March of the Red Princes: Kinnocks son lined up for Labour safe seat Stephen Kinnock, son of Labour leader who is married to Danish PM, is candidate for safe seat in south Wales Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt and husband Stephen Kinnock Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt and husband Stephen Kinnock Photo: GETTY IMAGES Matthew Holehouse By Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent 5:51PM GMT 22 Mar 2014 The son of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who is now married to the Danish Prime Minister, is poised to enter Parliament after being selected for a safe Labour seat. Stephen Kinnock, 44, has been chosen to succeed Hywel Francis as the Labour candidate for Aberavon, South Wales, which is held with a majority of 11,000. It is the latest success for the so-called ‘Red Princes’ – children of Labour grandees who are now seeking to follow their parents into elected office. Mr Kinnock’s wife, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, is the Danish leader who was seen taking a “selfie” photograph with Barack Obama and David Cameron at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. His father led the Labour Party to defeat in the 1992 general election, and served as a European Commissioner for a decade before becoming a life peer. Related Articles NHS faces unprecedented squeeze, think tank warns 05 Feb 2014 Balls can still borrow £25bn under debt pledge 30 Jan 2014 Why not ban TV too? Clegg opposes common sense car smoke clampdown 30 Jan 2014 Immigration rebels could cost Tories the election 30 Jan 2014 Britain is punishing expats by denying vote, Europe says 29 Jan 2014 Cameron warns rebels not to hold up immigration bill 29 Jan 2014 Ms Thorning-Schmidt with Barack Obama and David Cameron His mother, Glenys, was a member of the European Parliament before joining the Lord. The couple have collected six public sector pensions between them, worth an estimated £185,000 a year. But Mr Kinnock, a Cambridge graduate and former director of the World Economic Forum who speaks five languages including Danish fluently, denied he was out of touch with the people of Port Talbot. “I’ve come from a background which has been as tough and as working class as any,” he said last week, adding his grandfather was a coal miner. His campaign received a major boost when he was endorsed by a committee representing all the unions at the local Tata steelworks. When he announced his intention to seek selection, Mr Kinnock said: I have been a member of the Labour Party since I was 15 years old, and of course politics is in my blood. But it was always important for me to build my own career before making the decision to stand. He may be joined in the Commons by Will Straw, the son of Jack Straw, the former Home Secretary, who has been selected as Labour’s candidate in the marginal seat of Rossendale and Darwen. Emily Benn, the granddaughter of Tony Benn and niece of Hilary Benn, ran for Parliament in 2010 aged 20, while David Prescott, the son of Lord Prescott, recently sought Labour nominations in Greenwich and Woolich and his father’s old seat in Hull. Tony Blair’s son, Euan, is also rumoured to be eyeing up Coventry North.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 11:06:55 +0000
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