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Tonia Antoniazzi

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Tonia Antoniazzi
MP
Official portrait, 2017
Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 September 2024
Preceded byRobert Buckland
Member of Parliament
for Gower
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byByron Davies
Majority11,567 (24.5%)
Shadow portfolios
2022–2024Whip
2021–2023Northern Ireland
Personal details
Born
Antonia Louise Antoniazzi

(1971-10-05) 5 October 1971 (age 53)
Llanelli, Wales, UK
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Exeter Cardiff University
Websitetoniaantoniazzi.co.uk

Antonia Louise Antoniazzi[1] (born 5 October 1971[2]) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gower since 2017.[3][4][5]

Early life and career

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Antonia Antoniazzi was born on 5 October 1971 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.[8]

Antoniazzi was head of languages at Bryngwyn Comprehensive School in Llanelli.[9] She won nine caps as a prop forward for the Wales women's national rugby union team.[7][8]

Parliamentary career

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At the snap 2017 general election, Antoniazzi was elected as MP for Gower with 49.9% of the vote and a majority of 3,269.[10][11][12] She delivered her maiden speech on 29 June 2017. In her speech she outlined how Italian immigration had shaped cafe culture in Wales and the UK.[13]

Antoniazzi is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Medical Cannabis under Prescription and on Cancer.[8]

In June 2019, Antoniazzi urged ministers to allow the use of medical cannabis by "all who need it", citing the case of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell whose epilepsy was alleviated through use of the drug.[14]

Also in June 2019, Antoniazzi secured a debate in parliament about the health risks of electromagnetic fields, particularly 5G technology, in which she asked the government to commit to ensuring that Public Health England informed the public that all radio frequency signals are a possible human carcinogen. She was subsequently accused in The Guardian of spreading "junk science".[15][16]

At the 2019 general election, Antoniazzi was re-elected as MP for Gower with a decreased vote share of 45.4% and a decreased majority of 1,837.[17][18][19]

In the 2020 Labour leadership election, Antoniazzi nominated Jess Phillips.[20]

At the 2024 general election, Antoniazzi was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 43.4% and an increased majority of 11,567.[21] She was elected unopposed as the chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee on 9 September 2024.[22]

Brexit

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Antoniazzi 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.[23]

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. 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 including Antoniazzi resigned and voted in favour of the EEA.[24][25]

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.[26]

LGBT+ rights

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In October 2021, Antoniazzi criticised the LGBT charity Stonewall, stating the Welsh government had promoted an "ideological culture" and were "dictated to by Stonewall".[27]

In January 2022, Antoniazzi and four other Labour delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe tabled ten amendments[28] to Resolution 2417, "Combating rising hate against LGBTI people in Europe".[29] The amendments 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 movements in the UK. The delegates were criticised by Pink News for removing references to anti-LGBTI attacks in the UK, a condemnation of anti-trans movements and a call to withdraw funding from anti-LGBTI groups or authorities; in turn the delegates were defended by Debbie Hayton, a gender-critical activist, for protesting the removal of sex-essentialist language she considered important for non-trans women.[30][31]

In July 2022, Antoniazzi submitted an application on behalf of the gender critical group Labour Women's Declaration for them to have a stand at the party's annual conference in Liverpool, which was subsequently denied. In response, Antoniazzi pushed for the group's public conference, chaired by her, to be given an official listing.[32][33]

Personal life

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Antoniazzi has a son.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Antoniazzi, Antonia Louise". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. 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. ^ a b c d "Antoniazzi, Tonia". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll" (PDF). City and County of Swansea Council. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Gower Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Election 2017 Results. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  12. ^ "2017 Results". Swansea Council. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Give medicinal cannabis to all who need it, says MP Tonia Antoniazzi - BBC News". BBC News. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  15. ^ Hern, Alex (26 July 2019). "How baseless fears over 5G rollout created a health scare". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  16. ^ Corfield, Gareth (27 June 2019). "Bonkers British MPs rant: 5G signals cause cancer". The Register. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Notices". Swansea Council. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Gower Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Election 2019 Results. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Election-Results/General-Election-2019" (PDF). Swansea Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Labour leadership: Who are Welsh MPs backing?". BBC News. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Gower - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Two Welsh Labour MP to chair Commons committees". BBC News. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  23. ^ Smith, Jacqui; Dale, Iain (2019). HONOURABLE LADIES: Profiles of Women MPs -(1997-2017). BITEBACK Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78590-447-9. OCLC 1127868113.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ Mosalski, Ruth (14 March 2019). "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.
  27. ^ Thompson, David (15 October 2021). "LGBT charity Stonewall 'dictated policy' to Welsh government". BBC News. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  28. ^ "Doc. 15425: collection of written amendments". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 25 January 2022.
  29. ^ "Resolution 2417 (2022): Combating rising hate against LGBTI people in Europe". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 25 January 2022.
  30. ^ Kelleher, Patrick (25 January 2022). "Labour politicians slammed for 'trying to erase' UK transphobia from anti-LGBT+ hate resolution". PinkNews. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  31. ^ Hayton, Debbie (27 January 2022). "Stop saying the UK is transphobic". UnHerd. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  32. ^ "Labour accused of 'silencing' women in row over sex-based rights group". The Guardian. 3 July 2022.
  33. ^ "Labour MPs including former shadow equalities minister back 'gender-critical' group". PinkNews. 2 August 2022.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tonia Antoniazzi.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Gower
2017–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland
2021–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee
2024–present 		Incumbent
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