Catherine McKinnell
Catherine McKinnell MP | |
---|---|
Shadow Attorney General | |
In office 14 September 2015 – 11 January 2016 | |
Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
Preceded by | The Lord Bach |
Succeeded by | Karl Turner |
Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury | |
In office 15 May 2012 – 8 October 2013 | |
Leader | Ed Miliband |
Preceded by | Owen Smith |
Succeeded by | Shabana Mahmood |
Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne North | |
Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |
Preceded by | Doug Henderson |
Majority | 10,349 (21.5%) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Catherine Grady 8 June 1976 Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK |
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Website | Official website |
Catherine McKinnell (born 8 June 1976) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne North since the 2010 general election.[1] She has held several Shadow Cabinet positions, including Shadow Attorney General, but resigned from this post in January 2016.
Early life
McKinnell was born in Denton, Newcastle upon Tyne, where she attended the Sacred Heart Comprehensive School in Fenham.[2] She studied politics and history at the University of Edinburgh.[3]
Before her election to Parliament, McKinnell worked as an employment solicitor in the Newcastle law firm Dickinson Dees.[3]
Parliamentary career
McKinnell was first elected to Parliament at the 2010 general election for Newcastle upon Tyne North, one of 19 solicitors newly elected to the House of Commons.[4] She was elected with 40.8% of the vote, and a majority of 3,414 over her Liberal Democrat rival.[5] In October 2010, the Labour Leader Ed Miliband appointed her to the role of Shadow Solicitor General, where she was responsible for the party's response to the News International phone hacking scandal.[6] She raised questions about the Crown Prosecution Service's handling of the scandal, including a question in the House of Commons asking why the CPS had refused for so long to admit that there were grounds to bring prosecutions.[7]
In October 2011, during a shadow ministerial reshuffle, Catherine McKinnell was made shadow children's minister, shadowing Tim Loughton. In that post she criticised the adoption process as too slow and called for immediate improvements in support for social workers and family courts to speed up the process.[8][9] She also accused the government of doing too little to help children for whom adoption was not suitable and following this, requested a guarantee that the government would give priority to placing children in "happy homes|.[10]
In 2012, after the resignation of Peter Hain, she was then moved to become Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, replacing Owen Smith.
McKinnell backed a campaign by ActionAid on international tax laws[11] and tabled amendments to the Budget which would have required the government to monitor the impact on developing countries of changes to so-called Controlled Foreign Companies regulations. She said, "It seems a false economy to invest ... in changes that will undermine the very progress towards which our international aid money, which increases year on year, is going."[12] In June 2012, McKinnell publicly criticised Take That singer Gary Barlow following newspaper allegations of tax avoidance made against him. McKinnell agreed that Barlow should consider returning his recently awarded OBE if allegations of tax avoidance were proven "because it doesn't send out the right messages to ordinary people who are paying their fair share of tax".[13]
She was made Shadow Attorney General in September 2015 by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but resigned in January 2016, citing party infighting, family reasons and the ability to speak in parliament beyond her legal portfolio.[14]
Mckinnell has been a prominent campaigner for the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign, who, following the acceleration of the equalisation of the State Pension Age, have argued that the acceleration has happened too quickly and left female pensioners uncertain.[15] Mckinnell was also made Vice Chair of the recently-established All-Party Parliamentary Group on the WASPI campaign.[16]
References
- ↑ "Two North East MPs standing down". BBC News. 4 July 2009.
- ↑ "Catherine McKinnell". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- 1 2 "About Catherine". Catherine McKinnell. 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
- ↑ Baksi, Catherine (13 May 2010). "Nineteen new solicitor MPs enter House of Commons.". Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ↑ "Election 2010 - Newcastle-upon-Tyne North". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ↑ Ferguson, Mark (11 October 2010). "Junior front bench roles.". Labour List. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ↑ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons,. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 05 July 2011 (pt 0001)". www.publications.parliament.uk.
- ↑ Brown, Jonathan (7 May 2012). "Fostering system on the brink as number of children in care soars". The Independent. London.
- ↑ Ramesh, Randeep (14 March 2012). "Councils face scorecards in adoption overhaul". The Guardian. London.
- ↑ "December 2011 Archives". Catherine McKinnell MP. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
- ↑ Jamieson, Cathy (19 June 2012). "@CatMcKinnellMP making a thoughtful and powerful speech. In Finance Bill Ctee on CFCs and developing countries".
- ↑ "House of Commons Public Bill Committee : Finance Bill (19 June 2012)". www.publications.parliament.uk.
- ↑ "Cameron ducks Gary Barlow tax avoidance question". BBC News. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ↑ "Labour's Catherine McKinnell quits shadow cabinet". BBC News.
- ↑ Wearmouth, Rachel (2015-12-09). "Newcastle MP says Minister is leaving North East women 'high and dry' over State Pension age". nechronicle. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
- ↑ Walker, Jonathan (2016-05-12). "What our MPs are doing to help women hit by state pension age changes". nechronicle. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
External links
- Official website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 2010–present
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Doug Henderson |
Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne North 2010–present |
Incumbent |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Owen Smith |
Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury 2012–2013 |
Succeeded by Shabana Mahmood |
Preceded by The Lord Bach |
Shadow Attorney General 2015–2016 |
Succeeded by Karl Turner |