Stephen Crabb

{{Bronze}}[[File:Stephen Crabb Secretary of State.jpg|thumb|165px|Crabby boy]]{{UKpolitics}}
'''Stephen Crabb''' {{lived|20 January 1973|}} is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tory]] politician, an MP from 2005 to 2024 and an arsewipe since forever. He was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from March 2016 until July 2016, following the resignation of {{wpl|Iain Duncan Smith||.}}<ref name="BBC Mason 2016">{{cite web | title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35850932 Stephen Crabb replaces Iain Duncan Smith] | website=BBC News | date=19 March 2016}}</ref> He has also previously been a government whip, a junior minister for [[Wales]] and the Secretary of State for Wales.<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News Online |title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-19495797 The reshuffle: twist in the tail] |date=5 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News Online |title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-19495871 MP Stephen Crabb wins Wales Office promotion] |date=5 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News Online |title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19499236 Stephen Crabb MP on his new job in Wales Office] |date=6 September 2012}}</ref>

==Early life==
Unlike other [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tory]] Welsh Secretaries (such as {{wpl|John Redwood}}<ref>[https://youtu.be/GzBq0n8dxFQ Redwood at his finest]</ref>), Stephen Crabb is actually [[Wales|Welsh]]. Born in Inverness to a Scottish mother, Crabb's upbringing was mostly in Haverfordwest, the county town of Pembrokeshire in [[Wales]].

His father began claiming {{wpl|Incapacity Benefit#History of Incapacity Benefit|Invalidity Benefit}} the year before Crabb was born.<ref name=tele26032016>{{cite web|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=26 March 2016|title=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/12204410/From-council-house-to-Cabinet-the-unlikely-childhood-of-Stephen-Crabb.html From council house to cabinet: the unlikely childhood of Stephen Crabb]}}</ref> His mother raised him and his two brothers on a council estate, living on benefits and receiving help from family, friends and the [[Baptist]] church.<ref>{{cite news |title= [http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/15/stephen-crabb-new-welsh-secretary Stephen Crabb to be Welsh secretary] |last=Mason|first= Rowena |url= |accessdate=15 July 2014 |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=15 July 2014}}</ref> Instead of these experiences showing to Crabb that welfare was beneficial to helping his family out of extreme poverty, Crabb said that: "The most powerful thing to me, looking back, is the way that my mother went through a crisis in her life and became [[Welfare queen|welfare dependent]]. She started working just a few hours each week, increasing her hours and then moving to a position where with extra training she was able to move into full-time work, become a car owner 
([https://youtu.be/K-iWBCL12Qg public transportation is for jerks and lesbians!])
, and reach full economic independence".<ref name="Indie mini bio">{{cite web |title=[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stephen-crabb-the-welsh-mp-and-new-work-and-pensions-secretary-who-once-worked-as-a-labourer-a6940991.html Stephen Crabb profile: How a working-class boy rose through Tory ranks to become Work and Pensions Secretary]|work=The Independent|date=19 March 2016|accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref>

==Election to Parliament==
In 2001, Crabb stood for Parliament in {{wpl|Preseli Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Preseli Pembrokeshire.}} He came second, but in 2005 he took the seat from Labour with a majority of 607 votes – one of three Welsh Conservative MPs who ended the "Tory-free zone" that had existed in Wales since 1997. Crabb was the youngest member of the 2005 Conservative intake.<ref name="Stephen Crabb Secretary of State for Wales">{{cite web |title= [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stephen-crabb-mp-appointed-secretary-of-state-for-wales Stephen Crabb MP appointed Secretary of State for Wales] |publisher= Wales Office |date=15 July 2014}}</ref> He made his maiden speech on 25 May 2005.<ref name="Maiden">[https://web.archive.org/20151222145604/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo050525/debtext/50525-21.htm "Oral Answers to Questions (25 May 2005)"]. ''Hansard'' '''434''' (79). Archived from [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo050525/debtext/50525-21.htm#50525-21_spnew0 the original] on 22 December 2015.</ref>

