Kate Green

Kate Green
OBE MP
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
In office
14 September 2015 – 27 June 2016
Leader Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by Gloria De Piero
Succeeded by Angela Rayner
Member of Parliament
for Stretford and Urmston
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Beverley Hughes
Majority 11,685 (25.2%)
Personal details
Born Katherine Anne Green
(1960-05-02) 2 May 1960
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Political party Labour
Spouse(s) Richard Duncan Mabb
(1985–2006)
Alma mater University of Edinburgh
Website Official website

Katherine Anne Green[1] OBE (born 2 May 1960)[2] is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston since 2010.

Early life

Green was born in Edinburgh, to Maurice and Jessie Craig Green. She attended Currie High School and Edinburgh University graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree.[3]

Career

After University, Green began a career at Barclays Bank, working for the organisation from 1982 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999 she worked as a Whitehall and Industry Group secondee to the Home Office. Green was employed as Director of the National Council for One Parent Families between 2000 and 2004, then taking up the post of Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group until 2009. Alongside this, Green also served as a member of the London Child Poverty Commission, eventually serving as the commissioner chairing the body. Green also served as a magistrate in the City of London between 1993 and 2009.[1][3]

Politics and Parliament

Green joined the Labour Party in 1990 and stood as the Labour Party candidate in the 1997 General Election for the Greater London constituency of Cities of London and Westminster. Failing to be elected in 1997, she then contested the 2000 London Assembly election in the West Central constituency though again was not elected.[3] In 2009 Green was selected as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Stretford and Urmston through an all-women shortlist following Beverley Hughes's announcement that she would not be seeking re-election.[4] She was elected as Member of Parliament on 6 May 2010 securing 48.6% of the vote, increasing the majority Hughes gained in the 2005 general election.

Since entering Parliament, Green has been elected as a Vice-Chair of the Labour Party's National Policy Forum[5] and serves as the chairman of the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party.[6]

Following a reshuffle of Labour's shadow ministerial team in October 2011, Green was promoted to shadow Minister of State for Equalities at the Government Equalities Office, working alongside Yvette Cooper.[7][8] Following a reshuffle of Labour's shadow ministerial team in October 2013, Green was promoted to shadow Minister of State for Work and Pensions.

In November 2011 Green was criticised for failing to declare an interest when tabling an amendment to a bill. Green had neglected to mention her membership of the GMB trade union when attempting to amend the Legal Aid Bill.[9] In a statement in Parliament Green apologised, saying: "I was advised on those amendments by the GMB trade union. My entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests makes clear my membership of and relationship with that union, but I regret that I did not draw attention to that last week in the Chamber because the amendments did not relate specifically to the union, but to the rights of individual employees." The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, accepted Green's apology, describing it as "most courteous" and insisting that the matter had been resolved.[10]

In February 2012, Green complained about a beer sold in the House of Commons Stranger's Bar, called Top Totty. The advertising plate on the pump handle featured an image of a bikini-clad bunny girl, which Green said "demeaned women". Leader of the House Sir George Young upheld her complaint and had the beer removed. The beer, brewed in Stafford by Slater's had been recommended to the House in 2007 by Labour MP for Stafford David Kidney after a visit to Slater's Brewery.[11]

Green was re-elected in the 2015 general election on an increased voter turnout, managing to increase both the Labour Party's share of the vote and the size of the majority in Stretford and Urmston. Following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Leader of the Labour Party, Green was promoted to the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet serving as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities.[12] She resigned from this position on 27 June 2016.[13] Green wrote in the New Statesman in September 2016: "Even when Jeremy gets that there's a problem, his solutions too often reinforce rather than address the root causes of gender inequality".[14] In a March 2016 speech, Corbyn advocated the decriminalisation of the sex industry "without any discussion or consultation with his shadow cabinet, with me as his shadow minister for women and equalities, with women in the PLP or, to the best of my knowledge, with anyone in the wider Labour Party".[14]

Personal life

Green married Richard Duncan Mabb in 1985; the couple divorced in 2006.[1][3] Her recreations include theatre, books, food and swimming.[1]

She is a member of the GMB and Unite trade unions, the Fawcett Society, the Fabian Society and CPAG.[3]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Who's Who
  2. ↑ "Kate Green MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Members Of Parliament in Stretford, Manchester, Greater Manchester - Messenger Newspapers
  4. ↑ MP Bev welcomes her new replacement (From Messenger Newspapers)
  5. ↑ We must reach out: An NEC member reports from Gillingham « Labour Uncut
  6. ↑ Prince, Rosa (24 January 2011). "Dominic Raab: men should 'burn their briefs' in protest at 'obnoxious feminist bigots'". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  7. ↑ Her Majesty's Official Opposition - UK Parliament
  8. ↑ Labour takes down Blair and Brown pictures in HQ clear-out | Politics
  9. ↑ Tories Pursue Labour On Union Links | conservatives | labour | union | Boulton & Co. | Sky News Blogs
  10. ↑ House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 Nov 2011 (pt 0002)
  11. ↑ SLATER’S BEER – WHAT ALL THE MPs ARE DRINKING!
  12. ↑ Walker, Peter (16 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet in full". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  13. ↑ Syal, Rajeev; Perraudin, Frances (27 June 2016). "Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  14. 1 2 Green, Kate (2 September 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn still doesn't get our concerns about sexist abuse". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Beverley Hughes		 Member of Parliament
for Stretford and Urmston
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Gloria De Piero		 Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Angela Rayner
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