Kerry McCarthy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kerry McCarthy
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2024
|
|
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Climate | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 |
|
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Shadow Minister for Climate Change | |
| In office 29 June 2022 – 5 July 2024 |
|
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Olivia Blake |
| Succeeded by | TBC |
| Shadow Minister for Green Transport | |
| In office 9 April 2020 – 4 December 2021 |
|
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Gill Furniss |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |
| In office 13 September 2015 – 26 June 2016 |
|
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Maria Eagle |
| Succeeded by | Rachael Maskell |
| Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
| In office 7 October 2011 – 13 September 2015 |
|
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Emma Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Diana Johnson |
| Shadow Treasury Minister | |
| In office 8 October 2010 – 7 October 2011 |
|
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Shadow Minister for Disabled People | |
| Acting 6 May 2010 – 8 October 2010 |
|
| Leader | Harriet Harman |
| Preceded by | Mark Harper |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Curran |
| Member of Parliament for Bristol East |
|
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Jean Corston |
| Majority | 6,606 (14.3%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kerry Gillian McCarthy
26 March 1965 Luton, Bedfordshire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Residences | Bristol, England London, England Luton, Bedfordshire, England |
| Alma mater | University of Liverpool London Guildhall University University of London |
Kerry Gillian McCarthy (born on March 26, 1965) is a British politician. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol East since 2005. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the UK Parliament. She is a member of the Labour Party. From 2015 to 2016, she was the Labour Party's main spokesperson for environment, food, and rural affairs. Since July 2024, she has been a government minister working on climate issues.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kerry McCarthy was born in Luton, England. She went to Denbigh High School and then Luton Sixth Form College. She studied Russian studies at the University of Liverpool. Later, she studied law at City of London Polytechnic.
Career Before Parliament
After finishing her studies, McCarthy became a lawyer in 1994. She worked for different companies, including Abbey National Treasury Services and Merrill Lynch Europe. She also worked for the Labour Party.
She was a director at London Luton Airport Ltd for a few years. She also worked as a director at Britain in Europe. Before becoming an MP, she was the Head of Public Policy at the Waterfront Partnership.
She was a local councillor in Luton. This means she helped make decisions for the local area.
Parliamentary Career
In 2005, Kerry McCarthy was chosen to be the Labour candidate for Bristol East. She won the election and became the MP for that area.
First Years as an MP
After becoming an MP, she joined the Treasury Select Committee. This committee looks at how the government spends money. She also worked on committees for different laws, like those about borders and mental health. She was known for supporting Gordon Brown, who was a very important politician at the time.
In 2007, she became a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to a health minister. A PPS helps a minister with their work. Later, she became a Whip, which means she helped make sure other Labour MPs voted in line with the party's plans.
Later Roles and Views
McCarthy was re-elected in 2010. She became a spokesperson for the Labour Party on issues related to disability. She also became a spokesperson for the Treasury, which deals with the country's money. In 2011, she became a spokesperson for foreign affairs, focusing on human rights and different parts of the world.
In November 2011, Kerry McCarthy became the first MP to speak in Parliament about why people should become vegan. She is also thought to be the first MP to give a speech in Parliament using an iPad.
After being re-elected in 2015, she became the Labour Party's main spokesperson for environment, food, and rural affairs. She is a vegan and has strong views on food. She once said that meat should be treated like tobacco, with public campaigns to encourage people to stop eating it. However, she also said that she understood the importance of the livestock industry in the UK. She wanted the industry to have the best animal welfare standards possible.
In June 2016, McCarthy resigned from her role as a spokesperson. She felt that the Labour Party needed a new leader. She supported a different candidate in the leadership election that year.
In 2020, she supported Keir Starmer to become the Labour leader. After he won, she became a spokesperson for green transport issues. In June 2022, she returned to the Labour team as a spokesperson for climate change.
In May 2024, McCarthy introduced a new idea for a law. This law would require the government to find and support children whose parents are in prison.
Since July 2024, Kerry McCarthy has been a government minister working on climate issues.
Personal Life and Interests
Kerry McCarthy is a vegan. She often gives talks about veganism. She lives in both Bristol and London. She also partly owns a house in Luton.
She is a vice-president of the League Against Cruel Sports, an organization that works to stop cruel treatment of animals. She is also involved with the National Secular Society.
McCarthy enjoys punk and post-punk music. She has written about bands like Cabaret Voltaire and Test Dept for a music website.
