Nia Griffith
Nia Rhiannon Griffith (born 4 December 1956) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she was Shadow Secretary of State for Wales from 2015 to 2016 and again from 2020 to 2021. She served as Shadow Secretary of State for Defence from 2016 to 2020. Early life and career. Griffith was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 4 December 1956. She was educated at Newland High School for Girls (now called Newland School for Girls) in Hull and Somerville College, Oxford where  she graduated with a first class degree in modern languages in 1979. Griffith was a founder member of a local Women's Aid organisation and is a member of the National Union of Teachers and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. Parliamentary career. She was selected to contest the Welsh seat of Llanelli for Labour at the 2005 General Election following the imposition of an all-women shortlist after the retirement of Denzil Davies. She won the seat with a majority of 7,234 votes and remains the MP there. Griffith made her maiden speech on 19 May 2005 . Griffith was re-elected in 2010 with her majority reduced by 2,533 votes. In October 2010, she became Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills until October 2011 when she became Shadow Minister for Wales. On 13 September 2015 she became Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. She resigned from this position on 27 June 2016 following a series of other resignations from Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet, but was appointed Shadow Defence Secretary four months later. She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election. Griffith is a  member of Labour Friends of Israel. Griffith held her seat at the 2019 general election. She was appointed by Keir Starmer to serve as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales on 6 April 2020. On 29 November 2021 she was replaced by Jo Stevens in a shadow cabinet reshuffle. She announced her new role of Shadow Minister of State for International Trade on 4 December 2021. Expenses. In June 2009, Griffith was named as one of the Welsh MPs whose expenses had been overpaid. Following a review of expenses Sir Thomas Legg ordered Griffith to repay £4,099.77 in mortgage  interest claims. In June 2010, Griffith had to repay the cost of sending 71 letters having been found to have breached Parliamentary rules on using House of Commons stationery for political purposes. The Department of Resources ruled that the letters, sent out just before the general election, "sought to communicate information about the Labour Party and that its intention was to persuade constituents to vote accordingly for the sitting party member". Griffith also apologised for her actions. Personal life. Griffith is divorced, her former husband was a social worker. In a photo shoot for "The Independent" in February 2016, Griffith  came out as a lesbian, commenting that her sexuality had been known among friends, family and colleagues since the mid-1990s. She was named on the 2017 Pinc List of leading Welsh LGBT figures. Griffith owns a house in Llanelli, a flat in London, and a smallholding in Carmarthenshire which received Tir Gofal funding. Her hobbies include music, European cinema, gardening, walking and cycling. She is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.