Alice Macdonald

This article is about the British politician. For the 19th century writer, see Alice Kipling.

Alice Macdonald MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament for Norwich North
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 July 2024
Preceded by	Chloe Smith
Majority	10,850 (23.7%)
Member of Southwark London Borough Council for Newington
In office 7 May 2018 – 29 June 2023
Personal details
Born	(1983-04-01) 1 April 1983 Norwich, England
Political party	Labour and Co-operative
Parent(s)	Irene and John Macdonald
Education	University of Bristol (Bachelor of Arts: French and Italian) SOAS, University of London (Master of Arts: International Studies and Diplomacy)

Alice Macdonald (born 1 April 1983) is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich North since 2024. She is the daughter of former West Norfolk Council Labour leader Irene Macdonald.

Election to Norwich North

Alice Macdonald was elected on the 4th of July 2024. Macdonald received 20,794 votes, a 45.4% share of the Norwich North vote and a majority of 10,850.

The result was a 18.2% swing to Labour from 2019. The unpopularity of the Conservatives in her area was the deciding factor in a result that also saw significant vote share increase for Reform and The Green Party.

Voting History

In a vote more notable because of her history with a charity whose business is poverty, Alice Macdonald voted against the highly publicized amendment to the king's speech that would have recognised the two child benefit cap as a leading cause of child poverty. Seven MPs were suspended from the Labour Party for voting for the bill by Kier Starmer, though Starmer himself abstained, along with his chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Charity campaigning

Macdonald was Campaigns and Policy Director for London-based company Project Everyone between August 2016 and April 2023. Project Everyone was co-founded by Richard Curtis and is dedicated to "achieving sustainable development goals" via "campaign materials, [...] installations, [...] documentaries, [and] events". Macdonald also served as Campaign Director for Hungry for Action Campaign, who aim to spotlight the global food crisis, but resigned from this position upon becoming MP.

Appointments

Macdonald was a Director of the Potter Fields Park Management Trust, a not-for-profit organisation that manages events and maintenance for a park and a churchyard in Southwark. The appointment lasted from 21 July 2021 until 28 November 2022, when she resigned from her position.

Pre-election political career

Macdonald served as a councillor in the Newington ward of Southwark from 7 May 2018 to 29 June 2023. On the 25 July 2022 she was announced as the official Labour parliamentary candidate for Norwich North. She has also served as a senior adviser to Harriet Harman and Bob Ainsworth.

Early life and education

Macdonald grew up in Marham and attended the Downham Market comprehensive high school, then commuted to a sixth form in Cambridge. She studied French and Italian at the University of Bristol in 2005, then went on to study a Master of the Arts in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London, where she graduated in 2007.

Controversy

In 2022, Macdonald announced she would be standing for the Labour parliamentary candidacy against Karen Davis, who previously stood against Conservative incumbent Chloe Smith.

In response to a video by Macdonald supporting her own candidacy, Emma Corlett remarked: "This video literally uses photos from Karen Davis' campaign on holiday hunger and has you walking past the Vote Labour boards she and I put up with our bare (splintered) hands."