Alice Macdonald

{{about|the British politician|the 19th century writer|Alice Kipling}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Alice Macdonald

| honorific-suffix = MP

| image = Official portrait of Alice Macdonald MP crop 2 v2.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2024

| constituency_MP = Norwich North

| termstart = 4 July 2024

| termend =

| predecessor = Chloe Smith

| majority = 10,850 (23.7%)

| office1 = Member of Southwark London Borough Council for Newington

| term_start1 = 7 May 2018

| term_end1 = 29 June 2023

| birth_place = Norwich, Norfolk, England

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1983|4|1}}

| party = Labour and Co-operative

| parents = Irene{{cite web |url=https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/local-council/22317656.row-erupts-labour-process-pick-candidate-fight-norwich-north/|website=Norwich Evening News|access-date=31 March 2024|title=Row erupts in Labour process to pick candidate to fight Norwich North|date=16 June 2022 }} and John{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Macdonald

| education = {{plainlist|

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

Alice Macdonald (born 1 April 1983) is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich North since 2024. She is the daughter of former West Norfolk Council Labour leader Irene Macdonald.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-03 |title='A bold vision of hope' - Labour candidate's plan to win Norwich seat |url=https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/local-council/20664570.a-bold-vision-hope---labour-candidates-plan-win-norwich-seat/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Norwich Evening News |language=en}}

Early life and education

Macdonald grew up in Marham and attended the Downham Market comprehensive high school, then commuted to a sixth form in Cambridge.{{cite web |title=Alice Macdonald elected as Labour MP in Norwich North |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/24428452.alice-macdonald-elected-labour-mp-norwich-north/ |website=Eastern Daily Press |date=5 July 2024 |access-date=7 July 2024}} She studied French and Italian at the University of Bristol in 2005, then went on to study a Master of the Arts in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London, where she graduated in 2007.{{cite web|url=https://alicemacdonald.org/|access-date=31 March 2024|title=Alice Macdonald for Norwich North}}{{cite web |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/macdonaldalice/?originalSubdomain=uk |access-date=31 March 2024|title=Alice Macdonald: Labour and Co-operative Parliamentary Candidate for Norwich North and Campaign Director Hungry for Action}}

Pre-Parliamentary career

=Local politics=

Macdonald served as a councillor in the Newington ward of Southwark from 7 May 2018 to 29 June 2023.{{cite web |title=Councillor details - Councillor Alice Macdonald - Southwark Council |url=https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=50001001 |access-date=31 March 2024}} On 25 July 2022 she was announced as the official Labour parliamentary candidate for Norwich North. She has also served as a senior adviser to Harriet Harman and Bob Ainsworth.{{cite web |title=Our rundown of Labour parliamentary selections over the weekend |date=25 July 2022 |url=https://labourlist.org/2022/07/our-rundown-of-labour-parliamentary-selections-over-the-weekend/ |access-date=31 March 2024}}

= Charity campaigning =

Macdonald was Campaigns and Policy Director for London-based company Project Everyone between August 2016 and April 2023.{{cite web |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09382406 |access-date=31 March 2024|title=Project Everyone Overview}} Project Everyone was co-founded by Richard Curtis and is dedicated to "achieving sustainable development goals" via "campaign materials, [...] installations, [...] documentaries, [and] events".{{cite web|url=https://www.project-everyone.org/about-us/|access-date=31 March 2024|title=About Us - Project Everyone}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://sdg2advocacyhub.org/hungry-for-action/|access-date=31 March 2024|title=SDG2 Advocacy Hub: Hungry for Action}}

= 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 Southwark.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://pottersfields.co.uk/about-us/ |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=Potters Fields Park |language=en-GB}} The appointment lasted from 21 July 2021 until 28 November 2022, when she resigned from her position.{{Cite web |title=Alice MACDONALD |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/K9aOXhVZZ19GkUtfPhDeN90riC4/appointments |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}

Parliamentary career

In 2022, Macdonald announced she would be standing for the Labour parliamentary candidacy against Karen Davis, who stood in the 2019 general election against Conservative incumbent Chloe Smith. In response to a video by Macdonald supporting her own candidacy, Emma Corlett, the deputy leader of Norfolk County Council, 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 Norwich North 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%.{{cite news |title=Norwich North - General election results 2024 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001408 |access-date=11 August 2024}}

The result was a 18.2% swing to Labour from 2019. The unpopularity of the Conservatives in her area was the deciding factor in a result that also saw significant vote share increase for Reform and The Green Party.