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Catherine Jane Smith (born 16 June 1985) is a British politician who has served as
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was a member of the
shadow cabinets A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
of
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
and
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras s ...
from 2016 to 2021 as Shadow Secretary of State, previously Shadow Minister, for Young People and Democracy.


Early life and education

Smith was born in
Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...
. She has said that she "didn't have a political upbringing". Her mother was a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
, and through going to church with her Smith became involved with youth movements in the church. Her father was a
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
ist. She attended Parkview School (in 2009 this merged into
Furness Academy Furness Academy is a secondary school in Barrow-in-Furness, England. It is the fourth academy to have been formed in the county of Cumbria after the closure of Alfred Barrow School, Parkview Community College of Technology and Thorncliffe School ...
) and
Barrow Sixth Form College Barrow Sixth Form College, part of Furness College, is in the outskirts of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Barrow Sixth Form College was established in 1979 to fulfil the role of the main A level provider in Barrow following the merger of t ...
. In 2003, she began studying for a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
at Lancaster University. She was a member of Cartmel College and initially studied religious studies, but switched to a
joint honours degree A joint honours degree (also known as dual honours, double majors, or Two Subject Moderatorship) is a specific type of degree offered generally at the Honours Bachelor's degree level by certain universities in Ireland, the UK, Canada, Malta, and ...
in
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
and
gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...
, from which she graduated in 2006. Smith was elected the Women's Officer for Lancaster University Students' Union, a sabbatical role, and served in the 2006–2007 academic year.


Political career


Early political career

Smith first stood for election as a Labour Party candidate for University ward on Lancaster City Council in 2007. She came fifth with 98 votes. She supported
John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...
for leader in the 2007 Labour Party leadership election. In the same year, she was a candidate for
Labour Party National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...
(NEC) Youth Representative. Smith worked as an office manager for the
Christian Socialist Movement Christians on the Left, formerly known as the Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), is a socialist society in the UK. The movement fulfils a need among Christian socialists for an organisation that would be both politically engaged and theologi ...
from 2007 to 2009 before working as a research and constituency worker for three
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) from 2009 to 2012:
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
, Katy Clark, and
Bob Marshall-Andrews Robert Graham Marshall-Andrews KC (born 10 April 1944) is a British barrister, author, and retired politician, who was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Medway from 1997 to 2010. He defected from his former party at the 2017 general e ...
. Smith was the Labour Party candidate for Wyre and Preston North constituency in the 2010 general election, but she was unsuccessful and came in a narrow third behind the Liberal Democrat candidate. In 2020 she told ''Lancs Live'', "I had been called because there was no Wyre and Preston candidate for Labour... I wasn't expecting to win but I was happy to make the case for Labour to the constituents." In 2010–2011, Smith was chair of Compass Youth. In 2011, a majority of the Compass Youth committee, including Smith, resigned in protest at Compass' decision to become a cross-party body. Those that resigned set up a new organisation called Next Generation Labour, which Smith chaired for a period. From 2012 to 2015, Smith worked as a campaigns and policy officer for the British Association of Social Workers (BASW). In 2013, she was selected as the Labour candidate to contest Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency at the next election.


Member of Parliament

Smith won Lancaster and Fleetwood in the 2015 general election, defeating the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
incumbent
Eric Ollerenshaw Eric Ollerenshaw OBE (born 26 March 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood from 2010 to 2015. He was born and grew up in Lancashire and was educated at Hyde County Gr ...
. Smith became a member of the
Socialist Campaign Group The Socialist Campaign Group, officially the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs and also known as the Campaign Group, is a left-wing, democratic socialist grouping of the Labour Party's Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the ...
within the
Parliamentary Labour Party In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in Parliament, i.e. Labour MPs as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour ...
after her election. Following Labour's overall defeat, however, party leader
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...
resigned. In the ensuing
leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
, Smith was a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn's candidacy and was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate him for leader. In June 2015, Smith was elected as chair of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...
on
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. In July, she was one of 48 Labour MPs to defy the whip and vote against the Welfare Reform and Work Bill. Following Corbyn's election as Labour leader, Smith was appointed as a shadow minister in the Women & Equalities Office, working under
Kate Green Katherine Anne Green OBE (born 2 May 1960) is a British politician, serving as Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime from January 2023. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A me ...
. She has been critical of the 2016 European Union referendum, saying that younger people preferred to remain in the EU, while the majority result was to leave.


Front bench

On 27 June 2016 Smith entered the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs. This followed on from a series of resignations of shadow ministers who had lost confidence in Corbyn's leadership. On 6 April 2020, Smith was re-appointed to her shadow cabinet role by the newly elected Labour Party Leader,
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras s ...
. In addition to her other duties, Smith served as Shadow Deputy Leader of the House, in which role she made her debut at the Despatch Box on 20 December 2016. On 29 November 2021, during a shadow cabinet reshuffle, Smith resigned from her role on the frontbench. She suggested that she had been offered the opportunity to remain in her brief, but cited concerns over the suspension of former party leader
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
and lack of front bench support for
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
.


Expenses

On 24 May 2016,
Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston. , the force has 3,088 police officers ...
announced that an investigation had been opened following allegations that Smith broke election spending laws by spending thousands of pounds more than she declared, relating to a visit by a nationally organised Labour "battlebus" to her constituency. In June 2016, Lancashire Constabulary were granted a year-long extension to investigate Smith's election expenses, and in November 2016 they cleared Smith of any wrongdoing.


Personal life

Smith married her partner of eleven years, Ben Soffa, in September 2016. Soffa has worked as head of digital organising for the Labour Party since 2015. In July 2018, Smith gave birth to the couple's first child. In October 2020 she revealed in a letter posted to Twitter that she was separating from her husband. Smith is currently in a relationship with SNP MP
David Linden David J. Linden (born November 3, 1961) is an American professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and the author of ''The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God''. The ...
. Smith identifies as bisexual. In 2010, Smith was diagnosed with
postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition characterized by an abnormally large increase in heart rate upon standing. Symptoms may include lightheadedness, brain fog, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, headaches, heart p ...
(POTS), which she says has affected her energy levels, and which she uses medication to control. Smith is a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
, and is co-founder of Christians for Choice, a project of
Abortion Rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
.


Notes


References


External links

* *
Profile
at labour.org.uk
CatSmithMP
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Cat 1985 births Living people Alumni of Lancaster University Alumni of Cartmel College, Lancaster English republicans English socialists Proponents of Christian feminism English Methodists Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Lancashire Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Bisexual feminists Bisexual politicians Bisexual women LGBT Methodists LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom LGBT politicians from England Methodist socialists People from Barrow-in-Furness Socialist feminists UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present 21st-century British women politicians