Graham Smith

## *The Right Honourable*

Graham Smith MP

Graham Smith's 2019 Official Parliamentary Portrait

**Graham Leslie Smith** (born 2nd September 1974) is a British politician serving as the Secretary of State for Education since 2019. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Walthamstow since 2006. A member of the Labour Party, he studied at the University of Cambridge and obtained his degree in Journalism not shortly after. His activism has involved roles in anti-fascism, and proselytising to hard-right Tory voters in support for his cause.

Said to be a champion of democratic socialism, he was a major opponent of the war in Iraq and Tony Blair's centrist leadership as a whole, yet has a stance of neutrality in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he ramped up on turning away accusations of anti-semitism in 2017 after an investigation of statements made by Jeremy Corbyn. After becoming Secretary of State for Education in the 2019 cabinet arrangement and the later reshuffle, Graham Smith has shifted away from international geopolitics and focused on strengthening his field in protecting children's rights.

Born to a working-class family in Northern Hackney, he attended primary school in his youth, and studied at Cambridge University. Having close ties with his family at that point, he began to shift into the political sphere in the 1980s. In the 2010 general election, he successfully campaigned and won the Walthamstow Constituency.

In 2019, he was appointed and officially became the Secretary of State for Education. He has lobbied for various Acts, like his own sponsored Tuition Fee Abolition Act, the Democracy Act, and the Children's Act. He has also lobbied for more recognition of same-sex couples, and has met up with feminist and black rights groups. He is also a Europhile, who has claimed himself to internationalism; saying:

> We need to unite the common people by the European Union. We can't be deprived of solidarity.
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## Early Life

### Childhood (1974 - 1992)

**Graham Leslie Smith** was born on 2nd September, 1974 to Peter and Mary Smith *(née Fitzgerald)* in the London Borough of Hackney. He first attended primary school in 1978. He was considered "very popular" in his primary school years, as had been received many medallions and possessions that were showing of his hard work. By 1985 he was posted into the City of London School, and left there in 1992 onto the University of Cambridge.

According to contemporaries, he was considered an exemplary student and obtained a degree in Journalism by 1996. Political commentators when conversing with him in 2012 said that Smith undoubtedly had arranged himself the charisma that would be used to kickstart his political career, and without obtaining such a prized role, he would not have risen the political ranks, and would stay as a spokesperson.

### First journalistic endeavours (1996 - 1999)

After graduating from the University of Cambridge, Smith became a young journalist for the BBC a year later. Although harbouring semi-republican sentiment at that point, he was sympathetic of the monarchy and therefore was able to tune his opinion and be able to publish it effectively, and also expanded on his socialist theories.

Smith left the BBC in 1999 after having allegedly seen socialist discrimination, from whom were Blairites. Pundits say that this caused Smith to have distrust in Blair's government, and start to move towards a more safe, and "welcoming" sect of the Left.

### Political journalism and campaigning (2000 - 2010)

Smith dabbled into becoming an official civil servant after becoming a spokesperson for some Members of Parliament in 2002, and was deeply disturbed after hearing about Blair's unwavering support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and claimed it was "unconstitutional" to follow through involvement in such a costly conflict.

He was pitched up to engage in debates at Oxford University campuses, in one instance making unfounded claims against Tony Blair, calling him a "vile war criminal" and whose administration was in shambles. Denying he had become increasingly more leftist after pundits had labeled him a "radicalised revanchist", he levied backhanded insults against them then working for *The Guardian*, which called into question his moral status and political analysis by opponents soon followed.

This added to his then "careless attitude", as his portfolio while engaging in journalistic reporting was to scapegoat and use critical events that would damage his and the Labour Party's character to his advantage, in order to better his reputation. This strategic reporting allowed him to pitch his ideas and propagandise a working class community that needed to be pandered to in order to build up an already growing doubt about the current situation that was at hand.

