts along with those working in Royal Ordnance Factories across the UK, have yet to be officially recognised. The All Party Group has been working towards this recognition.

While Huw spends the majority of his week at work in Parliament, he returns to his constituency in Ogmore on the weekends to carry out advice clinics, meet with constituents and attend events. He divides his time between his constituents, his wife and his three sons. Huw is a fan of many sports, especially rugby, and enjoys attending his son’s rugby matches in his free time at home.