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Christina Rees

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Christina Rees
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Neath
In office
7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byPeter Hain
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Secretary of State
2017–2020Wales
Shadow Minister
2016–2017Courts and Legal Aid
Member of Bridgend County Council
for Newcastle
In office
3 May 2012 – 7 May 2015
Succeeded byNeelo Farr
Personal details
Born (1954-02-21) 21 February 1954 (age 70)
Kenfig Hill, Bridgend, Wales
Political partyLabour Co-op[a]
Spouse(s)Ron Davies
(div. 2000)
Alma materUniversity of Wales (LLB)
Websitechristinarees.org

Christina Rees (born 21 February 1954) is a Welsh politician who served as Member of Parliament for Neath from 2015 to 2024. She is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.

Early life

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Rees was born on 21 February 1954,[1] in the South Wales village of Kenfig Hill. Her father died early in her teenage years, so she was raised by her mother.[2]

Rees became head girl of Cynffig Comprehensive School and excelled at a number of sports. Speaking as an adult, she stated: "I was very shy when I was a child and was bullied, so my mother sent me to judo classes to strengthen me up. I got a black belt first dan when I was 13."[2] Rees represented Wales Schools at tennis, hockey, and athletics. Rees was also a member of the Great Britain Youth Team that competed at the Munich Olympics.[2]

Rees was successful at squash, a sport for which she has represented Wales over 100 times.[2]

Career

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Rees practised as a barrister before her election to Parliament.

She stood as the Labour candidate for Arfon in the National Assembly for Wales elections in May 2011, and was placed fourth on Labour's Wales-wide list for the 2014 European Elections.

Rees became MP for Neath following the UK general election of 2015.[3] She was re-elected at the 2019 United Kingdom general election, but with a majority half of that she had in 2017.[4][5]

Rees was appointed Shadow Minister for Courts and Legal Aid in January 2016,[6] but quit her position during the mass resignation of Shadow ministers following the EU referendum.[7] She supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.[8] She later became one of 33 Labour MPs to return to the front bench, taking the Courts and Legal Aid portfolio once again.[9]

In February 2017, she was appointed to the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.[1]

In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, Rees endorsed Keir Starmer for Labour Leader. She endorsed Angela Rayner for deputy leader.[10]

In April 2020, Rees announced that she would be leaving the Official Opposition frontbench.[11]

Rees was suspended from Labour on 13 October 2022, following allegations of bullying.[12][13] She sat as an independent MP,[14] until she was readmitted to the party and had the whip restored on 1 February 2024.[15] The same day she announced that she would be standing down at the 2024 general election.[16]

Personal life

[edit]

Rees was married to Ron Davies, a former Labour MP and Welsh Secretary, with whom she had a daughter. The couple separated in 1999, after Davies admitted to allegations of infidelity, and divorced in 2000.[17][2] Rees is a vegan.[18]

Notes

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  1. ^ Suspended between 2022 and 2024.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Christina Rees MP". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Profile: New Shadow Welsh Secretary Christina Rees". BBC News. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Election 2015: Neath parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. ^ Mosalski, Ruth; Bellis, Katie (13 December 2019). "General Election 2019 result for Neath". Wales Online. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Election 2017: Neath parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  6. ^ Mason, Chris [@ChrisMasonBBC] (19 January 2016). "Labour say Christina Rees, MP for Neath, has been appointed Shadow Minister, Department of Justice (Courts and Legal Aid)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Shadow justice minister Christina Rees quits post". ITV News. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. ^ Smith, Mikey; Bloom, Dan (20 July 2016). "Which MPs are nominating Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Shadow Justice Team News". Christina Rees. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Weekly Round-up". Christina Rees. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  11. ^ Bartlett, Nicola; Bloom, Dan; Milne, Oliver (6 April 2020). "Keir Starmer's new Labour shadow cabinet unveiled LIVE - with Corbyn allies out". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  12. ^ Crerar, Pippa (13 October 2022). "Labour MP Christina Rees loses party whip after alleged bullying". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Neath Labour MP Christina Rees suspended on bullying allegations". BBC News. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Independents now outnumber Lib Dems after Andrew Bridgen loses Tory whip". The Independent. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  15. ^ Stacey, Kiran (1 February 2024). "Christina Rees readmitted to Labour after apology over bullying claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  16. ^ Stacey, Kiran (1 February 2024). "Christina Rees readmitted to Labour after apology over bullying claims". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  17. ^ WalesOnline (1 March 2003). "I'm sorry, Ron, says politician's ex-wife". Wales Online. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn and other famous vegetarian politicians". BBC News. 28 November 2019.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Neath
2015–2024 		Constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
2017–2020 		Succeeded by


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