A crude instance of this was the seething unpopular Iraq War in the United Kingdom. Smith was called up by then editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger in 2006 about claims that would "shatter the newspaper's circulation" and were too radical for the newspaper, which was again called into question by pundits and commentators on how the CPB was "perfect for him". Smith responded that even the Communist Party of Great Britain would consider him moderate, and that he believes that establishing a solidified welfare state.

Even after claims of inexperience and of being supportive of a novel communist feature; collectivisation, 2007 had undoubtedly become a year of lapsing for Smith. In a publication dated 11 May 2007, he was skeptical of intentions Tony Blair stated like stepping down in September of that year. Yet, Smith was ecstatic when Blair did make his promise on 27 June, yet became again reclusive after Brown became Prime Minister. Smith related Blair's succession as akin to Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard, ambitiously claiming that Gordon Brown was just another "centrist player".

Smith married Pam Cowburn in January 2008, and was critical of the monetary changes that Brown had enacted. Also what he was critical of was the "nonsense" that was surrounding rumours of another snap election, and called it irresponsible to call one during a major financial crisis. Continuing to work for the Guardian, Smith pledged that he would stand in a constituency for the next election, that was "after the craze". Smith donated nearly £25,000 to local charities, and also funded groups that helped poor children in foreign Commonwealth countries. Smith dismissed the harsh drug reform laws - which classed cannabis as more severe.

In December 2008 Smith was heckled by local pro-Scottish independence Socialist protesters after releasing publication that called Scottish activists "rabid dogs with an inherent hate for the Union". Smith had a Neo-Attleesque moulded idea of the United Kingdom, saying that a welfare state could not be achieved without a decadent division. This caused hate from fellow Socialists who called him an 'arrogant unionist in Gaitskellite clothing'. Nonetheless, he persisted, criticising devolution reform.

2009 had started a rift of change in the country, and this was mirrored in Smith's strategic reporting. Smith rethought his reporting as Blairite-Brownite support was dwindling. He was funded by the Socialist Campaign Group after it saw "potential" as a proponent of radical, free thinking. In February 2009, Smith criticised the BBC after it refused to fund services that would help to stop tensions in the Gaza Strip - and saw the BBC "on a track of rejecting common sense".

In late 2009, Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, was invited onto Question Time to speak about current affairs. The BBC was also pressured and obliged into transmitting broadcasts for them. Smith, in the Guardian had spoken about the issues and labeled them "disturbing", criticising the BBC's choice to transmit campaign videos. Smith believed that this would give racist voters something to "moan about", as they implemented no checks or regulations for preventing them for receiving free publicity.

Smith was criticised by Tory publication for demonising allowing "extremist" opinions to be expressed, calling him an enemy of free speech. The Sun added that nobody was exactly extremist and that everybody would take the perspective of a centrist in that circumstance.

Graham Smith stepped down from his position as Journalist for the Guardian on 20 December 2009, as he became more eager as the political landscape was changing. Smith was also critical of the proposed coalition between the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats. This was influenced by pressure from UKIP, but also saw a decline in support for the traditional Labour Party. He admitted he was worried about his job, and criticised "complete complacency" from Labour towards the rise of UKIP.

Remarkably, the Future of Britain report that Smith had sponsored also caught the eye of voices in public opinion, Like Ross Kemp, who had appeared on his show about gun crime. The Future of Britain report was found to be a significant piece of British policy, sparking a debate about the direction that the nation was going in.

In April 2010, Smith announced he was standing for Walthamstow in the next election after Neil Gerrard, then incumbent MP decided to step down, leaving the constituency vacant at that point. In late April 2010, his first major political campaigning began. He promised to "redeem" a borough "riddled with Blairites" - which caused backlash from centrist Labour voters living in North London. Smith has labelled them "Johnson sympathisers", and despised Johnson for reversing Livingstone's policies.

On 6 May 2010, David Cameron was elected Prime Minister. Smith also remarkably won the Walthamstow constituency with the runner-up being Lib Liberal Democrat Farid Ahmed with 11,000 votes. Smith later went on the BBC to talk about how Cameron's administration would damage a "progressive societal" movement that was sweeping up the nation, which also identified his solidaric views on women's rights and same-sex marriage.

