Peter Dowd

For the Australian professor of mining engineering, see Peter Dowd (academic).

Peter Dowd
MP
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
9 February 2017 – 6 April 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byRebecca Long-Bailey
Succeeded byBridget Phillipson
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
6 October 2016 – 9 February 2017
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byRob Marris
Succeeded byAnneliese Dodds
Member of Parliament
for Bootle
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byJoe Benton
Majority21,983 (56.5%)
Personal details
Born
Peter Christopher Dowd

(1957-06-20) 20 June 1957 (age 67)
Bootle, Lancashire, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materHugh Baird College
University of Liverpool
Lancaster University
Websitepeterdowd.com

Peter Christopher Dowd[1] (born 20 June 1957) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bootle since 2015.[2] From 2017 to 2020, he served as the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Early life and education

Peter Dowd was born on 20 June 1957 in Bootle in a large working-class family with a long history of activism in the Labour Party. His great-uncles, Simon and Peter Mahon, served as Labour MPs. Dowd went to local primary and secondary schools and college, before earning an undergraduate degree from Liverpool University, and then a postgraduate degree from Lancaster University.

Political career

Dowd was a Merseyside County Councillor from 1981 to 1986 for the Hawthorne ward.[3] He became a Sefton Borough councillor in 1991 when he replaced Joe Benton for the Derby ward.

He was a councillor for Derby from 1991 to 2003, before he moved to St Oswalds ward (covering Netherton and Marion Square). He was also chair of Merseyside Fire Authority in the 1990s. Dowd was elected Sefton Labour group leader after the death of Dave Martin, and was leader until 2015. He was consequently elected Leader of Sefton Council from 2011 to 2015.

Parliamentary career

At the 2015 general election, Dowd was elected to Parliament as MP for Bootle with 74.5% of the vote and a majority of 28,704.[4][5]

Dowd was one of 48 Labour MPs to vote against the second reading of the Conservative government's Welfare Reform and Work Bill, which included £12 billion in welfare cuts, on 20 July 2015. In doing so they defied the party's leadership, which had ordered MPs to abstain.[6]

In February 2017, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, appointed him to the position of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.[7]

Dowd was re-elected as MP for Bootle at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 84% and an increased majority of 36,200.[8] He was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 79.4% and a decreased majority of 34,556.[9] He was again re-elected at the 2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 68.7% and a decreased majority of 21,983.[10]

In November 2024, Dowd voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise assisted suicide.[11]

Personal life

On 6 October 2020, Dowd's daughter, Jennie, died at the age of 31 following a cycling collision.[12] The driver was sentenced to 12 months in prison.[13]

References

  1. ^ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11778.
  2. ^ "Bootle parliamentary constituency - Election 2015". BBC News. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Contact information for Peter Dowd - MPs and Lords". parliament.uk.
  4. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Bootle". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Welfare cuts backed amid Labour revolt". BBC News. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  7. ^ @jeremycorbyn (9 February 2017). "I'm pleased to announce appointments to Labour's Shadow Cabinet @RLong_Bailey @SueHayman1 @Rees4Neath @Peter_Dowd" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "General Election 2017: who is standing for election". Liverpool Echo. 11 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Bootle Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  10. ^ Bootle
  11. ^ "Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading". Votes in Parliament. 29 November 2024.
  12. ^ O'Reilly, Luke (14 October 2020). "Sir Keir Starmer leads tributes to daughter of Labour MP killed in crash on Merseyside". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Liverpool MP tells of 'unbearable' loss after daughter Jennie killed". BBC News. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Bootle
2015–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
2017–2020 		Succeeded by