Stephen Kinnock

The Honourable Stephen Kinnock MP
Member of Parliament for Aberavon
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 May 2015
Preceded by	Hywel Francis
Majority	10,445 (33.1%)
Personal details
Born	Stephen Nathan Kinnock 1 January 1970 Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales[1]
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Helle Thorning-Schmidt (m. 1996)
Children	2
Alma mater	Queens' College, Cambridge College of Europe

Stephen Nathan Kinnock (born 1 January 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberavon at the United Kingdom general election, 2015. His wife is the former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and his father, Neil Kinnock, served as the (Labour) Leader of the Opposition of the United Kingdom (1983–1992) and is a former European Commissioner.

Early life and education

Kinnock was born in Tredegar, south Wales, the son of British politicians Glenys and Neil Kinnock.^[2] He was educated at Drayton Manor High School, a comprehensive school in London. He studied Modern Languages at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. He studied for a Master of Arts (MA) degree at the College of Europe in Bruges, graduating in 1993.

Stephen Kinnock describes himself as from a "Labour and Trade Union family".^[3]

Career

Kinnock worked as a research assistant at the European Parliament in Brussels before becoming a British Council Development and Training Services executive based in Brussels in 1997. He held various positions with the British Council including office director of the St. Petersburg office. Following the Russian authorities' closure of this office,^[4][5][6] Kinnock took up a position with the British Council in Sierra Leone.^[7]

In January 2009 he joined the World Economic Forum as director, head of Europe and Central Asia, based in Geneva, Switzerland.^[8]

In August 2012 he took up a position at Xyntéo in London, Kinnock was managing director of the "Global Leadership and Technology Exchange" in 2012.^[9]

Political career

In March 2014 Kinnock was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the seat of Aberavon in Wales for the General Election of 2015.^[10] On 7 May 2015 he was elected the Member of Parliament for Aberavon with a majority of 10,445.

Personal life

In 1996, Kinnock married Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who later became Prime Minister of Denmark. They met when both attended the College of Europe. The couple have two daughters.^[11]

In June 2010, the Danish tabloid B.T. accused Kinnock of tax evasion.^[12] At that time he was paying tax in Switzerland where his workplace was situated, and therefore had his main residence there, although his wife's political website states that "The family lives in Østerbro in Copenhagen".^[13] The couple had previously stated to the media that Kinnock would spend his weekends in Denmark, sometimes including Thursday, and that he regarded his home and base as being exclusively with his family in Copenhagen. According to the tabloid, he would possibly exceed 183 days a year in Denmark, meaning he would be fully taxable there.

His wife, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, rebutted the accusations but said the couple would ask the Danish tax authority for an audit.^[14][15] The audit by the Danish Tax & Customs Administration (SKAT) was concluded on 17 September 2010, and in its Official Report SKAT stated that "Mr Kinnock does not have tax liability for 2007, 08, or 09, as he does not reside in this country within the meaning of the Danish Tax at Sources Act".^[16][17][18]

Styles and titles

• The Honourable Stephen Nathan Kinnock (2005–2015)
• The Honourable Stephen Nathan Kinnock, MP (2015 to present)

See also

• Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom

References

1. Andreyeva, Yelena (2006-11-28). "British Council Chief Imparts Value of Internationalism". The St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg). Retrieved September 14, 2011. Born in 1970 in a small town named Tredegar in South Wales [...]
2. "Stephen Kinnock og spørgsmålet om beskatning i Danmark" (PDF) (in Danish). The Danish Union of Journalists. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
3. "Labour MP for Aberavon", no date.
4. "Russia warned over 'intimidation'", BBC News 16 Jan 2008
5. "'Now we really have a crisis' – Russia's man in London leaving the Foreign Office yesterday", The Guardian 17 Jan 2008
6. "British Unit Is Alleging 'Intimidation' By Moscow: Culture Offices Shut In Growing Dispute", Washington Post 18 Jan 2008
7. Daily Hansard (end of column 1128), House of Commons Publications and Reports 20 Mar 2008
8. "Stephen Kinnock to head World Economic Forum's Europe and Central Asia team", WEF press release 2 Dec 2008
9. Xynteo press release
10. "Neil Kinnock's son Stephen selected to fight Aberavon seat". BBC News. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
11. BBC profile of Helle Thorning-Schmidt
12. B.T. afslører Helle Thorning og manden : Scorer kassen i skattely, B.T., 23 June 2010 (in Danish)
13. Helle afsløret af bommert på egen hjemmeside, B.T., 24 June 2010 (in Danish)
14. Opposition leader requests audit of husband, The Copenhagen Post, 24 June 2010
15. "Kinnock's son faces fresh tax allegations", Daily Telegraph, 14 August 2010
16. "Thorning-Schmidt eyes victory", Politiken, 17 September 2010.
17. Spongenberg, Helena, "Nordic Social Democrat parties are losing their historic power", EU Observer, 20 September 2010.
18. http://apps.infomedia.dk/MS3/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fMs3%2fShowArticle.aspx%3foutputFormat%3dFull%26Duid%3de230eb42&outputFormat=Full&Duid=e230eb42&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 restricted login