The next day, ten Conservative protesters who had protest voted against Labour marched on Walthamstow Town Hall, seat of the Waltham Forest London Borough Council. Smith, reluctantly had kept quiet on the situation, but commented on its sheer "brutality".

## Member of Parliament (2010 - present)

### Cameron-May era (2010 - 2019)

Smith appeared to have lamented the election of David Cameron. After a televised speech in June 2010, he had said that he was wrong to criticise Gordon Brown - later commenting privately that he was the "lesser evil". Smith was also supportive of the controversial Children, Schools and Families Act 2010, sponsored by Ed Balls and Baroness Drefelin. He saw the bill as a "silent revolution" for children's rights.

Smith was also disgusted at how the Saville Inquiry's conclusion was long after the Bloody Sunday event had occurred. He also dismissed Blair's diary *A Journey* as "bumbling repetitions of a madman". Smith responded to talks of privatising Royal Mail by saying on his constituency website that "we are witnessing an era of conservative interventional thinking".

In December 2010, The **2010 cash for influence scandal** was brought to public and widespread media attention by a March 2010 documentary by Dispatches in which a journalistic sting operation recorded and revealed Members of Parliament and the Lords offering to work for a fictitious political lobbying firm for fees of £3,000 to £5,000 per day. This caused anger in the Conservative Party's senior divisions, with Smith stating:

> I cannot support MPs who decide to swindle like this. This is the problem when members of a party that is in the Opposition see an opportunity to swindle - if Ed Miliband continues to harbour such hate, I will consider splitting from the Party. That's all.
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This went hand-in-hand to other scandals after Former Labour MP David Chaytor was jailed for 18 months for fraudulently claiming more than £20,000 in expenses - Smith had remarked that "senior politicians make senior-like decisions", and Tory pressure groups descended on him, as it was thought this had attacked senior voters.

Smith congratulated Dan Jarvis following the Barnsley Central by-election.

In October 2011, the Occupy London movement attracted the attention of Smith, who told the Guardian:

> I cannot, in spite of broad agreement on policies with this movement, support a movement whose sole aim is to disrupt and to cause the stoppage of our capital. I urge those as a part of it not to turn this fight for social and economic justice, in which we are a part, into a rabble of noise and violence.
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Smith, alongside most of the Labour Party, spoke out in "heavy-hearted opposition" to the Health and Social Care Act 2012, calling it a "stealth sell-off of our NHS", and calling for moderate Conservatives to "wake up and smell the coffee, it's burning" over the introduction of more market forces and economics into the NHS.

After the success of Boris Johnson in his re-election campaign for Mayor of London, and Ken Livingstone's stepping back from politics, Smith wrote an article for the Independent titled: "Some people fall upwards. Boris Johnson is surely one of them", in which he had stated that "Mr Johnson's complete lack of professionalism, or dignity, or even integrity, seemed not only not to matter, but to bolster his campaign of lies and deceit".

During the resignation of Chris Huhne as an MP upon his guilty plea to perverting the course of justice by causing his ex-wife to take on speeding points that he had incurred, Smith remarked that "the Liberal Democrats have even compromised on Tory corruption and taken on the blame for that too".

When Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, aged 87, Smith was "sorry for her death, but also for the events of her life", attracting criticism for his "brash, untimely comments" from the Sunday Times and Telegraph. In an interview with ITV News, Smith stated that Thatcher's legacy was "mixed at best, hanging over the British conscience like a flickering light - fixable, but with nobody wanting to fix it", and that "she promised to reform the public sector, and the public weren't told that reform was a Thatcherite term for annihilate".

In January 2014, Smith stated that the excessive flooding of winter 2013-4 was "probably caused or worsened to this level by climate change", and called for "businesses, the public, politicians, everyone - to stop saying we'll do things next year and we'll take a different path by unforeseeably far away dates, and start making changes now, while we still can."

