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Michael Dugher

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Michael Dugher
Member of Parliament
for Barnsley East
In office
6 May 2010 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byJeff Ennis
Succeeded byStephanie Peacock
Shadow cabinet portfolios
2015–2016Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
2014–2015Transport
2013–2014Cabinet Office
2011–2014Vice Party Chair
2011–2013Without Portfolio
Personal details
Born
Michael Vincent Dugher

(1975-04-26) 26 April 1975 (age 49)
Edlington, South Yorkshire, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham (BA)

Michael Vincent Dugher (pronounced DUG-ər; born 26 April 1975[1]) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley East from 2010 to 2017.[2] A member of the Labour Party, he was a special adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown prior to his election to Parliament.

Early and personal life

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Dugher was born and raised in Edlington, South Yorkshire. He attended The McAuley School in Doncaster and received a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from the University of Nottingham.[3] He served as national chairman of Labour Students in 1997.

Dugher is married to Joanna, who he employed as a part-time Parliamentary office manager.[4]

Career

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He was the Head of Policy of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 2000 to 2001.[5][6]

From 2001 to 2002, Dugher was a special adviser to Transport Minister John Spellar at the Department of Transport, Local Government and Regional Affairs. After this, he worked as a special adviser to Geoff Hoon from 2002 to 2008. Hoon was successively the Secretary of State for Defence, the Leader of the House of Commons and the Government Chief Whip.[7]

During 2006–2007, Dugher worked as a corporate lobbyist for American multinational Electronic Data Systems (EDS), one of the government's largest IT contractors.[8]

Dugher worked at 10 Downing Street from 2008 to 2010 as the Chief Political Spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[9]

Parliamentary career

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Before his election at the 2010 general election as the MP for Barnsley East, Dugher stood unsuccessfully for Skipton and Ripon, then held by the Conservative David Curry, at the 2001 general election.[10]

Dugher was a Shadow Minister of Defence before becoming the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition. In 2011, he was promoted to Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister without Portfolio, a role in which he co-ordinated shadow ministers' responses to the government.

In November 2012, Miliband appointed Dugher to the position of Labour Party Vice Chair with responsibility for communications strategy.[11][dubious – discuss]

In the October 2013 reshuffle, he became Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office[12] and in November 2014 was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Transport replacing Mary Creagh. As Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Dugher told the New Statesman that he wanted to see "more public control of the railways" under a Labour government.[13]

Dugher has been an Executive Committee member of the British-American Parliamentary Group.[14]

In the Labour leadership election of 2015, he was campaign manager for Andy Burnham.[15][16] He was also a supporter of Tom Watson for the deputy leadership election.

In September 2015, Dugher replaced Chris Bryant as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.[9] However, in January 2016, he was sacked from the position in Jeremy Corbyn's first reshuffle,[17][18] as announced by Dugher himself via Twitter.[19] Dugher did not take telephone calls from Corbyn the previous day.[20] Several shadow cabinet ministers publicly supported Dugher, with Andy Burnham saying that "Michael Dugher is Labour to the core & has served our Party with distinction".[19] Dugher said that Corbyn did not like an article he had written for the New Statesman, saying "I took a decision to speak out and I paid a price for it".[21] Dugher described his article "I said despite all the stuff you've read in the newspapers: I don't think Jeremy Corbyn is a man motivated by revenge, I didn't think he'll do these mass sackings as an act of revenge over Syria that we've read about every day, every week, for several weeks. I was defending Jeremy and I was defending the 'new politics'".[21]

He did not stand in the 2017 general election, stating, "It's time now for me to make a difference in life outside of politics. It's also time that I do what is best for my wife and children, whom I love with all my heart."[22][23]

Post-Parliamentary career

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In April 2017, Dugher was announced as UK Music's new chief executive, replacing outgoing chief executive Jo Dipple. He took up the role in May 2017.[24][25] In February 2020, he became Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).[26]

Political views

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Dugher has held the post of Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI).[27] He has criticised the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, saying "Boycotting Israeli institutions is ignorant, wrong and counterproductive to peace. We should be building bridges and furthering dialogue".[28][29]

He gave a keynote speech at the 'We Believe in Israel' conference, where he said "Each time I visit Israel, my admiration for that great country grows".[30]

Following the 2015 general election, Dugher said Labour mishandled its relationship with the Jewish community through a combination of neglect and incompetence. He criticised Labour's response to the 2014 Gaza conflict and called the then Labour leader Ed Miliband's decision to whip Labour MPs to vote for a motion recognising the State of Palestine as "catastrophic". Dugher abstained in the parliament vote on this matter, despite a three line whip and being a shadow cabinet minister.[31]

Controversies

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Dugher is a prolific Twitter user. He has regularly engaged in debate with Matt Zarb-Cousin, a former Labour activist and recovering gambling addict.[32] Dugher repeatedly branded Zarb-Cousin, a safer gambling campaigner '#RouletteBoy'[33][34][35] in an argument on Twitter in 2017. Dugher, who is the Chief Executive of the UK's Betting and Gaming Council, a lobbying group campaigning for the gambling industry,[36] asked "I thought you liked casinos, young Matt?"[37] He later deleted the tweet, and apologised for his comments and claimed he was not mocking Zarb-Cousin's addiction.[38]

The exchange was later reported by The Daily Telegraph[39] and The Guardian,[40] adding that Dugher had attacked a first of its kind, peer-reviewed study into gambling behaviour published by the academic journal Nature Human Behaviour, calling it 'condescending'.[41] The Betting and Gaming Council 'refused to comment' on Dugher's tweets.[39]

In August 2023, Dugher was criticised for his comments about the suicide of a gambling addict.[42]