In 2010, Crabb retained his seat with a majority of 4,605 and 42.79% of the vote.<ref name="Stephen Crabb UK Parliament">{{cite web|title=[http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/stephen-crabb/1554 Stephen Crabb MP]|url=|publisher=UK Parliament|accessdate=15 July 2014}}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom general election, 2015|general election on 7 May 2015]], Crabb retained his seat with a majority of 4,969 and 40.4% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/W07000065 Preseli Pembrokeshire 2015 Results] |url=  |accessdate=8 May 2015 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 May 2015}}</ref> In 2024, he lost his seat to Labour candidate Henry Tufnell.<ref>[https://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/24432339.general-election-2024-labour-win-mid-south-pembrokeshire/ General Election 2024: Labour win for Mid and South Pembrokeshire], ''Western Telegraph'' 4 July 2024</ref>

==Religious beliefs==
Crabb is a Christian who is opposed to the [[separation of church and state]]; he believes in the practical value of prayer and feels the church should play an active role in community life. He has also said that it's easier for MPs to admit to watching [[pornography]] or doing drugs than admit to praying, although how he knows this is anybody's guess.<ref>{{cite web|title=[http://www.christian.org.uk/news/minister-easier-for-mps-to-admit-to-porn-than-prayer’/ Minister: 'Easier for MPs to admit to porn than prayer']|date=10 December 2015|accessdate=19 March 2016|work=The Christian Institute}}</ref>

Crabb is a member of Conservatives for Israel. In May 2016, he spoke at a meeting organized by an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] youth movement to mark the establishment of [[Israel]] in 1948. He celebrated the claim that Israel is a country in the [[Middle East]] where Christians are not persecuted and said of his visit to Israel in 2007: "As a Christian, I have always felt a very close affinity with the Holy Land. It was a delight to see places that I had learned about during my own childhood at Sunday school and in the pages of the scriptures we were encouraged to read". He went on to draw a parallel between the size and verdancy of Israel and that of Wales.<ref name=JC1>{{cite web|date=12 May 2016|publisher=Jewish Chronicle|title=[http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/158060/cabinet-minister-stephen-crabb-says-palestinians-must-end-glorification-terror Cabinet Minister Stephen Crabb says Palestinians must end glorification of terror]}}</ref> He has also blames the Palestinians for the failure of accepting the two-state solution, blaming the Palestinians for an alleged incitement to violence whilst not mentioning attacks by Israel on Gaza, the West Bank or the rest of Palestine.<ref name=JC1 />

==Christian Action Research and Education==
Upon leaving university, Crabb took an unpaid post as a parliamentary intern for [[Christian Action Research and Education]].<ref name="Tele1">{{cite news |title= [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1975933/Christian-fundamentalists-fighting-spiritual-battle-in-Parliament.html Christian fundamentalists fighting spiritual battle in Parliament] |last=Modell |first=David |date=18 May 2008 |work=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=20 May 2009 |location=London}}</ref> During the 1990s Crabb was a parliamentary intern backed by the organisation, and he is one of around twenty MPs to have employed interns funded by CARE.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=PinkNews.co.uk|date=14 July 2014|title=[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/07/14/mp-who-took-interns-from-gay-cure-event-sponsor-appointed-as-welsh-secretary/ MP who took interns from 'gay cure' event sponsor, appointed as Welsh Secretary]|author=Joseph Patrick McCormick}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=The Independent|date=19 March 2016|title=[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/stephen-crabb-new-dwp-secretary-criticised-for-links-to-gay-cure-group-a6941281.html Stephen Crabb: New DWP Secretary criticised for links to 'gay cure' group]|first=Siobhan |last=Fenton|accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref> 

Crabb is also listed as a member of the "Council of Reference" on Gweini's official website,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Burton|first1=David|title=[http://www.gweini.org.uk/about-us/council-of-reference.htm Council of Reference]|work=Gweini}}</ref> an organisation which represents the Christian Voluntary Sector in Wales and runs under the umbrella of the {{wpl|Evangelical Alliance|Evangelical Alliance,}}<ref>{{cite web|last1=Burton|first1=David|title=[http://www.gweini.org.uk/about-us/values.htm Values and Vision]|url=|work=Gweini}}</ref> which has also been criticised for its anti-gay rhetoric: the alliance is openly opposed to same-sex relationships and [[homosexuality]], preaching [[Abstinence|sexual abstinence]] for those with same-sex attractions and only allowing lesbian and gay people to join the organisation on the basis that they "come to see the need to be transformed",<ref name=Eye1422>{{cite news|title=Crabb mentality (HP Sauce)|work=Private Eye|issue=1422|publisher=Pressdram Ltd|date=8 July 2016|page=9}}</ref> which is possibly [[Fun:Irony meter|one of the campest ways]] of pitching reparative therapy.

