Gerald Jones

Gerald Jones

MP
Gerald Jones; MP
	Jones in 2020
Shadow Minister for Wales
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 10 April 2020
Leader	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Chris Ruane
	In office; 10 October 2016 – 3 July 2017
Leader	Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by	Susan Elan Jones
Succeeded by	Chris Ruane
Shadow Minister for Veterans
	In office; 3 July 2017 – 10 April 2020
Leader	Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by	Rachael Maskell (2016)
Succeeded by	Sharon Hodgson
Member of Parliament; for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 7 May 2015
Preceded by	Dai Havard
Majority	10,606 (32.8%)
Personal details
Born	21 August 1970 (age 51); Phillipstown, Wales
Political party	Labour
Website	Official website

Gerald Jones (born 21 August 1970) is a Welsh Labour Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney since the May 2015 general election.^[2]

Political career[]

The industrial decline of the 1980s and the 1984–85 Miner's strike led Jones, at the age of 14, to become active in the community struggle to support miners.^{[citation needed]}

He joined the Labour Party in 1988 and has served in a range of roles including Chairperson of New Tredegar Branch Labour Party and the Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney Constituency Labour Party. Between 2003 and 2015, he also played a key role in UK General Elections and Welsh Assembly Election Campaigns across Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney as Election Agent.

Jones was elected as a Labour Councillor to Caerphilly County Borough Council in 1995, representing his home community of New Tredegar. For 20 years, he represented his community and held an active calendar of advice surgeries and attended many community events, being accessible to local residents. He also served as Deputy Leader of the Council and between 2012 and 2015 also served as Cabinet Member for Housing where he drove the council's commitment to delivering the Welsh Housing Quality Standard programme. Jones also served as the Anti Poverty and Homelessness Champion.^{[citation needed]}

He has a lifelong passion for supporting community empowerment and has actively volunteered with a range of community groups in the New Tredegar area, playing a key role in driving the Phillipstown Community House project and the multi agency New Tredegar Regeneration Strategy, a project that saw around £25million invested in the local area.^{[citation needed]}

He is also member of the GMB and the Co Op Party.

He supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.^[3]

Jones was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney in the 2015 General Election and subsequently re-elected at the 2017 election.

Having served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Shadow Wales and Defence teams, he was appointed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as a Shadow Wales Minister in October 2016 and a Shadow Defence Minister in July 2017.^[4]^[5]^[6]

As of June 2015, he is one of 125 MPs who employ a member of their family; he employs his partner as a senior parliamentary assistant.^[7]

Personal life[]

Jones was born in 1970 in Phillipstown, New Tredegar: a small community in the Upper Rhymney Valley.

He is openly gay^[8] and employs his partner, Tyrone Powell as his Senior Parliamentary Assistant.^[9]

References[]

^ Armed Forces, Personnel and Veterans
^ "Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney parliamentary constituency – Election 2015 – BBC News". bbc.co.uk. London: BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
^ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ "Reshuffle 2: The Maintenance of the Malcontents". New Socialist. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
^ "About me". Gerald Jones MP. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
^ "Gerald Jones MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
^ Mason, Rowena (29 June 2015). "Keeping it in the family: new MPs continue to hire relatives as staff". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ "Does the UK now have the most LGB elected MPs in the world?". PinkNews. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
^ "House of Commons - The Register of Members' Financial Interests (10 April 2017: Jones, Gerald )". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2017.

External links[]

Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
Voting record at Public Whip
Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Dai Havard	Member of Parliament for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 2015–present	Incumbent

[1] Armed Forces, Personnel and Veterans

[2] "Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney parliamentary constituency – Election 2015 – BBC News". bbc.co.uk. London: BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

[3] "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

[4] "Reshuffle 2: The Maintenance of the Malcontents". New Socialist. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.

[5] "About me". Gerald Jones MP. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.

[6] "Gerald Jones MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 July 2017.

[7] Mason, Rowena (29 June 2015). "Keeping it in the family: new MPs continue to hire relatives as staff". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

[8] "Does the UK now have the most LGB elected MPs in the world?". PinkNews. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[parliament-9] "House of Commons - The Register of Members' Financial Interests (10 April 2017: Jones, Gerald )". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2017.

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