Catherine Elizabeth West (born 14 September 1966) is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. She was first elected as the

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 of ...

(MP) for

Hornsey and Wood Green Hornsey and Wood Green is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Greater London created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

in May 2015.

Early life and education

West was born on 14 September 1966 in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

, Australia, one of four children to Janet (née Conti) and Roderick West AM. Her parents were both teachers and her father was Headmaster of Trinity Grammar School in Sydney for 21 years. She is the great-great niece of Italian actress Italia Conti. She grew up in Sydney and was privately educated at Meriden and Ravenswood. West studied modern languages and social work at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. While studying there, she met her future husband Colin Sutherland who was the nephew of opera singer

Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possess ...

. They lived together in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...

where she worked as a social worker in a refuge for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. West and Sutherland moved to the United Kingdom (UK) in 1998 when he gained a job at the

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

. She then gained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Chinese Studies from the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Political career

West joined the Labour Party in 1998 and became a caseworker for MP

David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...

two years later. From 2 May 2002 to 22 May 2014, West was a member of the

Islington London Borough Council Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Co ...

representing the Tollington Ward. She was the leader of the council's Labour Party group from 2004 to 10 October 2013 and Council Leader from 6 May 2010 to 10 October 2013. She resigned as councillor in order to contest the 2015 general election. She was elected

(MP) for

in the 2015 general election. Following the election 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 ...

as Leader of the Labour Party, whose campaign she supported, West was promoted to the

Official Opposition Frontbench The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front ...

as a Shadow Foreign Office Minister. During the 2016 EU membership referendum Campaign, West was involved with

Britain Stronger In Europe Britain Stronger in Europe (formally The In Campaign Limited) was an advocacy group which campaigned in favour of the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union in the 2016 British referendum. It was launched at the Old Truma ...

, campaigning for the UK to remain within the European Union, arguing that "Britain would be stronger, more prosperous, more secure and more peaceful" if they were to remain within the EU. West's constituency of

secured the highest remain vote in the UK with 81.5% voting to remain. Following the EU referendum, West confirmed she would vote against invoking

Article 50 Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...

should a vote come before parliament. Between September 2016 and June 2017, she was an officer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on UK-EU Relations. In January 2017, West voted against triggering Article 50 of the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

, the process by which EU Member States may use to withdraw from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, along with 46 other Labour Party

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 ...

. West was sacked from the Labour frontbench in June 2017 after she voted in favour of an amendment to the

Queen's Speech A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is ...

which called on the UK to remain in the European Single Market, in defiance of the Labour

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. West returned to the Labour frontbench in 2020 as shadow Sport Minister, prior to her promotion to the shadow Foreign Office team under new Labour Leader Sir Keir Stamer. West is currently Labour's shadow Minister for Asia & the Pacific.

Personal life

West is a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

. She is one of three Quakers elected during the 2015 general election, the others being Ruth Cadbury in the Labour Party and

Tania Mathias Tania Wyn Mathias (born 21 June 1964) is a British ophthalmologist and Conservative Party politician. She served as the Member of Parliament for Twickenham from May 2015 to June 2017. Early life and career Mathias was born in Kensington, London ...

in the Conservative Party. She is married to Colin Sutherland, co-director of the

's Malaria Centre. They met while studying at the University of Sydney. They have a daughter and a son. She is a dual British and Australian national.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Catherine 1966 births Living people Australian expatriates in England Alumni of SOAS University of London British people of Australian descent Councillors in the London Borough of Islington English Quakers Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies University of Sydney alumni Wood Green 21st-century British women politicians UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Leaders of local authorities of England Politicians from Sydney 21st-century English women 21st-century English people Women councillors in England