Catherine McKinnell
MP
Shadow Attorney General
In office
14 September 2015 – 11 January 2016
Leader Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by Willy Bach
Succeeded by Karl Turner
Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
In office
15 May 2012 – 8 October 2013
Leader Edward 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
(1976-06-08) 8 June 1976 (age 47)
Website Official website


Catherine McKinnell (born 8 June 1976) has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne North since the 2010 general election She has held several Shadow Cabinet positions, including Shadow Attorney General.

Parliamentary career

McKinnell was first elected to Parliament at the [[United Kingdom general election, 2010 general election for Newcastle upon Tyne North, one of 19 solicitors newly elected to the House of Commons. She was elected with 40.8% of the vote, and a majority of 3,414 over her rival.<ref> In October 2010, the Labour Leader Edward 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.

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. 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".

In 2012, after the resignation of Peter Hain, she was then moved to become Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, replacing Owen Smith.

She was made Shadow Attorney General in September 2015 by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but resigned in January 2016.