References

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  1. ^ Profile, ukwhoswho.com; accessed 22 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Barnsley East". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  3. ^ Elliott, Francis (17 June 2024). "Michael Dugher: 'Corbyn keeps bad company, most are out of their depth'". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  4. ^ "The Register of Members' Financial Interests: As at 25 January 2016". UK Parliament.
  5. ^ "Top 50 New MPs". totalpolitics. 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Michael Dugher". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  7. ^ "DUGHER, Michael Barnsley East Labour". Parliamentary Yearbook. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  8. ^ David Singleton (11 May 2010). "Many lobbyists win seats but some see majority decreased". PR Week. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011.
  9. ^ a b Martinson, Jane (14 September 2015). "Michael Dugher replaces Chris Bryant as shadow culture secretary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Democracy Live | Your representatives | Michael Dugher". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Michael Dugher appointed Labour Party Vice Chair". LabourList. 8 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  12. ^ Profile Archived 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, labour.org.uk; accessed 22 October 2014.
  13. ^ Dugher, Michael (18 February 2015). "Exclusive: Michael Dugher promises "public control" of railways under Labour". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  14. ^ Executive Committee Report 2014-15 (PDF) (Report). British-American Parliamentary Group. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  15. ^ Mason, Rowena; Perraudin, Frances (21 August 2015). "Burnham campaign hints at challenge if it loses Labour leadership vote". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Dugher to manage Burnham's leadership campaign". LabourList. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  17. ^ Sparrow, Anderw (5 January 2016). "Labour reshuffle: the quotes that helped seal Michael Dugher's fate". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  18. ^ Mason, Rowena (5 January 2016). "Labour reshuffle: party divided over Corbyn sacking Michael Dugher". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  19. ^ a b Goodfellow, Mollie (5 January 2016). "Michael Dugher MP hits back at Corbyn dismissal – by adding it to his Twitter bio". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  20. ^ Richards, Steve (20 July 2016). "The Corbyn Story". 0. Episode 2. Event occurs at 20m47s. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016. Dugher: What I got wind of ... they wanted to announce my sacking ... so I just got on the phone and rang some people I'd not spoken to for a long time from about sort of eight o'clock to about half past ten, when I got off the phone there were a lot of missed calls and message from Jeremy and the leaders office so I guess it just had to wait for another day.
  21. ^ a b Stone, Jon (5 January 2016). "Michael Dugher says he has 'paid the price for speaking out' against Jeremy Corbyn". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  22. ^ Schofield, Kevin (20 April 2017). "EXCL Michael Dugher: Why I'm quitting Parliament". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Outgoing MP Michael Dugher to head up UK Music | Complete Music Update". Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  24. ^ "UK Music appoints Labour politician Michael Dugher as new chief executive". Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  25. ^ Rice, Xan (5 June 2017). "View from Barnsley Central: on the trail with Labour's former future leader". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  26. ^ "Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) news story". Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  27. ^ Wright, Oliver (10 October 2014). "Anger grows within Labour over forced Palestinian vote". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  28. ^ "Israeli Universities Boycotted By 343 British Academics, Critics Slam Move As 'Ignorant'". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 27 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  29. ^ Sherwood, Harriet. "Star authors call for Israeli-Palestinian dialogue rather than boycotts | World news". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  30. ^ "LFI vice chair, Michael Dugher MP, gives keynote speech at 'We Believe in Israel' conference Labour Friends of Israel". Lfi.org.uk. 22 March 2015. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  31. ^ Philpot, Robert (27 May 2015). "Labour was 'catastrophic' on Israel, says shadow cabinet member Michael Dugher". Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  32. ^ Mendoza, Kerry-Anne (24 August 2017). "A former Labour MP came out of retirement to drop a truth bomb on the left, and it blew up in his face". The Canary. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  33. ^ Michael, Dugher [@MichaelDugher] (23 August 2017). "Roulette Boy" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  34. ^ Dugher, Michael [@MichaelDugher] (23 August 2017). "Place you bets now please... #RouletteBoy" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ Dugher, Michael [@MichaelDugher] (23 August 2017). "I'm mocking the fact that you couldn't last more than 10 months for Jeremy & then worked for a casino guy. #hypocrite #rouletteboy" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  36. ^ "Tory MPs wrote 'sponsored content' praising betting and gambling firms"newspaper=The Guardian". 10 November 2021.
  37. ^ Dugher, Michael [@MChickte] (5 February 2021). "I thought you liked casino's, young Matt?" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  38. ^ Dugher, Michael [@MichaelDugher] (5 February 2021). "Sorry @mattzarb. Everyone knows that you and I disagree a lot about politics and gambling. But I want to be clear to you and everyone else that I was definitely not mocking your addiction and I apologise if anyone got that impression. I will also delete the tweet" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  39. ^ a b Boycott-Owen, Mason (5 February 2021). "Gambling industry chief accused of mocking recovering addict on Twitter". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  40. ^ Glendenning, Barry (8 February 2021). "Gambling affordability checks by control freaks would be threat to civil liberties". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  41. ^ Dugher, Michael [@MichaelDugher] (4 February 2021). "People who enjoy a bet "look after themselves less well" & spend less on "gym subscriptions". What next? people who go to the pub a lot spend less time at the gym? How condescending. Looking forward to @BetGameCouncil publishing focus group findings on red wall voters soon..." (Tweet). Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  42. ^ Ledwith, Mario (28 August 2023). "Gambling chief under fire for 'twisting' Samaritans guidance". The Times. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Barnsley East
2010–2017 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Minister without Portfolio
2011–2013 		Succeeded by
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
2013–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
2014–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Vice Chair of the Labour Party
2011–2014 		Succeeded by
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