Catherine Elizabeth West (born 14 September 1966) is an Australian-born British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, previously Hornsey and Wood Green, since

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office since 2024.

Early life and career

Catherine West was born on 14 September 1966 in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

, Australia. She was one of four children to Janet (née Conti) and Roderick West. 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 actress Italia Conti. She grew up in Sydney and was privately educated at

Meriden School Meriden, An Anglican School for Girls is an independent Anglican single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day school for girls, located in Strathfield, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 189 ...

and Ravenswood School for Girls. West studied modern languages and social work at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where she was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and a

Bachelor of Social Work A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

degree. While studying there, she met her future husband Colin Sutherland. They lived together in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...

, where she worked as a social worker in a refuge for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She moved to the United Kingdom in 1998 when her husband gained a job at the

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & 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 institu ...

. She then earnt a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

in Chinese Studies from the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) 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 area ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

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

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

David Lammy David Lindon Lammy FRSA (born 19 July 1972) is a British politician who has served as Foreign Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham since 2000. Lammy previously held vario ...

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, also known as Islington Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majo ...

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 to contest the 2015 general election.

Parliamentary career

West was elected to Parliament as MP for Hornsey and Wood Green at the 2015 general election with 50.9% of the vote and a majority of 11,058. Following the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

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 ...

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 fr ...

as a Shadow Foreign Office Minister. During the 2016 Brexit referendum, 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 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, ...

, 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 Hornsey and Wood Green secured the highest remain vote of any constituency, with 81.5% voting to remain. Following the EU referendum, West confirmed she would vote against invoking

Article 50 Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) provides for the possibility of an EU member state leaving the European Union "in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Currently, the United Kingdom is the only state to hav ...

should a vote come before parliament. In January 2017, West voted against triggering Article 50 of the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

, the process to withdraw from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, along with 46 other Labour Party MPs. At the snap 2017 general election, West was re-elected as MP for Hornsey and Wood Green with an increased vote share of 65.4% and an increased majority of 30,738. 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 their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened. The address sets fo ...

which called on the UK to remain in the

European Single Market The European single market, also known as the European internal market or the European common market, is the single market comprising mainly the member states of the European Union (EU). With certain exceptions, it also comprises Iceland, ...

, in defiance of the Labour

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. At the 2019 general election, West was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 57.5% and a decreased majority of 19,242. 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. Due to the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, West's constituency of Hornsey and Wood Green was abolished, and replaced with Hornsey and Friern Barnet. At the 2024 general election, West was elected to Parliament as MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet with 58.7% of the vote and a majority of 21,475. On 11 July 2024, she was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Executive Councillor of Hong Kong Ronny Tong criticised her for having a clear political stance, suggesting it would be better for her to resign from her position at Hong Kong Watch. Both Beijing and the Hong Kong government have repeatedly described Hong Kong Watch as an anti-China organisation. The organisation claims to have received a letter from the National Security Department of HongKong Police Force indicating it was suspected of violating the

2020 Hong Kong national security law The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a national law of China on Hong Kong national security passed in 2020. It is implemented in Hong Kong in accordance w ...

Personal life

West is a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. 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 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century English women 21st-century English politicians Alumni of SOAS University of London Australian expatriates in England 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 Friends of Israel Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Leaders of local authorities of England Living people Politicians from Sydney UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present University of Sydney alumni Women councillors in England Wood Green Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East