Tonia Antoniazzi is the Labour MP for Gower, having first been elected to parliament at the 2017 general election.

In the 2024 general election for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi received 20,480 votes, representing 43.4% of the vote share. The Conservative candidate, Marc Jenkins, received 8,913 votes (18.9%), while the Reform UK candidate, Catrin Thomas, secured 8,530 votes (18.1%). Antoniazzi was duly elected with a majority of 11,567 votes.

The Gower constituency is located in South Wales, covering parts of the city of Swansea and the Gower Peninsula, including areas like Mumbles, Pontardulais, and Gorseinon. Historically a Labour seat for much of the post-war period, it became more marginal and was held by the Conservative party between 2015 and 2017 before Antoniazzi won it back for Labour.

Political Career

Antoniazzi currently chairs the Northern Ireland affairs select committee (since September 2024). The Northern Ireland affairs committee is a select committee of the House of Commons responsible for scrutinising the policy, administration, and spending of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and its associated public bodies.

By virtue of this role, Antoniazzi sits on the liaison committee – the so-called “super committee” composed of the cross-party chairs of all the other commons select committees. It has a broad oversight role, but is best known for its questioning of the prime minister in sessions that take place two or three times a year.

Previously, Antoniazzi served on the opposition frontbench as shadow minister for Northern Ireland from December 2021 to September 2023. She also held roles as an opposition whip (October 2022 – May 2024) and as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the shadow chancellor and the shadow secretary of state for work and pensions.

She also served as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland (2017-2018) and the shadow secretary of state for Wales (2018).

Antoniazzi resigned from these posts in June 2018 in protest against Labour’s Brexit position at the time. She voted against the party whip to support remaining in the European Economic Area (EEA). The Labour leadership had urged MPs to abstain. Antoniazzi was one of five parliamentary private secretaries (PPS) – also Ged Killen, Ellie Reeves, Rosie Duffield and Anna McMorrin – to step down.

In June 2025, MPs voted in favour of an historic amendment, presented by Antoniazzi, that would decriminalise abortion in England and Wales. Labour MPs backed the move by an overwhelming margin. MPs approved Antoniazzi’s amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which sought to establish that a woman cannot commit a criminal offence under abortion law for actions in relation to her own pregnancy, by a majority of 242. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

In a debate in the House of Commons, Antoniazzi highlighted a number of cases where women had been arrested for abortion offences, stating: “Each of these cases is a travesty, enabled by our outdated abortion law.”

The amendment won the backing of more than 170 cross-party MPs.

Antoniazzi welcomed the April 2025 supreme court ruling that the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex. She went on to claim that the Welsh government and some other institutions had previously been “captured” by LGBT charities promoting the idea that sex can be changed.

Speaking in the House of Commons, she accused two LGBT charities, Stonewall and Mermaids, of causing “damage” to a “generation of trans and gender questioning children”.

She had previously (October 2021) said that the Welsh government had promoted an “ideological culture” and were “dictated to by [LGBT charity] Stonewall”.

She said: “It is astonishing that the Welsh government can so blatantly misrepresent the Equality Act 2010 as dictated to by Stonewall.

“They are promoting an ideological culture and rewriting the Equality Act at the same time. To misrepresent the law in this way shows a contempt not only for the law, but also to anyone who wishes to speak up for women or who has concerns around safeguarding.”

Antoniazzi is a prominent advocate for access to medical cannabis under prescription and chairs the relevant APPG. In an article published January 2024, Antoniazzi wrote: “Medical cannabis was legalised based on the moving, powerful stories of children with rare forms of epilepsy. These are now the patients that are most struggling to access this medication.

“The government is in a complete deadlock on the issue and needs to do more to support the children who require this medication to survive.”

In June 2019, Antoniazzi secured a debate regarding the health effects of electromagnetic fields and 5G technology, expressing concerns about safety and asking the government to ensure Public Health England informed the public RF signals were a “possible human carcinogen”. This stance attracted criticism.

She stated: “The World Health Organisation International Agency for Research on Cancer classified all radio-frequency signals as possible human carcinogens in 2011, based on significant increased risks of gliomas and acoustic neuromas associated with mobile or cordless phone use in humans, as well as animal and mechanistic studies…

“Will the minister commit to ensuring that Public Health England informs people on its website and in leaflets, communications and presentations that all radio-frequency signals are a possible human carcinogen?”

Antoniazzi was a member of the House of Commons petitions committee (2020-2024), the procedure committee (2023-2024), the welsh grand committee (2022-2024), the Welsh affairs committee (2024 and 2017-2022), the business and trade committee (2022), and the women and equalities committee (2017-2019).

Antoniazzi is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for medical cannabis under prescription, rugby union, ITV, beer, commercial sexual exploitation and modern languages.

Antoniazzi delivered her maiden speech on 29 June 2017 during a debate on the queen’s speech.

In it, she said: “[Gower] is a constituency wrought by the devastating impact of post-industrialisation, and unemployment remains stubbornly high. It is a constituency that has borne the brunt of the Conservative party’s policies. And it is a constituency that on 8 June [general election] said, ‘Enough is enough’.”

She added: “I say to all 4,000 1950s WASPI women in Gower who have dedicated their lives to working and supporting their families and who have been hit by pension inequality: I will fight for you.”