In September 2014, Smith was involved with the No campaign for the independence referendum, calling it "increasingly a referendum based on resentment against Westminster - and that resentment isn't limited to Scotland, nor will breaking off fix the issues of Scotland", and stating that the "rampant nationalism of the SNP was barely hidden, plain for all to see - and yet, with all populists, this ignorant replacement for actual policies and ideas has boosted their campaign". Upon the No verdict winning by just over a 55-45 margin, Smith had stated "the solidarity with Scotland remains intact upon this momentous verdict for our United Kingdom".

Smith was not fond of Salmond's successor Nicola Sturgeon. He saw her as "a stumbling block to a united Scotland", and would continue to make brash comments about her till this day. He would also begin to demand questions about how security would entail after Britain left the European Union - identifying his position as being a semi-Europhile.

After the London Authority released data of London reaching a population of eight and a half million - Smith would claim that "this overpopulation is going to drive our city into the ground. We want diversity within a reasonable boundary". Tories on the BBC claimed that this opinion was the same as the Church of Euthanasia. Smith responded by shaming the BBC for allowing "stupid assumptions" to be aired.

*The Sun* also defiantly denied that it was to cease publishing topless women on Page 3 after posting a preview of its next publication featuring topless model Nicole Neal, calling the recent absence of the feature a "mammary lapse". Smith called this "degradation of women" disgusting and joined a line of MPs that opposed it.

In May 2015, David Cameron was re-elected for Prime Minister - Smith also being re-elected in his own constituency. Smith called the re-election of Cameron a "terrible mistake" on the behalf of the electorate. In November 2015, after the Paris attacks, Smith called for a "takedown of radical Islamic forces" to occur, and had agreed on the consensus that talks of an ISIS takedown was necessary.

Smith had also demanded Cameron to "take forth" from his manifesto, as he had still not enacted a referendum of the decision of leaving the European Union. This revealed his stance as a Europhile once again, and despite backlash from hard-left voters, he refused to retract his demands. This caught the attention of senior Labour MP for Bolsover, Dennis Skinner in remarks dictated:

> This debauchery and split on whether or not you can deliver a separation from the European Union is utterly ridiculous.
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On 24 June 2016, a referendum took place on whether or not to leave the European Union effectively. Months before this, Smith stood as Honourary Chairmen for various Remainer campaigns across the country, dissimilar to most advocates in Labour Party believe; a state of neutrality, an instance of this was Smith's overarching leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

He also protested against what he called "babyish behaviour" after several shadow cabinet members quit after they saw Corbyn's leadership as "incompetent and lacklustre". He supported plans to reshape the Shadow Cabinet, as well as put in essential reforms that would stop defection.

In 2017, Theresa May was elected as Prime Minister after David Cameron's resignation━Smith, seeing this as an opportunity to attack the Government, was invited onto Question Time to share his opinion. This was met with support from leftist voters, which had backed him after winning the Walthamstow constituency vote by a margin of thousands.

Smith was cordial with Israel, and therefore had received support from Jewish Labour societies, but after brash antisemitism allegations beginning in mid 2017, he eventually abandoned this post and assumed a stance of neutrality when dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also reacted to Ken Livingstone's suspension from Labour "a terrible day for all advocates for a peaceful London".

In 2018, after Corbyn had declared that he had refused Trump's offer for an invitation to a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth, Smith backed his decision saying that "it is out of bounds to say that such a leader could ever have a civil discussion with anybody, let alone Jeremy Corbyn". He also mocked Theresa May for losing several Brexit amendments, causing backlash.

In 2019, after Theresa May resigned, effectively marking Rebecca Welton as her successor, Smith won once again in his constituency, congratulating his countrymen and cementing his role in Walthamstow. After Welton resigned after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Smith initally called the consecutive Tory leadership "a pass-the-parcel-level farce".

After Rishi Sunak took office in October 2019, Smith continued to attack the Prime Minister on Twitter as he rose through the political ranks, and after Thomas Watkins had made his appearance and had been suspended, Smith had cemented his role in curbtailing Conservative superiority. Penny Mordaunt deputised for Rishi after 1 December, and campaigning for the 2019 general election had begun.