When quizzed about his views during his party leadership bid in July 2016, Crabb used a [[Straw man|straw man argument]] to defend himself, saying: "I don't believe that being gay is a sin. I don't believe it's something to be cured. I've never said anything like that" and claimed accusations to the contrary were "a complete falsehood spread by political opponents".<ref name="BBC News gay 2016">{{cite web | title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36712520 Stephen Crabb: Gay cure lie 'spread by opponents'] | website=BBC News | date=5 July 2016 | accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref> Nobody is claiming that you personally said that being gay was a sin, or that you personally support [[reparative therapy]]: we're saying you shouldn't ally yourself with an organisation which does.

==MPs' expenses scandal==
During the {{wpl|United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal|2009 expenses scandal,}} it was reported that Crabb had claimed £8,049 for refurbishments to his flat in London that were carried out from July 2006. He sold the flat the following year and switched his second home expenses to the house he had recently bought for his family in Pembrokeshire, allowing him to claim back £9,300 in {{wpl|stamp duty}} and £1,325 a month in mortgage interest for almost a year - while designating another London flat he was renting with a fellow MP as his main home. Crabb said in response: "I haven't claimed for things like plasma TVs, even though the rules allow it. My claims were always within the letter and the spirit of the rules".<ref>{{cite news |title=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5318954/Stephen-Crabb-nominates-fellow-MPs-flat-as-main-home-MPs-expenses.html Stephen Crabb nominates fellow MP's flat as main home: MPs' expenses] |last=Swaine |first=Jon |date=14 May 2009 |work=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=19 March 2016 |location=London}}</ref> [[Hypocrisy|Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's moral, now does it?]]

==Secretary of State for Wales==
In the {{wpl|2014 United Kingdom Cabinet reshuffle|reshuffle of July 2014,}} Crabb was promoted to Secretary of State for Wales.<ref name="Stephen Crabb UK Parliament" /> One of his first acts as Welsh Secretary was to abandon his taxpayer subsidised car in favour of public transport,<ref>{{cite news| first=Steffan |last=Rhys |url=| work=Wales Online | title=[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-secretary-stephen-crabb-scraps-7461404 No Jags: New Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb scraps Jaguar on first day] | date=20 July 2014}}</ref> the [[collectivist]] bastard. He welcomed the impact of Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reforms in Wales, saying: "We can't go soft on [[Welfare policy of the United Kingdom#Dismantling of the welfare state|welfare reform]] in a place like Wales - it's precisely the place that needs it",<ref name="Indie mini bio"/> which probably pushed him to the top of [[David Cameron]]'s list when considering ministers to replace IDS when he resigned.

===Cuts to sickness benefits===
On 2 March 2016, Crabb voted with the government to reduce by £30 per week the amount of {{wpl|Employment and Support Allowance}} (ESA) paid to disabled people newly placed in the cohort of recipients known as the 'work-related activity group' from April 2017.<ref name="How they">{{cite news |url=|title=[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/see-how-your-mp-voted-10988939 See how your MP voted on controversial cuts to ESA disability benefits] |work=Wales Online |date=4 March 2016 |accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref> Crabb's constituency office was vandalised afterwards, with graffiti asking: "Why do you hate the sick?" seen on its facade on 12 March.<ref name=Pembrokeshire>{{cite web|url=|title=[http://www.pembrokeshire-herald.com/22732/22732/ Haverfordwest: Stephen Crabb MP's office vandalised following controversial vote]|work=The Pembrokeshire Herald – Pembrokeshire's News|accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=|title=[http://www.milfordmercury.co.uk/news/pembrokeshire_news/14344286.Tory_MP_s_office_vandalised_after_controversial_Parliament_vote/ Tory MP's office vandalised after controversial Parliament vote|work=Milford Mercury]|accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= |title=[http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4717893.ece Calls for Crabb to quit charity role] |work=The Times |date=21 March 2016 |accessdate=21 March 2016}}</ref>

