36 Facts About Stephen Crabb

Stephen Crabb was born on 20 January 1973 and is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Preseli Pembrokeshire since 2005 and Chairman of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee since 2020.

Stephen Crabb's mother separated from his father when Crabb was eight years old.

Stephen Crabb raised him and his two brothers on a council estate, living on benefits and receiving help from family, friends and the Baptist church.

Stephen Crabb started working just a few hours each week, increasing her hours and then moving to a position where with extra training she was able to move into full-time work, become a car owner, and reach full economic independence.

Stephen Crabb went on to study politics at the University of Bristol and graduated in 1995.

Stephen Crabb joined the Conservative Party after graduating from university.

In 1998, whilst living in London, Stephen Crabb was elected as the chairman of the Southwark North and Bermondsey Conservative Association, a position he held until 2000.

Stephen Crabb stood for Parliament in the constituency where he grew up, Preseli Pembrokeshire, in 2001.

Stephen Crabb finished in second place, but at the 2005 general election, he gained the seat from Labour with a majority of 607 votes, becoming one of three Welsh Conservative MPs who ended the "Tory free zone" that had existed in Wales since 1997.

Stephen Crabb was the youngest member of the 2005 Conservative intake.

Stephen Crabb made his maiden speech on 25 May 2005.

In 2010, Stephen Crabb chaired the cross-party group for Democracy in Burma and was patron of the Burma Campaign UK.

Stephen Crabb has served on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, the International Development Select Committee and the Treasury Select Committee.

Stephen Crabb was appointed to the Conservative front bench in 2009 as Junior Whip; when the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition was elected in 2010, Crabb was made Assistant Government Whip.

In 2012, Stephen Crabb was promoted to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales and became a Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury, meaning he was a government minister and a government whip at the same time, which the BBC said had led to "political pundits and opposition politicians scratching their heads".

Labour's Owen Smith, whose parliamentary career has mirrored that of Stephen Crabb, called the arrangement "highly unusual and unsatisfactory", adding, "it's unheard of to have a whip acting as a minister in a department".

At the Wales Office, Stephen Crabb worked on maintaining the competitiveness of Wales' energy-intensive industries in the face of high energy costs.

Stephen Crabb was named 'Member to Watch' in the Welsh Yearbook Political Awards 2012.

Stephen Crabb has said his proudest moment in the post was brokering a deal between the Treasury and the devolved Welsh government to extend the electrification of the Great Western Main Line to Swansea and The Valleys.

Stephen Crabb remained in the job after the post-general election cabinet reshuffle held on 11 May 2015.

Stephen Crabb's post had to be amended: the work-related activity group contains ESA claimants deemed 'too ill to work' but capable of participating in work-related activities, such as job-coaching and pre-employment training, who are assessed as likely to work within two years, not immediately.

On 19 March 2016, Stephen Crabb was appointed to succeed Iain Duncan Smith as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions following the latter's sudden, unexpected resignation over proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment, a disability benefit unrelated to the employment status of the claimant.

In early April 2016, Stephen Crabb gave an interview where he was critical of ESA and its eligibility test.

In June 2016, Stephen Crabb announced that he would stand in the Conservative party leadership election, following David Cameron's resignation over the outcome of the 2016 EU membership referendum.

Stephen Crabb stood on a "joint ticket" with the Business Minister, Sajid Javid, with Crabb to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Javid the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Crabb had won.

Stephen Crabb said he would: allow the third runway at Heathrow to go ahead; create an advisory council with members from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London to help with negotiations with the EU; and not hold a snap election nor a second EU referendum.

Stephen Crabb claimed that he had lost votes in the election through Conservative spending cuts.

Stephen Crabb said local authority employees, nurses and teachers should get a pay rise.

Subsequent to this Stephen Crabb was chosen to serve as Chairman of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee in January 2020.

Stephen Crabb is a Christian who believes in the practical value of prayer and who feels the church should play an active role in community life.

On 5 February 2013, in the House of Commons vote Stephen Crabb voted against same-sex marriage.

On 28 October 2017, The Telegraph reported that Stephen Crabb was the MP responsible for sending the text messages.

Stephen Crabb apologised for the text messages, and on 23 December 2017 a Conservative Party investigating panel determined that his behaviour had been inappropriate, but did not constitute harassment.

Stephen Crabb admitted sending the messages and saying "some pretty outrageous things" to the woman after interviewing her for a job, adding that the messages "basically amount to unfaithfulness".

Stephen Crabb is married to Beatrice Monnier, who is French; they have two children.

Stephen Crabb is in the squad of the Commons and Lords rugby union team.