Our Patrons
ANGELA SMITH MP
At the 2005 general election Angela won the Sheffield Hillsborough parliamentary seat. From 2005 until 2008 she was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Yvette Cooper at the Department of Communities and Local Government and Treasury. 
In 2009 she joined the select committee for Transport. At the 2010 election she was re-elected to Parliament as the member for the new constituency of Penistone & Stocksbridge.
After a spell as a opposition Whip, Angela was promoted to the front bench as the Shadow Deputy Leader of the House in October 2010
In her spare time she likes nothing better than either taking to the hills of the Peak District with friends or watching her favourite football team Sheffield Wednesday on a Saturday afternoon.
DAN JARVIS MP
On entering Parliament, Dan was appointed Chair of Labour’s backbench business committee and sat as a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee. In October 2011 he was made a shadow minister for 
the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and in October 2013 he was appointed as a shadow minister for Justice with responsibility for Youth Justice, Victims, Civil Law, Family Law, Office of the Public Guardian, Coroners and Defamation.
In addition to being a shadow Justice minister, Dan also is The Labour party’s lead for the 100th anniversary commemoration of WW1. Outside of his shadow ministerial brief, Dan takes an interest in a broad range of issues in Parliament, including: Britain’s Role in the World; particularly: Defence, Security and International Development, the processes and organisation of UK Government, Education and skills, Cancer, Care for the elderly and vulnerable, fuel poverty, Culture, Heritage, Sport and the Countryside.
In Barnsley, Dan is a very active constituency MP and has focused significant effort on developing the national, regional, and local profile of Barnsley. This has included working with businesses and stakeholders to support and develop the Barnsley economy – creating jobs for Barnsley people.
In his very limited spare time, the South Yorkshire MP enjoys reading, running, hill walking, and supporting Barnsley FC – all of which can be hard work at times!
MICHAEL DUGHER MP
Michael Dugher was elected to serve as the 
Member of Parliament for the Barnsley East constituency at the 2010 General Election.
Michael is the Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, having been appointed as a full member of the Shadow Cabinet in October 2013. He had previously attended the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister without Portfolio since October 2013 and was also Vice-Chair of the Labour Party.
Prior to that, Michael was: Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband; Shadow Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology; and briefly a member of the Public Administration Select Committee.
Born in Doncaster in 1975, Michael was brought up in Edlington, then a pit village in South Yorkshire. He was educated at St Mary's RC primary school, Edlington, and at the McAuley RC School, Doncaster. He went on to read Politics at the University of Nottingham, graduating in 1997.
Before being elected as the MP for Barnsley East, Michael worked at 10 Downing Street as Chief Political Spokesman for the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He previously worked as a Special Adviser in a variety of government roles including: Transport, Local Government and the Regions; Defence; for the Leader of the House of Commons; and for the Government Chief Whip.
Since being elected, Michael has joined several All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). He is currently: Vice-Chair of the APPG on Heart Disease (working closely with the British Heart Foundation); Vice-Chair of the APPG for Brass Bands; Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Israel; a member of the Executive Committee of the British-American Parliamentary Group; and a 'Parliamentary Champion' for the Save the Children charity.
Locally, Michael is patron of the Barnsley Independent Alzheimer's and Dementia Support (BIADS) group, the Wombwell Operatic Society, Worsbrough Brass, Elsecar Heritage Railway, and People's Sport in Barnsley. He is also a member of the Barnsley Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and a proud member of the Royal British Legion (Hoyland and District Branch).
Michael frequently writes for the Yorkshire Post and the Barnsley Chronicle, as well as for a variety of Labour journals and blogs, including: Tribune; Labour Uncut; Labour List; Fabian Review; and Progress. He has also written for the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, the Huffington Post, PoliticsHome and Total Politics magazine. He is also an occasional guest presenter on We Are Barnsley Radio.
His interests include history, music, films and sport. He is married to Joanna and they have two young daughters and a son. When not in Westminster to sit in the House of Commons, Michael and his family live in Birdwell in Barnsley.
Further information can be found on his website www.michaeldugher.co.uk
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