Joanna Meriel Stevens (born 6 September 1966) is a Welsh politician serving as Secretary of State for Wales since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015, representing Cardiff East since 2024, having previously represented Cardiff Central. Stevens previously served as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales from 2016 to 2017, and again from 2021 to 2024, and was Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2020 to 2021.

Early life and career

Stevens was born in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

West Glamorgan West Glamorgan () is a former administrative county in South Wales. It is now a preserved county. West Glamorgan was one of the divisions of the ancient county of Glamorgan. It was created on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 fr ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and grew up in Mynydd Isa,

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

, where she attended Argoed High School and Elfed High School. She studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and completed the Solicitors' Professional Examination at Manchester Polytechnic in 1989. Before becoming an MP, Stevens was People and Organisation Director of Thompsons Solicitors.

Member of Parliament

Stevens was elected as MP for Cardiff Central on 7 May 2015 with a majority of 4,981, defeating incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Willott. In 2014 she accused her then Liberal Democrat opponent Jenny Willott of having "neglected her constituency" by taking a ministerial role. In a 2015 interview Stevens said that, if elected, she'd be "happy as a backbench MP" adding she was "not a professional politician." Stevens later went on to serve in the shadow cabinets of Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer. In

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

's January 2016 reshuffle, she was appointed shadow

solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and shadow justice minister. She supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...

in the 2016 Labour leadership election. In the October 2016 reshuffle, after Corbyn's re-election as party leader, Stevens became Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. An opponent of

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, she resigned as a shadow minister on 27 January 2017 in order to vote against triggering Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, in defiance of a three-line whip that obliged Labour MPs to vote in favour. In March 2019, Stevens voted against the Labour Party whip and in favour of an amendment tabled by members of The Independent Group for a second public vote on Brexit. Stevens chairs the GMB parliamentary group, which ensures that issues of importance to members of the GMB trade union are raised in the House of Commons. Stevens supported

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

in the 2020 Labour leadership election. He subsequently appointed her Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, shadowing Oliver Dowden. On 29 November 2021, she was reshuffled back to the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Wales by Keir Starmer. In 2023, Stevens' office was defaced by protestors after she abstained on a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. She described the incident as 'intimidating'. In the 2024 general election, she was selected to contest the new Cardiff East constituency, after Cardiff Central was abolished. She won the seat, with a majority of 9,097 votes. Stevens was appointed Secretary of State for Wales in the first cabinet of Keir Starmer following the 2024 election. Stevens was sworn of the Privy Council on 10 July 2024, entitling her to be styled "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

" for life.

Political positions

Stevens is a unionist. She has opposed devolution of policing and justice, of legal gender recognition, and full devolution of the post-Brexit Shared Prosperity Fund to the Senedd. She opposed

, describing herself as a "passionate European" in 2017. She has called for the introduction of legislation penalising social media companies that fail to tackle disinformation. She has supported introducing automatic voter registration upon receiving a

national insurance number The National Insurance number is a number used in the United Kingdom in the administration of the National Insurance or social security system. It is also used as a ''de facto'' national identification number in the UK, including in the HM Reven ...

and lowering of the

voting age A legal voting age is the minimum age that a person is allowed to Voting, vote in a democracy, democratic process. For General election, general elections around the world, the right to vote is restricted to adults, and most nations use 18 year ...

to 16.

Personal life

In January 2021 Stevens was treated in hospital for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Jo 1966 births Living people 21st-century British women politicians Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Welsh Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present British abortion-rights activists Politicians from Swansea Politicians from Cardiff People from Mold, Flintshire Secretaries of State for Wales Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Women government ministers in the United Kingdom