Steve Webb

Infobox_Politician
honorific-prefix =
name =Steven John Webb
honorific-suffix = MP

|200px
caption =
office =
term_start =
term_end =
predecessor =
successor =
party = Liberal Democrats
religion =
constituency_MP2 = Northavon
majority2 = 11,033 (18.7%)
term_start2 =2 May 1997
term_end2 =
predecessor2 = Sir John Cope, (Conservative)
successor2 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1965|07|18|df=yes
birth_place = Birmingham, England
residence =
death_date =
death_place =
spouse = Helen
children = 2
residence =
relations =
alma_mater = Hertford College, Oxford
profession = Academic
occupation =


website = [http://www.stevewebb.org.uk Steve Webb MP (Website)]
footnotes =

Steven John Webb, better known as Steve Webb, is a British politician, the Member of Parliament for Northavon and the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Energy, Food and Rural Affairs.

Background

Webb was born in West Bromwich on 18 July 1965 to Brian and Patricia Webb, and attended the local comprehensive school (Dartmouth High School), before going on to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Hertford College, Oxford. At the age of twenty-one he left university to work at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London, where he specialised in researching into poverty, taxes and benefits. In 1995, he became a Professor of Social Policy at the University of Bath.

Political career

At the 1997 General Election Webb was elected as MP for the Northavon constituency, just north of Bristol, overturning a Conservative majority of over 11,000. He increased a 2,137 majority to 9,877 in the 2001 Election and again to 11,033 in the 2005 Election.

In 2001, Webb was promoted by Charles Kennedy to lead spokesman for the Liberal Democrats on Work and Pensions, a portfolio he had worked in since 1999. He continued in this position until being appointed as Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Health in 2005. At the end of 2006, he started a new role co-ordinating the party's manifesto for the next General Election.

Webb is also a member of the cross-party Christians in Parliament and vice-president of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum. [ [http://www.ldcf.net Liberal Democrat Christian Forum] Official Website ]

Webb is one of the growing number of MPs to have a blog and a website, and in 2004 his website, which makes use of SMS technology, was commended in the "New Statesman" New Media Awards and, in February 2005, led him to win the inaugural Hansard Society E-Democracy Award. He has also recognised the emerging potential of online social utility networks by joining MySpace and Facebook, two of the biggest. He is one of the contributors to the "" (2004) and is the author of a chapter in "The Future of the NHS" (2006) (ISBN 1-85811-369-5) edited by Michelle Tempest.

Family

On July 10 1993, Steve Webb married Helen Edwards, then a curate at his local church in Clapham. A year later, the couple moved to Bristol, where they remain today. The couple have two children: a daughter was born in December 1995 and a son followed in May 1998.

Leadership election 2007

Given his increasing profile and popularity within the party due to his role as the manifesto chair, he was seen as a probable candidate for the social liberal grouping's vote in the future leadership election. Simon Hughes has been the previous standard bearer in the leadership elections in 1999 and 2006. On October 17 2007 the website [http://www.bloggers4steve.blogspot.com/ Bloggers4Steve] announced that Webb had received enough nominations from MPs to run. Despite this, on October 18 Webb announced he was not running and would be backing Nick Clegg for leader. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7050318.stm Clegg picking up Lib Dem backers] , "BBC News Online", 18 October 2007] In the first reshuffle after the election, he was appointed Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Energy, Food and Rural Affairs.

ee also

* Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team

References

External links

* [http://www.stevewebb.org.uk Steve Webb MP] official site
* [http://www.webbsteve.blogspot.com The Webb Log] Steve Webb's blog
* [http://www.myspace.com/stevewebb1 Steve's MySpace Profile]
* [http://www.libdems.org.uk/people/steve-webb Steve Webb MP] profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
* [http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/Steve+Webb/ ePolitix.com - Steve Webb]
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-5437,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Prof Steve Webb MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/steve_webb/northavon TheyWorkForYou.com - Steve Webb *MP]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?firstname=Steve&lastname=Webb&constituency=Northavon The Public Whip - Steve Webb] voting record
* [http://www.manifesto.libdems.org.uk Liberal Democrat Manifesto Consultation]
* [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509185764 Steve's Facebook Profile]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/435.stm BBC Politics page]

News items

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7048460.stm 2007 profile]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4941878.stm Fries to go in April 2006]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/4706026.stm Open prisons in February 2006]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4261138.stm NHS dentists in September 2005]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3600686.stm Civil servants viewing pornography in August 2004]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3553273.stm Arguing with Liberal's view on pornography in March 2004]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2488447.stm Pensions in November 2002]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2314293.stm Pensions and women in October 2002]

Video clips

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/england/video/126000/bb/126558_16x9_bb.ram Points West clip in 2007]