On 17 March, Crabb claimed on his Facebook page that "only those who are fit to work and actively seeking work are included in the work-related activity group";<ref name="Guardian WRAG">{{cite news |url=|title=[http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/21/crabb-under-pressure-over-support-for-cut-disability-aid Stephen Crabb under pressure over support for cut in disability aid] |work=The Guardian |date=21 March 2016 |accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref> this post had to be amended, as the {{wpl|Work Capability Assessment}} contains ESA claimants deemed "too ill to work" but capable of participating in work-related activities, such as job-coaching and pre-employment training, who are assessed as likely to work within two years, not immediately.

The following week, {{wpl|Debbie Abrahams|Debbie Abrahams MP,}} Labour's spokesperson on disabilities, said: "It doesn't bode well for David Cameron that the man he chooses to make the new work and pensions secretary doesn't even know the status of people in the ESA WRAG", while Jonathan Portes, a former DWP chief economist and an expert on welfare policy, was puzzled that Crabb - a Cabinet Minister - could vote on important changes to ESA while appearing to be confused about what the vote was about.<ref name="Guardian WRAG"/>

==Secretary of State for Work and Pensions==
On 19 March 2016, Crabb was appointed to succeed Iain Duncan Smith as {{wpl|Secretary of State for Work and Pensions}} following the latter's unexpected resignation over proposed changes to the {{wpl|Personal Independence Payment}} (PIP). In his first parliamentary statement as Welfare Secretary, Crabb said that the Government "will not be going ahead with the changes to PIP that were put forward. We have no further plans to make welfare savings beyond the very substantial savings legislated for by parliament two weeks ago [cuts to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)] which we will now focus on implementing."<ref>{{cite news |url= |title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35863776 Stephen Crabb: 'No further plans' for welfare cuts] |publisher=BBC News |date=21 March 2016 |accessdate=21 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=|title=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CCbcA8OXV0 Stephen Crabb announces disability benefits cuts U-turn (subtitled)] |publisher=ITV News (via YouTube) |date=21 March 2016 |accessdate=21 March 2016}}</ref>

Shortly after being appointed, he outlined his views on social security: "Every party should want to see welfare spending come down. That should be an aspiration for all of us because what you're saying is we are working towards a society where there are fewer people caught in dependency, fewer people who are out of work and need that intervention from the state". He also said: "You have always got to handle issues of welfare with care because you are dealing with support mechanisms for Britain's most vulnerable people."<ref>{{cite web|url= |title=[http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/03/what-the-new-work-and-pensions-secretary-stephen-crabb-thinks-about-welfare-reform/ Stephen Crabb: how my mother inspired my vision of welfare reform]|date=19 March 2016 |accessdate=20 March 2016}}</ref>

In early April 2016, Crabb gave an interview where he was critical of ESA and its eligibility test. He said: "ESA was a benefit the previous Labour government brought in when they brought in Work Capability Assessments (WCA) and the truth is it's never worked like it was intended. The WCA was a mess, it didn't recognise mental health issues and it didn't recognise other types of disability".<ref>{{cite web|date=8 April 2016|publisher=Western Telegraph|title=[http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/14410614.EXCLUSIVE_INTERVIEW__Stephen_Crabb_MP___I_do_not_and_have_never_believed_in_gay_cure_therapy_/ Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb on his new job, 'gay cure claims' and the bedroom tax]|url=}}</ref>

