Patrick Bosco McFadden (born 26 March 1965) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 2005. McFadden has previously held various junior ministerial positions and shadow portfolios in his parliamentary career between 2005 and 2024.
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McFadden attended the Cabinet of Prime Minister Gordon Brown as Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2009 to 2010, deputy to Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Peter Mandelson (when Mandelson was Secretary from the Lords). He was Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs from 2007 to 2009, and Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office from 2006 to 2007. Prior to his election to Parliament in 2005, he served as Political Secretary to the Prime Minister during the second Blair ministry.
In opposition, he served as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the first Shadow Cabinet of Harriet Harman from May to October 2010. Having failed to be elected in the 2010 Shadow Cabinet election, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Europe by Ed Miliband in 2014 and re-appointed by Jeremy Corbyn in 2015. McFadden was sacked from the front bench by Corbyn in 2016, and remained on the back benches until he was appointed Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury in 2020 by Sir Keir Starmer. He was promoted to the shadow cabinet in 2021 as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and became Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 2023.
McFadden returned to the government following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, and was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations by Starmer in his ministry.
Early life and career
editPatrick McFadden was born on 26 March 1965 in Paisley.[1] He is the son of James McFadden and Annie McFadden (née Gallagher), both native Irish speakers from just outside Falcarragh, a village in County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.[2][3] As a child, Pat McFadden regularly visited County Donegal.[2][4] McFadden went to Holy Cross RC Primary School on Calder Street and Holyrood Secondary School in Crosshill, south-east Glasgow. He attended the University of Edinburgh from '83 to '87, earning an MA degree.
He was chair of Scottish Labour Students in 1986–87 before becoming a researcher in 1988 for Donald Dewar, then Labour's Scottish Affairs spokesman. In 1993, he left this role to become a speechwriter and policy adviser to the Labour leader John Smith.
Prior to becoming an MP, he worked in several advisory roles for Sir Tony Blair, both in opposition and government, and was the Prime Minister's Political Secretary from 2002.[4]
Parliamentary career
editEarly career and frontbench (2005–2010)
editMcFadden was elected as MP for Wolverhampton South East at the 2005 general election with 59.4% of the vote and a majority of 10,495.[5]
In the 2006 reshuffle he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office. In the 2007 reshuffle he was promoted to Minister of State in the then newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with responsibility for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs.
In October 2008, when Lord Mandelson replaced John Hutton as Business Secretary, McFadden took on duties as his deputy in order to represent the department in the House of Commons as Mandelson is a peer and can only address the Lords. McFadden was contemporaneously appointed to the Privy Council.
At the 2010 general election, McFadden was re-elected as MP for Wolverhampton South East with a decreased vote share of 47.7% and a decreased majority of 6,593.[6]
In opposition
editReturn to the backbenches (2010–2014)
editAfter Labour's defeat in the general election and the resignation of Gordon Brown, McFadden was named in interim leader Harriet Harman's shadow cabinet as Shadow Business Secretary.[7] When Ed Miliband was elected as Labour leader in September 2010, McFadden announced his decision to stand in Labour's shadow cabinet election[8] but was not elected.
