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[[Category:Labour Members of Parliament]]
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{{Infobox MP
|name = Catherine McKinnell
|honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MP}}
|office = [[Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales|Shadow Attorney General]]
|leader = [[Jeremy Corbyn]]
|term_start = 14 September 2015
|term_end = 11 January 2016
|predecessor = [[Willy Bach, Baron Bach|The Lord Bach]]
|successor = [[Karl Turner (British politician)|Karl Turner]]
|office1 = [[Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury|Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury]]
|leader1 = [[EdEdward Miliband]]
|term_start1 = 15 May 2012
|term_end1 = 8 October 2013
|predecessor1 = [[Owen Smith]]
|successor1 = [[Shabana Mahmood]]
|office2 = Member of Parliament<br>for [[Newcastle upon Tyne North (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne North]]
|term_start2 = 6 May 2010
|term_end2 =
|predecessor2 = [[Doug Henderson (Labour politician)|Doug Henderson]]
|successor2 =
|majority2 = 10,349 (21.5%)
|birth_name = Catherine Grady
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|6|8|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[England]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|alma_mater = [[University of Edinburgh]]
|website = {{url|catherinemckinnell.co.uk|Official website}}
|image=Official portrait of Catherine McKinnell crop 2.jpg}}
}}
'''Catherine McKinnell''' (born 8 June 1976) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] [[politician]] who has been the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Newcastle upon Tyne North (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne North]] since the [[United Kingdom general election, 2010|2010 general election]].<ref>{{cite news| last = Staff writer|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/8134398.stm|title=Two North East MPs standing down|work=BBC News|date=4 July 2009|access-date=7 May 2010}}</ref> She has held several Shadow Cabinet positions, including [[Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales|Shadow Attorney General]], but resigned from this post in January 2016.<ref>{{cite news | last = Staff writer |title= Shadow Attorney General resigns over Labour policies|url=http://www.thecatholicuniverse.com/attornet-general-resigns-in-concerns-over-labour-direction-7603 |work=Catholic Universe |date=12 January 2016 | access-date = 15 January 2016}}</ref>
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==Early life==
McKinnell was born in [[Denton, Newcastle upon Tyne|Denton]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], where she attended the Sacred Heart Comprehensive School in [[Fenham]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk/Newcastle+upon+Tyne+North/Catherine+McKinnell|title=Catherine McKinnell|work=Daily Telegraph|accessdate=23 June 2010|location=London}}</ref> She studied politics and history at the [[University of Edinburgh]].<ref name=":0" />
'''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.
Before her election to Parliament, McKinnell worked as an employment solicitor in the Newcastle law firm [[Dickinson Dees]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.catherinemckinnell.co.uk/about-catherine/|title=About Catherine|date=27 March 2015|work=Catherine McKinnell|access-date=10 June 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Parliamentary career==
McKinnell was first elected to Parliament at the [[United Kingdom general election, 2010|2010 general election]] for [[Newcastle upon Tyne North (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne North]], one of 19 solicitors newly elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/nineteen-new-solicitor-mps-enter-house-commons |title=Nineteen new solicitor MPs enter House of Commons. |last=Baksi |first=Catherine |date=13 May 2010 |work=Law Society Gazette |accessdate=23 June 2010}}</ref> She was elected with 40.8% of the vote, and a majority of 3,414 over her [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] rival.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d07.stm|title=Election 2010 - Newcastle-upon-Tyne North|work=BBC News|accessdate=7 May 2010}}</ref> In October 2010, the Labour Leader [[EdEdward Miliband]] appointed her to the role of [[Solicitor General for England and Wales|Shadow Solicitor General]], where she was responsible for the party's response to the [[News International phone hacking scandal]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.labourlist.org/junior-front-bench-roles |title=Junior front bench roles |last=Ferguson |first=Mark |date=11 October 2010 |work=Labour List |accessdate=11 October 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012054724/http://www.labourlist.org/junior-front-bench-roles |archivedate=12 October 2010 |df=dmy-all
}}</ref> She raised questions about the [[Crown Prosecution Service]]'s handling of the scandal, including a question to the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] in the House of Commons asking why the CPS had refused for so long to admit that there were grounds to bring prosecutions.<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | title = Oral answers to questions, Attorney-General: Contempt of Court | url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110705/debtext/110705-0001.htm#11070565000681 |date= 5 July 2011 |column_start= 1368 |column_end= 1369|speaker=Catherine McKinnell |position=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Newcastle upon Tyne North (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne North]]}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fostering-system-on-the-brink-as-number-of-children-in-care-soars-7718689.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Jonathan | last=Brown | title=Fostering system on the brink as number of children in care soars | date=7 May 2012 | access-date = 22 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/mar/14/council-scorecards-adoption-overhaul | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Randeep | last=Ramesh | title=Councils face scorecards in adoption overhaul | date=14 March 2012 | access-date = 22 July 2012}}</ref> 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|.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.catherinemckinnellmp.co.uk/2011/12/|title=December 2011 Archives|work=Catherine McKinnell MP|access-date=11 June 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref>
In 2012, after the resignation of [[Peter Hain]], she was then moved to become Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, replacing [[Owen Smith (politician)|Owen Smith]]. ▼
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".
McKinnell backed a campaign by [[ActionAid]] on international tax laws<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/CatMcKinnellMP/status/215047566201602049|title=@CatMcKinnellMP making a thoughtful and powerful speech. In Finance Bill Ctee on CFCs and developing countries|first=Cathy|last=Jamieson|date=19 June 2012|publisher=Twitter| access-date = 22 July 2012}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | title = Public Bill Committee: Finance Bill | url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmpublic/finance/120619/am/120619s01.html |date= 19 June 2012 |column_start= 479 |column_end= 481 |speaker=Catherine McKinnell |position=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Newcastle upon Tyne North (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne North]]}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news| last = Staff writer | url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18535642 | title= Cameron ducks Gary Barlow tax avoidance question | work=BBC News | date=21 June 2012 | accessdate=21 June 2012}}</ref>
▲In 2012, after the resignation of [[Peter Hain ]], she was then moved to become Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, replacing [[ Owen Smith (politician)|Owen Smith]].
She was made [[Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales|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.<ref>{{cite news| last = Staff writer |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35281203|title=Labour's Catherine McKinnell quits shadow cabinet|work=BBC News|date =11 January 2016 | accessdate= 11 January 2016}}</ref>
She was made Shadow Attorney General in September 2015 by Labour leader [[Jeremy Corbyn]], but resigned in January 2016.
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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-mp-says-minister-leaving-10571814|title=Newcastle MP says Minister is leaving North East women 'high and dry' over State Pension age|last=Wearmouth|first=Rachel|date=9 December 2015|work=Newcastle Evening Chronicle|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> Mckinnell was also made Vice Chair of the recently established [[All-party parliamentary group|All-Party Parliamentary Group]] on the WASPI campaign.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/what-north-east-mps-doing-11324915|title=What our MPs are doing to help women hit by state pension age changes|last=Walker|first=Jonathan|date=12 May 2016|work=Newcastle Evening Chronicle|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref>
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