New Waterways Minister

Huw Irranca-Davies was born in 1963. He went to Gowerton Comprehensive School (where his mother was a secretary), and later achieved a BA (Hons) at Crewe and Alsager College, and an MSc from the University of Wales, Swansea Institute. After leaving Higher Education, Huw worked for local authorities in leisure management. Later, he worked in private sector management, and also spent time as a lecturer at Swansea Institute of Higher Education.

He was elected to the parliamentary seat of Ogmore in the South Wales Valleys  in the by-election of February 14th 2002, after the death of the veteran MP and Government Whip Sir Ray Powell.   He was re-elected to serve Ogmore in the general election of May 2005. He has sat on the Procedures Select Committee to discuss ways of modernising the work of Parliament and has also sat on Standing Committees for the Police Reform Bill, Fireworks Bill and Communications Bill, amongst others.

Before becoming a Government Minister, Huw sat on the Welsh Grand Committee and the Northern Ireland Grand Committee. In addition Huw has worked on Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) Committees on Welsh Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Home Affairs and International Development. He was also the backbench MP representative on the board of the Coal Health Claims Monitoring Subgroup for Wales.

Huw became Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Rt. Hon. Tessa Jowell MP in June 2005, having previously served as PPS to the Rt. Hon. Jane Kennedy MP at the Northern Ireland Office and also at the Department for Work and Pensions.

 In the May 2006 Huw was appointed to the Government as Assistant Government Whip, before being promoted to the Ministerial position of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Wales Office in 2007. 

For details on his new responsibilities in post please go to :

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ministers/irranca-davies.htm