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Catherine Jane Smith (born 16 June 1985) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015, representing Lancaster and Wyre since
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after her former constituency, Lancaster and Fleetwood, was abolished. She was a member of the shadow cabinets led by
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
and
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
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 and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...
. She has said that she "didn't have a political upbringing". Her mother was a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
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 (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ist. She attended Parkview School (in 2009 this merged into Furness Academy) and
Barrow Sixth Form College Barrow Sixth Form College, no longer considered a sixth form college, is part of Furness College, and 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 ...
. In 2003, she began studying for a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
at
Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...
. She was a member of Cartmel College and initially studied
religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...
, 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, an ...
in
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
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 n ...
, from which she graduated in 2006. Smith was elected the Women's Officer for Lancaster University Students' Union, a
sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...
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 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. 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. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...
for leader in the 2007 Labour Party leadership election which was occasioned by
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
's resignation;
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
won unopposed. Smith said it was more important to her to see multiple candidates stand than for McDonnell specifically to win. In the same year, she was a candidate for Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC) Youth Representative. Smith worked as an office manager for the Christian Socialist Movement from 2007 to 2009 before working as a research and constituency worker for three Members of Parliament (MPs) from 2009 to 2012:
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
, Katy Clark, and Bob Marshall-Andrews. Smith was the Labour Party candidate for Wyre and Preston North constituency in the 2010 general election, the first in which it was contested, 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. The resigning members 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 The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is the largest professional association of registered social workers in the United Kingdom. The association has a members' code of ethics that outlines best social work practice and works to support ...
(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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
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 ...
. Smith became a member of the
Socialist Campaign Group The Socialist Campaign Group, also simply known as the Campaign Group, is a UK parliamentary caucus of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party including Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Uni ...
within the
Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...
after her election. Following Labour's overall defeat, however, party leader
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
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 ...
, 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 on
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. 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 Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities
Kate Green Katherine Anne Green (born 2 May 1960) is a British politician serving as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime since 2023. She previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 202 ...
. She criticised 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; Smith took over from Gloria De Piero, one of the first shadow ministers to resign. 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 lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
. In addition to her other duties, Smith served as Shadow Deputy
Leader of the House of Commons The Leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...
, 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 front bench. She suggested that Starmer's office had offered her the opportunity to remain in her brief, but she declined citing concerns over the ongoing suspension of former party leader Jeremy Corbyn from the
Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...
and lack of frontbench support for
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
.


Expenses

On 24 May 2016,
Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, Lancashire, Hutton, near the cit ...
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 was in a relationship with SNP former MP David Linden. Smith identifies as
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
. 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 sitting up or standing. POTS is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system that can lead to a variety of symptoms, ...
(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 Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
, and is co-founder of Christians for Choice, a project of
Abortion Rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...
. She is a member of Poulton & Wyre Railway Society."Can a restored railway line get Fleetwood back on track?"
– ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 1 February 2010


References


External links

* *
Profile
at labour.org.uk
CatSmithMP
on Twitter , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Cat 1985 births Living people 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of Cartmel College, Lancaster Alumni of Lancaster University Bisexual feminists Bisexual women politicians British socialist feminists British bisexual women English bisexual politicians English Methodists English republicans English socialists Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom LGBTQ Methodists Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Lancashire Methodist socialists People from Barrow-in-Furness Proponents of Christian feminism UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East