Miliband and Corbyn frontbench (2014–2016)
editIn the 2014 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, Miliband appointed McFadden as shadow minister for Europe.[9]
McFadden was again re-elected at the 2015 general election, with an increased vote share of 53.3% and an increased majority of 10,767.[10]
In the 2015 Labour Party leadership election, he nominated Liz Kendall.[11]
McFadden retained his post as Shadow Europe Minister when Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader but was dismissed along with Michael Dugher in January 2016.[12] He was dismissed for what the leadership described as repeated acts of disloyalty, including when, responding to a Stop the War article on the Paris bombings, he condemned "the view that sees terrorist acts as always being a response or a reaction to what we in the west do". John McDonnell said that McFadden's remarks, expressed in a question to the Prime Minister and interpreted as an attack on Corbyn, were an example of him undermining the leader's view. McFadden was defended by Ian Austin and Chris Leslie.[13] Jonathan Reynolds and Stephen Doughty expressed support for McFadden in their resignation letters the following day.[14]
Backbenches (2016–2020)
editHe supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.[15]
At the snap 2017 general election, McFadden was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 58.2% and a decreased majority of 8,514.[16]
McFadden was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 46.4% and a decreased majority of 1,235.[17]
Starmer frontbench (2020–2024)
editOn 9 April 2020, McFadden was appointed as Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury by new party leader Keir Starmer.[18] He was promoted to Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle.[19]
In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Labour Party National Campaign Coordinator.[20]
In 2023, McFadden ranked twenty-fifth in the New Statesman's Left Power List due to his desire to enforce fiscal discipline.[21]
Return to government (2024–present)
editAt the 2024 general election, McFadden was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 50.3% and an increased majority of 9,188.[22] After the general election, McFadden was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by Keir Starmer to serve in his ministry.[23]
Political positions
editMcFadden is associated with the Labour centre-right Labour First grouping[24] and is a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.[25][26] Peter Mandelson described his political ideology as centre-left.[27]
Brexit
editMcFadden voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill to trigger Article 50 and exit the European Union.[28] He was opposed to a no-deal Brexit and supports a close trading relationship with the European Union.[29]
Personal life
editMcFadden and his wife, Marianna, have a son and a daughter. He is a supporter of Celtic F.C.[30]
References
edit- ^ Newton Dunn, Tom (21 June 2024). "Pat McFadden: the most influential politician you've never heard of?". The Times. London. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ a b "'We hope he gets home for the annual graveyard mass' – the proud son of Irish-speaking parents who is now at the heart of UK government". Irish Independent. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ McNulty, Chris (6 July 2024). "Pat McFadden, son of Donegal emigrants, gets Cabinet role in British government". www.donegallive.ie. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b 'The Rt Hon Pat Jimmy Den Rua MP Archived 17 September 2013 at archive.today Documentary, TV Listings, www.tg4.ie, 16 September 2013.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Lords Mandelson and Adonis leave shadow cabinet". BBC News. 21 May 2010.
- ^ "Shadow cabinet elections: 49 MPs enter ballot". BBC News. 29 September 2010.
- ^ Mason, Rowena (20 October 2014). "Former minister Pat McFadden gets Europe brief in Labour mini-reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Labour's leadership contest – The Labour Party". Labour.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ Mason, Rowena (6 January 2016). "Labour reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Watt, Nicholas (6 January 2016). "McFadden's supporters describe removal as vindictive". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Three shadow ministers resign over Corbyn's 'dishonest' reshuffle". The Guardian. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ "Wolverhampton South East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
- ^ "Wolverhampton South East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna (9 April 2020). "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Yvette Cooper made shadow home secretary in comprehensive Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle". CityAM. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ Smith, Adam (4 September 2023). "Wolverhampton MP given key General Election role in Sir Keir Starmer's Labour reshuffle". Express & Star. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Statesman, New (17 May 2023). "The New Statesman's left power list". New Statesman. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Wolverhampton South East". BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Madeley, Pete (25 February 2019). "Pat McFadden: Labour must not become an intolerant cult". Express and Star. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "MPs flock to support Labour Israel group". The Jewish Chronicle. 22 September 2016.
- ^ Harpin, Lee (7 August 2019). "Dame Louise Ellman becomes new Labour Friends of Israel chair". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Crerar, Pippa (5 September 2023). "Pat McFadden: the most powerful Labour politician most have never heard of". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ "Division 161, European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill – Hansard". Hansard. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Averty, Jack (17 April 2019). "Pat McFadden: Theresa May should not have legitimised 'colossal self-harm' option of no-deal Brexit". Express and Star. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ McFadden, Pat [@patmcfaddenmp] (20 November 2015). "Good to hear John Reid on the radio this morning. Reminded me of when we were a champions league team" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 October 2019 – via Twitter.
External links
edit
- Pat McFadden Official website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Pat McFadden Profile Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – From The National Archives
- Pat McFadden: Electoral history and profile The Guardian
- BBC Politics
- Appearances on C-SPAN