Owen Smith is launching his Labour leadership bid in the next few days. “Who he?” Guido hears you ask. Owen is a career politico who has never had a real job outside politics or the media. Those who know him say the man now pitching himself as the soft left candidate used to be “more Blairite than Blair”, running on a right-wing Labour ticket in 2006. He seems to be Labour’s answer to Alan Mak, as one friend puts it: “he’s been in every single faction in the Labour Party”. And what about his much-vaunted working class credentials? When he began lobbying the government for Pfizer the self-proclaimed Barry boy moved his family to the Surrey stockbroker belt. His CV makes Andy Burnham look in touch…
Age: 46
1986: Joined Labour at 16.
1992: Graduated from Sussex University.
1992-2002: BBC radio producer for shows like Today.
2002-2005: SpAd for Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy.
2005-2008: Head of Government relations for Pfizer.
2006: Lost Blaenau Gwent by-election.
2009-2010: Candidate for Pontypridd, Wales.
2010: Elected to parliament.
2012-2015: Shadow Welsh Secretary.
2015-2016: Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary.
The Barry boy claiming to be the unity candidate who’ll win over Corbynistas is really a Blairite careerist who’s never had a real job…