Jacqui Smith

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The Rt Hon. Jacqui Smith

Jacqueline Jill Smith (born 3 November 1962, Malvern) is a politician in the United Kingdom. She is Labour Party Member of Parliament for Redditch, and was first elected in 1997. She was made a Member of the Privy Council in 2003 and is currently Chief Whip.

Smith attended Dyson Perrins High School in Malvern. Her local MP there, Tory backbencher Sir Michael Spicer, recalled in Parliament in 2003 how he had first met her when he was addressing the sixth form at The Chase School, where Smith's mother was a teacher.[Minister visits high school], This is Worcestershire, 8 June 2001. "So great was my eloquence that she immediately rushed off and joined the Labour party."[House of Commons Hansard], 1 April 2003, column 876: Michael Spicer on Jacqui Smith. Smith went on to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Hertford College, Oxford, and was a teacher of economics and business studies for 11 years before entering Parliament.

In 2003, Smith was appointed as the Government's deputy minister for women and equality, working alongside secretary of state Patricia Hewitt. In this role she published the Government's proposals for Civil Partnerships, a system designed to offer same-sex couples an opportunity to gain legal recognition for their relationship with an associated set of rights and responsibilities.

Following the 2005 general election, Smith was appointed to serve as the Minister of State for Schools in the Department for Education and Skills, replacing Stephen Twigg who had lost his seat.

Jacqui Smith was appointed Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury in the Cabinet reshuffle of 5 May 2006.

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