In June 2016, following the non-election of [[Theresa May]] as Prime Minister, Crabb decided to resign "in the best interests of my family".<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36789430 "Stephen Crabb resigns as Theresa May forms new cabinet"]. (14 July 2016). ''BBC News''. Accessed 14 July 2016.</ref> In a scenario similar to controversies with [[America|our friends over the pond]], it had been alleged he had been sending dirty texts to "a young woman" on Whatsapp, saying that "Most MPs are risk takers to one degree or another. Usually in the areas of money, sex, political opportunism. Add in the adrenaline, the attention u get, and the time away from family... toxic mix".<ref>Siobhan Fenton. [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dwp-secretary-stephen-crabb-accused-of-hypocrisy-after-sexting-woman-a7128451.html "Stephen Crabb accused of 'hypocrisy' after 'sexting' woman"]. (9 July 2016). ''The Independent''. Accessed 14 July 2016.</ref> Because [[family values]] and all that, amirite?

==Leadership bid==
In June 2016, Crabb announced that he would be standing in the {{wpl|Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016|Conservative party leadership election,}} following [[David Cameron]]'s resignation over [[Brexit|the outcome of the EU referendum]].<ref name="BBC Wright 2016">{{cite web | last=Wright | first=Ben | title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36671336  Michael Gove and Theresa May head five-way Conservative race] | website=BBC News | date=30 June 2016 | url=| accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref> The man who believed it's easier to admit to smoking drugs such as [[marijuana]] than prayer<ref>Cornoch, David (9 December 2015) [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-35052179 "Crabb: It's easier to admit to drugs than to prayer"]. ''BBC News''</ref> stood on "a joint ticket" with Business Minister, {{wpl|Sajid Javid|Sajid Javid,}}<ref name="BBC News Election 2016">{{cite web | title=[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36618738  Conservative leader: Who might succeed David Cameron?] | website=BBC News | date=30 June 2016 | url=| accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="Walker 2016">{{cite web | last=Walker | first=Jonathan | title=[http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/bromsgrove-mp-sajid-javid-launches-11538223  Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid launches joint bid for Tory leadership] | website=Birmingham Mail | date=28 June 2016 | url=| accessdate=28 June 2016}}</ref> with Crabb to become [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] and Javid the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Crabb had won.<ref name="BBC News Election 2016" /><ref name="The Independent Cooper 2016">{{cite web | title=[http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/who-is-stephen-crabb-next-prime-minister-conservative-leadership-election-a7109676.html What you need to know about Stephen Crabb, who's likely your next Prime Minister] | website=The Independent | date=29 June 2016 | url=| accessdate=30 June 2016 | last=Cooper | first=Charlie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= [https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/748456150035632129  Tweet Number 748456150035632129] |url= |author= Sebastian Payne |date= 30 June 2016|accessdate= 10 July 2016 |quote= Stephen Crabb’s leadership platform: the blue-collar New Moderniser to save the UK chttps://t.co/PxtZJID2y0 via @FT https://t.co/59YG2RlwRP |work= [[Twitter]] }}
</ref> 

On 5 July 2016, after the first ballot of Conservative MPs, Crabb was in second last place. The tailender, disgraced former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, was eliminated from the contest and Crabb then withdrew from the race, giving his backing to [[Theresa May]].<ref name="Crabb backs May">{{cite web | title=[http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/conservative-party-leadership-race-stephen-crabb-pulls-out-of-contest-to-leave-threehorse-race-a3288791.html  Stephen Crabb pulls out of Tory leadership contest] | website=Evening Standard | date=5 July 2016 | url=| accessdate=5 July 2016 | last=Bullen | first=Jamie}}</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.stephencrabb.com  Stephen Crabb MP] ''official constituency website''
*[http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament/Crabb_Stephen.aspx Stephen Crabb MP] Conservative Party profile
*[http://www.ceidwadwyr.com/portal-en/our-mps/55-stephen-crabb-mp.html Stephen Crabb MP] Welsh Conservative Party profile
*[http://www.pembrokeshireconservatives.com Preseli Pembrokeshire Conservatives]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4087526.stm Meet the MP: Stephen Crabb] ''BBC News'', 20 December 2005

==References==
{{reflist|3|90%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabb, Steven}}
[[Category:Brexit]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Former Members of Parliament (UK)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Neoconservatives]]

Categories: Brexit, British people, Christians, Former Members of Parliament (UK), Living people, Neoconservatives