Smith, during that time, with collaboration with fellow Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rowan Atkinson, started the joint Common Welfare Pledge, a pledge that would promise growth, prosperity and welfare in Walthamstow and Northern constituencies. After Redd won what could be described as a "landslide" victory in the 2019 United Kingdom general election, Smith doubled down with arguments on Twitter and starting exercising his role.

He also won a major victory in his constituency, causing many candidates to allegedly "recant the decision of standing for election". Smith called the events "mildly amusing", and had even gone on to thank one of the candidates to stand down in the race.

## Cabinet member (2019 - present)

Smith, albeit benefitting from the generousness of Alexander Redd's administration had been appointed Secretary of State for Education and placed into the cabinet. He would continue the Common Welfare Pledge, however doubling down as his funds were tiring and he had been set to go on another plans. He had negative views on the Fixed Parliament Act Repeal Bill - which if passed, would allow the Monarch to have the necessary powers to dissolve a session in the Houses of Parliament.

His initial plans were to get behind certain Acts of Parliament as he was unable to propose them, therefore rendering his office partly useless until early 2020. On 24 January 2020, a strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), managed to gain the attention of the government, as well as the cabinet, Smith would later go and warn about this strain, i.e. COVID-19, and measures were taken.

Smith spent the rest of January and February attempting to tackle the virus and stop misinformation, while engaging in arguments with other major members of Parliament on Twitter, an instance of this being Julia Montague, who was suspended from the Conservative and Unionist Party after making brash islamophobic, and sinophobic comments to Alexander Redd and Rowan Atkinson.

In February 2020, after petrol tanks had exploded near Oldbury city centre, Smith and his fellow cabinet were called to the meeting, and had been a witness to the formation of the Office for National Security. Smith called the attackers "vile and despicable", while also calling condolences upon the victims and the persons injured.

On March 4, 2020, a transitional stage of lockdown was announced by Rowan Atkinson, Health Secretary, after suggestions that the UK would benefit from such a namewise state.

Smith had doubled down on creating bills before March 11, 2020 - yet after being consoled by spokespeople, had proposed the Tuition Fee Abolition Act, rendering all tuition fees void and down to £0 in value. This was met with staunch opposition from the Opposition, who attempted to ridicule Labour for not "keeping its previous promises".

Smith reacted to George Bennett's suspension as Work and Employment Rights Secretary "a right decision for the most part", and had debated with him on Twitter several times, after being visibly inebriated in the House of Commons. Just days earlier, Boris Johnson had the same fate. Smith was allegedly contacted by the SNP Westminster Leader with "foul, informal language", and had released it to the media, causing a major smear campaign to arise towards the SNP.

Smith was also behind the Holodomor Act, which granted powers to recognise the Holodomor famine as a somewhat directed campaign against the Ukrainian people, and criticised Bennett on social media for getting behind it.

## Religious views

Smith is purported to be an agnostic. He was invited onto Question Time in 2012, and had reportedly said that he did not know if there was a God. Rejecting the Church of England's doctrine from his youth, he initally held atheist views yet had "liberalised" into an agnostic position after he dabbled into philosophy at the University of Cambridge.

He believes that same-sex marriage is not a religious issue, and had called evangelical Christians "nutters", after criticising the Christian position on Good Morning Britain, attracting outcry and support at the same time. However, he has called for religious freedom, and does not want to impose a certain view on a general population.

He has called Pope Francis "a conman who misguides his blind followers", and holds a less sympathetic view to Catholics. He has lobbied for a United Ireland "free of religious debacle" and has been invited to many conferences upholding likewise. In 2017, he was revealed to have sympathies with Israel, which called an inquiry from the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.

## Political views

Smith is said to be a democratic socialist, and advocates for a national welfare state where equality and freedom "triumphs all". He has been lumped in to the Smithite faction of Labour, and was a staunch opposer of Blair before he was Member of Parliament, and still is to this day. WIP