Sarah Murphy (politician)

Sarah Murphy (born 1986) is a Welsh Labour politician. She was elected as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the Bridgend constituency at the 2021 elections with a majority of 4,064.^[1]

Murphy is the only woman to have won a seat previously held by a man during this election, replacing former First Minister Carwyn Jones, who decided not to stand for re-election.^[2]

Early life[]

Sarah Murphy was born in East Glamorgan General Hospital in Church Village in 1986, and grew up near Pontypridd with her family. She attended Cardinal Newman R.C. Secondary School and Coleg Morgannwg, before studying English Literature at Reading University from 2005 to 2008.

Career[]

After graduating, Murphy moved to Seoul, South Korea to teach English. She then returned to Cardiff as the Head of Events for Welsh Labour between 2009 and 2012, and worked in London for a global property development company.

In 2016, she graduated from the School of Journalism, Media & Communication at Cardiff University with an MA (Distinction) in Digital Media & Society. She was awarded a scholarship from Cardiff University and a grant from the Leathersellers’ Company Charitable Fund to carry out her studies.  

In 2017, Sarah Murphy, as the Research Analyst for Lee Waters AM, developed and implemented the first opensource, online crowdsourcing platform for a Welsh Assembly Member. Following the 2017 General Election, she was appointed as the Senior Communications Manager to Anna McMorrin MP, and then the Senior Advisor to the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.

Since 2019, Murphy has solely focused on her social welfare and big data research, primarily for the Data Justice Lab at Cardiff University. She researches UK and international governments use of big data and algorithmic-design for public services – with a focus on identifying potential data harms and discrimination against children and families. Her most recent research project investigates data-driven workplace surveillance.

She has written for Welsh political blog Hiraeth^[3] about digital poverty and equal access to the internet.^[4]

Personal life[]

Murphy lives in Bridgend.  

Prior to being elected, she was the Chair of Sustainable Wales, a charity based in Porthcawl that supports community-based sustainable development. In 2020, she produced the webinar series “Circular Economy: A Design For Life^[5]" attended by leading experts from across Wales and the UK. 

In March 2020, Murphy founded the Bridgend Coronavirus Support Group that has approximately 12,000 members and has raised money for Bridgend Foodbank and Splice Child and Family in Pyle.

References[]