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Starmer stand down: In May 2026, Antoniazzi publicly called for Keir Starmer, the prime minister, to step down/set out a timetable for his departure. The move followed the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru.

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Antoniazzi was one of 175 Labour MPs who nominated Bridget Phillipson for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Phillipson, the serving education secretary, was widely viewed as the candidate favoured by Downing Street and the party leadership. She secured 175 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 80 required to reach the final ballot. he was ultimately defeated by Lucy Powell.

Labour leadership 2020: Antoniazzi was one of 21 Labour MPs who nominated Jess Phillips for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, had been a prominent critic of Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. She withdrew from the contest on 21 January 2020, suggesting that she could not “unite all parts of our movement”.

Factional identity and party tradition

Labour Growth Group: Antoniazzi has been listed as a member of the Labour Growth Group (LGG) – a vocal faction of backbenchers committed to ensuring economic growth remains the central mission of the government. In an open letter addressed to Keir Starmer, issued upon the group’s founding in July 2024, LGG MPs said it was imperative that “the government grasps the nettle and goes for growth”.

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Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Antoniazzi supported remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with a majority of constituents, 50.7% of whom voted to remain.

People’s vote support (2019): Antoniazzi signed a January 2019 statement by Labour MPs calling for a “people’s vote” or second referendum. The statement, signed by 71 Labour MPs, read: “Defeat of the Tory [Brexit] deal in a public vote would give us all a chance to campaign for the anti-austerity policies and a Labour government that deals with the true causes of the Brexit vote, and a reformed Europe that works for all people.”

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, Antoniazzi was one of 193 Labour candidates to sign the anti-Brexit “Remain pledge”, drawn up by the campaign group Remain Labour.

It stated: “Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU.”

Brexit trade deal: In December 2020, Antoniazzi was among the 37 Labour MPs to rebel against the leadership’s position on the EU (Future Relationship) Bill – which enabled the government to implement and ratify its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. Keir Starmer, the newly elected Labour leader, argued that while the trade deal negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government was “thin” and flawed, the only alternative at that late stage was a “no-deal” exit. To enforce the leadership’s position, a three-line whip was imposed. Antoniazzi abstained over the bill. One Labour MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, voted against the bill.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Antoniazzi voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Antoniazzi voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Antoniazzi voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025). She was a co-sponsor to the proposed legislation.

Speaking in the November 2024 debate, she said: “When [bill proposer Kim Leadbeater] was speaking earlier, I had a packet of tissues, and I made swift work of them. It really is so difficult for so many of us, with our personal experience and our own thoughts.”

In a Westminster Hall debate held in April 2024, Antoniazzi stated: “In my personal view, if someone has a terminal diagnosis and is mentally sound, should they not have the choice to take themselves out of suffering?”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Antoniazzi voted in favour of the amendment, in her name, to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Social media ban: In January 2026, Antoniazzi was one of over 60 Labour MPs to sign a letter to the prime minister calling for the introduction of an Australia-style ban on social media access for children under the age of 16. Organised by Plymouth Moor View MP Fred Thomas, the initiative brought together a cross-factional coalition of backbenchers – spanning the Socialist Campaign Group, Tribune Group and Blue Labour – to demand action.

The letter called on Keir Starmer to “show leadership” by introducing a minimum age for social media access “to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms”.

It stated: “We are all strong supporters of technology, and of this Labour government’s ambition to use tech to improve lives. But successive governments have done far too little to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms.”

Lying amendment: Also in January 2026, Antoniazzi was listed as a supporter of an amendment to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, often referred to as the “Hillsborough Law”, that would extend the proposed criminal offence of misleading the public to include MPs and peers. Luke Myer, the Labour MP behind the proposal, argued that his amendment would mean “no-one in parliament would be above the law”, adding: “If politicians deliberately lie to the public, there should be consequences.”

Myer stated: “This amendment is a proportionate, carefully safeguarded response to a real democratic risk. It is not about stifling debate or political disagreement, it is about ensuring that those who seek or hold public office cannot deliberately and knowingly mislead the public without consequence.

“The polling shows that voters across the political spectrum expect parliament to act.”

Myer’s amendment won the support of 30 cross-party MPs.

Foreign policy and security

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Antoniazzi was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Antoniazzi was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Before Politics

Born Antonia Louise Antoniazzi on 5 October 1971 in Llanelli, Wales, to a Welsh mother and a Welsh-Italian father, she attended St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School and Gorseinon College.

She studied French and Italian at the University of Exeter, where she also played club rugby. She subsequently gained a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) from Cardiff University.

Before entering parliament, Antoniazzi worked as a teacher, becoming head of modern foreign languages at Bryngwyn Comprehensive School in Llanelli.

Personal Life

Antoniazzi played international rugby union for Wales, winning nine caps as a prop forward. She played in the 1998 Women’s World Cup and her last cap was in 1999. She also played club rugby for Exeter, Waterloo, and Benetton Treviso women’s team while studying in Venice.

She has one son and lives in the Gower constituency. Her brother, Julian Antoniazzi, also played rugby for Welsh Schools.

Trivia

Antoniazzi is the first woman to represent the Gower constituency in parliament.

Alongside her passion for rugby, which she still enjoys watching, she enjoys tennis and walking.