Jeffrey Hambley Cuthbert (born 4 June 1948) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

politician serving as Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner since 2016. Cuthbert served as a Labour Party member of the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes ...

for Caerphilly from 2003 to 2016. He began his career in the mining industry and later worked for the

Welsh Joint Education Committee , native name = , native_name_lang = , logo = WJEC CBAC logo.svg , image = WJEC Cardiff 1.JPG , caption = Headquarters of the WJEC , formation = 1948 , full_name = W ...

(as it was then) as Head of the Asset to Industry Unit. Cuthbert was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

to a Welsh mother and Scottish father, but brought up in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, where he attended Whitchurch County Secondary Modern followed by studying mining engineering at

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. He joined the Labour Party in the mid-1960s. As a mining engineer he worked at Markham and Oakdale pits. A member of the

Militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

group from the mid-60s to early-80s,Matthew Brown,
ILP@120: Growing Up in an ILP Household
", Independent Labour Publications website 27 February 2013Kevin Maguire,

, ''The Guardian'', 2 May 2003. Cuthbert later became Chair of Caerphilly

Constituency Labour Party __NOTOC__ A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituen ...

. He left the mining industry to develop qualifications for Modern Apprenticeships with WJEC, and became a Corporate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He was a governor of the Lewis School, Pengam, and served as principal of a part-time Adult Education Centre at

Aberbargoed Aberbargoed is a town in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park. The town is within the historic b ...

. In the 2003 election to the National Assembly for Wales, Cuthbert was selected at the last minute to replace Ron Davies who stood down following a sex scandal. He increased the Labour majority in the

Caerphilly constituency Caerphilly () is a constituency centred on the town of Caerphilly in South Wales, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Wayne David of the Labour Party. Since its creation, the constituency has always el ...

. Cuthbert was appointed chair of the Objective One Programme Monitoring Committee for Wales in 2004, and subsequently Chair of its All-Wales successor body in 2007. He is a Chair of the Assembly's Cross-Party Groups on Healthy Living and the Built Environment; and is co-chair of the Cross-Party Group on Beer and the Pub. As an active trade unionist, he is co-ordinator of the UNITE Group of Labour Assembly Members. At the 2007 election he successfully defended his seat after Ron Davies, challenged to regain it as an

Independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

. At the 2011 Welsh General Election, Cuthbert successfully defended his seat once again, after another challenge from Davies, who this time stood for Plaid Cymru. In March 2012 he was appointed Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology and was joined the Cabinet in June 2013 as Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty in the

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

. In September 2014 he announced his decision to stand down as Caerphilly AM at the 2016 elections. Because of that, he also stood down from the Welsh Government Cabinet. In May 2016 Cuthbert was elected as Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner.

References

External links

Jeffrey Cuthbert AM homepageNational Assembly for Wales
Member profile

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuthbert, Jeff 1948 births Wales AMs 2003–2007 Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Living people Militant tendency supporters Politicians from Glasgow Politicians from Cardiff Alumni of Cardiff University Labour Party police and crime commissioners Police and crime commissioners in Wales