Sir Mark Richard Tami (born 3 October 1962) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Alyn and Deeside since

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. He has served as Deputy Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons since 2024.

Early life

Born in Enfield, north London, Tami was educated at

Enfield Grammar School Enfield Grammar School (abbreviated to EGS; also known as Enfield Grammar) is a boys' comprehensive school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status, founded in 1558, situated in Enfield Town in the London Borough of Enfield ...

(by then a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

), and graduated in history at the University of Wales, Swansea. He was previously National Head of Policy of the union Amicus (previously the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union.

Parliamentary career

Tami was first elected as MP for Alyn and Deeside in 2001 with a majority of 9,222, following the decision of the seat's former MP Stephen Barry Jones to step down from Parliament. Tami was returned again as MP for Alyn and Deeside at the 2005 general election, with a reduced majority. He resigned his post as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Dawn Primarolo on 6 September 2006, due to the refusal by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

to name a date for stepping down as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. He was joined by future Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson and fellow Welsh MPs Ian Lucas and Wayne David in resignation. Tami was promoted by Gordon Brown in July 2007 to a whip. In the 2010 general election, Tami was re-elected for a third time, however with a further reduced majority of 2,919. Tami was re-elected as MP for Alyn and Deeside on 7 May 2015 at the general election with a slightly increased majority from 2010. In the 2017 general election, Tami was returned with a vastly increased majority of 5,235 votes and a 52.1% share of the vote. On Thursday 12 December 2019, Tami was the only Labour MP in North Wales not to lose his seat, narrowly beating the Conservative candidate Sanjoy Sen by just 213 votes, falling from a majority of over 5000 in the previous election. In March 2020, Tami led a cross-party campaign to end the 9-week wait without income for people on Universal Credit when they reach state pension age. After Tami's campaign, the government changed the regulations.

Expenses

During the MPs expenses scandal Tami was one of more than 50 MPs identified by the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' of over-claiming on council tax expenses for their second home. Tami said, "I will go back and calculate the exact level I have over-claimed in error and repay the sum involved". He paid back the full £996.70 for council tax on his London home.

Personal life

He married Sally Daniels in July 1994 in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

and they have two sons. They live in Llanfynydd having lived in Bromley for many years. He is a former member of the TUC General Council and an active member of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

. Tami's eldest son, Max, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2007 at age 9. Max made a full recovery following intensive

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

and a stem cell transplant at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Tami has repeatedly called for the Government to do more to help cancer patients and their families, including providing appropriate psychological support.

Styles

* Mr Mark Richard Tami (3 October 1962 – 7 June 2001) * Mr Mark Richard Tami MP (7 June 2001 – 23 November 2018) * The Right Honourable Mark Richard Tami MP (23 November 2018 – present)

References

External links

Mark Tami MP
Welsh Labour Party profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tami, Mark 1962 births Living people Welsh Labour MPs UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 British trade unionists People from Enfield, London Alumni of Swansea University People educated at Enfield Grammar School Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 2019–2024 Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East UK MPs 2024–present Knights Bachelor