Alice Macdonald (born 1 April 1983) is a British

Labour and Co-operative Party Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

politician serving as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for

Norwich North Norwich North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2009 by Conservative Chloe Smith. History The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general electio ...

since

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***'' Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney ...

. She is the daughter of former West Norfolk Council Labour leader Irene Macdonald.

Early life and education

Macdonald grew up in

Marham Marham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, approximate away from King's Lynn. An RAF station, RAF Marham, is situated nearby at Upper Marham.Ordnance Survey (1999). ''OS Explorer Map 236 - King's Lynn, Downham Ma ...

and attended the

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and ...

comprehensive high school, then commuted to a sixth form in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

. She studied

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

in 2005, then went on to study a

Master of the Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

International Studies International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

and

Diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

at SOAS University of London, where she graduated in 2007.

Pre-Parliamentary career

Local politics

Macdonald served as a councillor in the Newington ward of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

from 7 May 2018 to 29 June 2023. On 25 July 2022 she was announced as the official

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

parliamentary candidate for

. She has also served as a senior adviser to

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Ca ...

and

Bob Ainsworth Robert William Ainsworth (born 19 June 1952) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry North East from 1992 to 2015, and was the Secretary of State for Defence from 2009 to 2010. Following the gen ...

Charity campaigning

Macdonald was Campaigns and Policy Director for London-based company Project Everyone between August 2016 and April 2023. Project Everyone was co-founded by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

and is dedicated to "achieving sustainable development goals" via "campaign materials, ..installations, ..documentaries, ndevents". Macdonald also served as Campaign Director for Hungry for Action Campaign, who aim to spotlight the global food crisis, but resigned from this position upon becoming MP.

Appointments

Macdonald was a Director of the Potter Fields Park Management Trust, a not-for-profit organisation that manages events and maintenance for a park and a churchyard in

. The appointment lasted from 21 July 2021 until 28 November 2022, when she resigned from her position.

Parliamentary career

In 2022, Macdonald announced she would be standing for the

parliamentary candidacy against Karen Davis, who stood in the 2019 general election against

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

incumbent

Chloe Smith Chloe Rebecca Smith (born 17 May 1982) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from September to October 2022. She previously served as Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health from 2021 to ...

. In response to a video by Macdonald supporting her own candidacy, Emma Corlett, the deputy leader of

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Dist ...

, remarked: "This video literally uses photos from Karen Davis' campaign on holiday hunger and has you walking past the Vote Labour boards she and I put up with our bare (splintered) hands." Macdonald was elected to represent

at the 2024 general election. She received 20,794 votes, a 45.4% share of the vote and a majority of 10,850. There were six candidates and a turnout of 62%. The result was a 18.2% swing to

from 2019. The unpopularity of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

in her area was the deciding factor in a result that also saw significant vote share increase for Reform and The Green Party.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Alice Living people 1983 births 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of SOAS University of London Alumni of the University of Bristol British socialists British women trade unionists Councillors in the London Borough of Southwark Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies People from King's Lynn and West Norfolk (district) UK MPs 2024–present Women councillors in England