Jamie Reed
{{Short description|British politician (born 1973)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Jamie Reed
| office = Shadow Minister for Health
| leader = Ed Miliband
Harriet Harman (acting)
| term_start = 7 October 2011
| term_end = 18 September 2015
| predecessor = Derek Twigg
| successor = Justin Madders
| office1 = Shadow Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries
| leader1 = Ed Miliband
| term_start1 = 8 October 2010
| term_end1 = 7 October 2011
| predecessor1 = Position established
| successor1 = Fiona O'Donnell
| office2 = Member of Parliament
for Copeland
| term_start2 = 5 May 2005
| term_end2 = 23 January 2017
| predecessor2 = Jack Cunningham
| successor2 = Trudy Harrison
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|8|4|df=y}}
| birth_place = Whitehaven, England, UK
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Labour
| alma_mater = Manchester Metropolitan University
University of Leicester
}}
Jamieson Ronald "Jamie" Reed (born 4 August 1973) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Copeland from 2005 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister from 2010 to 2011 and a Shadow Health Minister from 2011 to 2015.
Early life and career
Reed was born in Whitehaven, Cumbria and educated at Whitehaven School. He graduated with a BA in English from Manchester Metropolitan University and an MA in Mass Communications from the University of Leicester.{{Cite web|title=Jamie Reed|url=https://www.politics.co.uk/reference/jamie-reed/|access-date=2021-10-09|website=Politics.co.uk|language=en-US}}
Before his election to Parliament, he worked as a Press Officer at Sellafield, a nuclear reprocessing and decommissioning site, and served on Copeland Borough Council.
Parliamentary career
In his maiden speech Reed declared himself to be a Jedi in the debate over the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill under consideration in Parliament. His comment was intended to be taken ironically and raise the issue of how the Bill would define what was and was not a religion.
Jamie Reed has also referred to himself as a "good Methodist" in parliamentary debate:
As a good Methodist, I shall refuse the opportunity to bet. My hon. friend mentioned the economic estimates done by a German economist on the amount of money spent on nuclear technology and nuclear research and development. Are we talking principally about the civil nuclear sector? Is the military nuclear sector also included? He also mentioned the IAEA. It does not exist to promote the nuclear industry; it exists to give it some kind of international regulatory framework.{{cite web|author=Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080122/debtext/80122-0016.htm |title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Jan 2008 (pt 0016) |publisher=Publications.parliament.uk |date=22 January 2008|accessdate=31 July 2012}}In November 2006, Reed was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Tony McNulty, Minister of State Policing, Security and Community Safety. He became PPS to Harriet Harman, Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Women, in October 2008. Reed served on the opposition front bench as a Shadow Environment Minister from 2010 to 2010, and a Shadow Health Minister from 2011 to 2015.
He spoke out to assist his party leader Ed Miliband, who declared he felt "respect" on seeing a white van, following Emily Thornberry's "White Van Gate" tweet during the 2014 Rochester and Strood by-election campaign,{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30139832|title=Labour's Emily Thornberry quits over 'snobby' tweet|publisher=BBC News|date=21 November 2014|accessdate=21 December 2016}} stating during PMQs: "When I see a white van, I wonder whether it's my father or my brother who is driving".{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm141126/debtext/141126-0001.htm|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 26 Nov 2014 (pt 0001) |work=parliament.uk}}
On 12 September 2015, one minute into Jeremy Corbyn's acceptance speech as leader of the Labour Party, he publicly resigned as shadow Health Minister giving as his reason Corbyn's opposition to nuclear energy.{{Cite web|title = Jamie Reed on Twitter|url = https://twitter.com/jreedmp/status/642649854624309248|accessdate = 2015-09-12}} During a House of Commons debate on the renewal of Britain's nuclear deterrent, which Corbyn personally opposes, he described the Labour leader as "reckless, juvenile and narcissistic".{{cite web|last=Payne|first=Adam|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/copeland-by-election-preview-jamie-reed-labour-party-2016-12|title='We don't do Corbyn here': Labour activists fear defeat in Copeland by-election|work=Business Insider UK|date=29 December 2016|access-date=25 February 2017}} He supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mps-nominating-owen-smith-labour-8451186|title=Which MPs are nominating Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest?|last1=Smith|first1=Mikey|date=20 July 2016|work=Mirror|access-date=10 November 2018|last2=Bloom|first2=Dan}}
He announced on 21 December 2016 that he would be resigning his seat at the end of January 2017 in order to take up a new role as Head of Development and Community Relations for Sellafield Ltd, triggering a by-election,{{cite news|last=Pidd|first=Helen|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/21/corbyn-critic-jamie-reed-quits-labour-mp-byelection-copeland|title=Corbyn critic quits as Labour MP, triggering tight byelection race|work=The Guardian|date=21 December 2016|accessdate=21 December 2016}}{{cite web|title=Labour MP Jamie Reed is quitting Parliament to take a job in the nuclear industry|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38390152|publisher=BBC News|date=21 December 2016|accessdate=21 December 2016}} which was won by Conservative MP Trudy Harrison.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39064149|title=Tories in historic by-election Copeland win as Labour holds Stoke|publisher=BBC News|date=25 February 2017}} Reed formally resigned by taking the post of Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 23 January 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/manor-of-northstead-jamie-reed|title=Manor of Northstead: Jamie Reed|date=23 January 2017|accessdate=23 January 2017}}
References
{{Reflist|40em}}
External links
- [http://www.jamiereed.net/ Official website]
- [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/person/8696/jamie-reed The Guardian – Jamie Reed: Electoral history and profile]
- {{UK MP links | parliament = mr-jamie-reed/1503 | publicwhip = jamie_reed | theywork = jamie_reed}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Jack Cunningham}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament
for Copeland|years=2005–2017}}
{{s-aft|after=Trudy Harrison}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Jamie}}
Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University