Heidi Alexander

Heidi Alexander (born 17 April 1975) is a British Labour Party politician who is the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport under Sadiq Khan and Deputy Chair of Transport for London. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham East from the 2010 general election, resigning in May 2018 to join the mayoral team. She was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Health on 13 September 2015, but resigned from the shadow cabinet on 26 June 2016.[1][2]

Heidi Alexander
Alexander in 2017
Deputy Mayor of London for Transport
Assumed office
21 May 2018
MayorSadiq Khan
Preceded byVal Shawcross
Shadow Secretary of State for Health
In office
13 September 2015 – 26 June 2016
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byAndy Burnham
Succeeded byDiane Abbott
Member of Parliament
for Lewisham East
In office
6 May 2010 – 9 May 2018
Preceded byBridget Prentice
Succeeded byJanet Daby
Personal details
Born (1975-04-17) 17 April 1975
Swindon, England, UK
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)
Martin Ballantyne
​
(m. 2011)​
Alma materDurham University
Not to be confused with Heidi Allen.

Early life

The daughter of Malcolm, an electrician, and his wife Elaine (née Lanham), Heidi Alexander was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, and attended the town's Churchfields Comprehensive School.[3][4] She is a graduate of Durham University (Grey College, Durham) from where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and a Masters degree in European Urban and Regional Change.[5]

She worked as a researcher for MP Joan Ruddock for six years from 1999. She also worked as the Campaigns Manager for Clothes Aid.[6]

Political career

Heidi Alexander was elected to Lewisham London Borough Council as a councillor for the Evelyn ward in 2004, and served as Deputy Mayor of Lewisham and Cabinet Member for regeneration from 2006. She was selected as the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Lewisham East in October 2009 and was elected to Parliament in 2010.[7]

She was a member of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee and supported Andy Burnham for the Labour leadership in 2010.[8] Early in her parliamentary career she served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Mary Creagh MP and from 2012 served as an Opposition Whip[9] as well as (from December 2013) a Shadow Minister for London. She was the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Choice at the End of Life.[10]

Alexander was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Health on 13 September 2015, the day after Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Labour leader.[1] On 26 June 2016, Alexander became the first of many Shadow Cabinet ministers to resign and call for a new party leader following the EU referendum result and sacking of Hilary Benn.[11] "I loved being the shadow health secretary. But I hated being part of the shadow cabinet", Alexander wrote in The Guardian in August 2016, "because it was entirely dysfunctional" and "so inept, so unprofessional, so shoddy. There was no effort to build a team".[12] She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.[13]

In 2016 Alexander was Sadiq Khan's campaign chair for the London mayoral election.[14]

In January 2017, Alexander proposed a "reasoned amendment" to stop the trigger of Article 50.[15] Alexander co-chairs with Alison McGovern the Labour Campaign for the Single Market,[14][16] and is a leading supporter of Open Britain.[17]

On 8 May 2018, Alexander announced she was to resign her seat to become Sadiq Khan's deputy mayor for transport in London. Alexander said, "London is a fantastic city. I know Sadiq wants its transport system to be the envy of the world and I am looking forward to playing my part in making that happen."[18][19]

References
  1. Morris, Nigel (13 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet: The appointments so far". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  2. Alexander, Heidi [@heidi_mp] (26 June 2016). "It is with a heavy heart that I have this morning resigned from the Shadow Cabinet" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  4. "Alexander, Heidi, (born 17 April 1975), MP (Lab) Lewisham East, since 2010". Who's Who. 2010. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.251450.
  5. "Heidi Alexander". THE HONEYBALL BUZZ. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  6. "Heidi Alexander". politics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Andy Burnham". labour.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "APPG on Choice at the End of Life". appg-endoflifechoice.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013.
  11. "Who's staying and who's going in the shadow cabinet?". BBC News. 27 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  12. Alexander, Heidi (19 August 2016). "Why I had to leave Corbyn's dysfunctional shadow cabinet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  13. "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  14. Elgot, Jessica; Stewart, Heather (25 April 2018). "Heidi Alexander thought to be considering role at London City Hall". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  15. Walker, Peter (28 January 2017). "Labour MPs put forward Commons motion to throw out article 50 bill". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  16. Stewart, Heather (8 February 2018). "Pro-EU Labour MPs urge NEC to consult members on Brexit". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  17. Alexander, Heidi (23 June 2017). "Heidi Alexander: the public want to see a deal where jobs are put first". Open Britain. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  18. Elgot, Jessica (8 May 2018). "Heidi Alexander quits as Labour MP to be London deputy mayor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  19. "Heidi Alexander". House of Commons. UK Parliament. 8 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Bridget Prentice		 Member of Parliament
for Lewisham East
2010–2018		 Succeeded by
Janet Daby
Political offices
Preceded by
Andy Burnham		 Shadow Secretary of State for Health
2015–2016		 Succeeded by
Diane Abbott
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