Tonia Antoniazzi

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Tonia Antoniazzi
MP
Official portrait of Tonia Antoniazzi crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland
Assumed office
4 December 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byAlex Davies-Jones
Member of Parliament
for Gower
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byByron Davies
Majority1,837 (4.1%)
Personal details
Born
Antonia Louise Antoniazzi

(1971-10-05) 5 October 1971 (age 50)
Llanelli, Wales, UK
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Exeter
Websitewww.toniaantoniazzi.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Antonia Louise Antoniazzi[1] (born 5 October 1971[2]) is a British Labour Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gower at the 2017 general election.[3][4][5]

Early life[]

Antoniazzi was born and raised in Llanelli by a Welsh mother and a Welsh Italian father.[6] She attended St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School[7] and Gorseinon College. After studying French and Italian at Exeter University, she gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Cardiff University.

She has been head of languages at Bryngwyn Comprehensive School in Llanelli[8] and a Wales women's international rugby player.[7]

Parliamentary career[]

Antoniazzi contested the regional seat of Mid and West Wales in the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election. She then stood for parliament at the 2017 general election for the Gower constituency, which was held at the time by the Conservative's Byron Davies with a 27-vote majority, making it the UK's most marginal seat. She was successful, turning the seat Labour by gaining a 3,269 majority. On her election, she stated that she intended to be a strong constituency MP, and that "Gower is and always will be my first priority".[9]

Antoniazzi delivered her maiden speech on Thursday 29 June 2017. In her speech she outlined how Italian immigration had shaped cafe culture in Wales and the UK.[10]

Brexit[]

Antoniazzi has served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2017–2018) and the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales (2018) before resigning.[11] On 13 June 2018, Antoniazzi and five other Labour MPs resigned their roles as frontbenchers for the Labour Party in protest at Labour's Brexit position. Leader Jeremy Corbyn had instructed his MPs to abstain in a vote which Britain would remain in the single market by joining the European Economic Area (EEA). The MPs resigned and voted in favour of the EEA.[12][13]

In the series of Parliamentary votes on Brexit in March 2019, Antoniazzi voted against the Labour Party whip and in favour of an amendment tabled by members of The Independent Group for a second public vote.[14]

LGBT+ rights[]

In October 2021, Antoniazzi criticised the LGBT charity Stonewall, claiming the Welsh government had promoted an "ideological culture" and were "dictated to by Stonewall".[15]

Antoniazzi has met with Fair Play for Women, Woman's Place UK and Transgender Trend, groups that have been accused of being in opposition to transgender rights.[16]

In January 2022, Antoniazzi and four other Labour delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe tabled ten amendments to Resolution 2417, Combating rising hate against LGBTI people in Europe.[17]. The amendments[18] sought to include the word sex alongside gender identity, de-conflate the situation in the UK from Hungary, Poland, Russia and Turkey, and remove references to alleged anti-LGBTI movemnents in the UK. The delegates received both praise[19] and criticism[20].

References[]

  1. ^ "Antoniazzi, Antonia Louise". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "Tonia Antoniazzi MP". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Tonia Antoniazzi MP". parliament.uk. Parliament UK. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Labour's Tonia Antoniazzi wins Gower seat back from Tories". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Labour gain three Welsh seats as Tories' surge fails". ITV News. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  6. ^ "About Me". Tonia Antoniazzi MP. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b "General Election 2017 - The Gower Constituency". Swansea Bay Times. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  8. ^ Swansea Bay Times Reporter (28 April 2017). "Ex Welsh women's rugby player contests UK's most marginal seat". Swansea Bay Times. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  9. ^ "First Female Gower MP begins her role". South Wales Evening Post. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  10. ^ Cornock, David (29 June 2017). "New MP claims credit for ice cream - and cafe culture". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  11. ^ Smith, Jacqui; Dale, Iain (2019). HONOURABLE LADIES: Profiles of Women MPs -(1997-2017). BITEBACK Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78590-447-9. OCLC 1127868113.
  12. ^ Culbertson, Alix (14 June 2018). "Six Labour MPs quit frontbench roles over key Brexit vote". Sky News. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. ^ Morris, Nigel (13 June 2018). "Six Labour frontbenchers resign in protest at Labour's Brexit position". i News. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. ^ Mosalski, Ruth. "Brexit latest: The Welsh MPs who voted for a second referendum". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  15. ^ Thompson, David (15 October 2021). "LGBT charity Stonewall 'dictated policy' to Welsh government". BBC News. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  16. ^ Batty, David (17 October 2018). "Transgender law reform has overlooked women's rights, say MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Resolution 2417 (2022): Combating rising hate against LGBTI people in Europe". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 25 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Doc. 15425: collection of written amendments". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 25 January 2022.
  19. ^ Hayton, Debbie (27 January 2022). "Stop saying the UK is transphobic". UnHerd. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  20. ^ Kelleher, Patrick (25 January 2022). "Labour politicians slammed for 'trying to erase' UK transphobia from anti-LGBT+ hate resolution". PinkNews. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Gower
2017–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""