Kate Hoey

Kate Hoey MP
Minister for Sport
In office 20 October 1999 – 7 June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Tony Banks
Succeeded by	Richard Caborn
Member of Parliament for Vauxhall
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 June 1989
Preceded by	Stuart Holland
Majority	10,651 (24.7%)
Personal details
Born	21 June 1946 (1946-06-21) Belfast
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	University of Ulster
Website	www.katehoey.com

Catharine Letitia Hoey (born 21 June 1946) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Vauxhall since 1989. She served in the Blair Government as Minister for Sport from 1999 to 2001.

Background

Born in Belfast, she studied at Belfast Royal Academy. While attending the Ulster College of Physical Education she joined the International Marxist Group, one of the few people with an Ulster Unionist background to do so in the 1960s. After relocating to England, she graduated in economics from the City of London College, today known as London Metropolitan University. She was a senior lecturer at Kingsway College from 1976 to 1985, during which time she left the International Marxist Group.

Sport

Hoey is known for her longstanding interest in sport. She was Northern Ireland High Jump Champion and worked for football clubs including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers, Chelsea and Brentford, as an Educational Advisor. Prior to entering Parliament she was educational adviser to Arsenal Football Club from 1985 to 1989.

A founder member of the London Northern Ireland Supporters' Club, Hoey took part in a St Patrick's Day parade in London with Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez.

Politics

Hoey in 2009, on the day of Michael Martin's resignation as Speaker of the House of Commons.

Kate Hoey was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from 1998 to 1999, and Minister for Sport in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport from 1999 to 2001. She campaigned against London's candidacy for the 2012 Olympics on the basis that Paris is more deserving, due to the volume of sporting facilities in the city, but has actively promoted sport in schools and is involved in gun politics in the UK. The current handgun ban affects training and participation in international shooting competitions. Hoey has been involved in the issues of affordable housing, top-up tuition fees, foundation trust hospitals and provision for pensioners.^{[citation needed]}

In Parliament, Hoey has participated in 50% of votes, described as "well below average amongst MPs", but has spoken in 36 debates in the last year in parliament, which has been described as "above average for MPs". On top of her income as an MP, she is paid over £5,000 a year for articles in the Daily Telegraph, a conservative newspaper, and over £15,000 a year for her campaigning work on behalf of the Countryside Alliance, a rural pressure group.

Hoey has often rebelled against her party. She has voted against government policy on the war in Iraq, foundation hospitals, university tuition and top-up fees, ID cards and extended detention without trial. She was a leading Labour rebel supporting a referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty.

On 29 April 2008 it was announced that Hoey would form part of the team of Conservative Boris Johnson, should he become Mayor, as an unpaid non-executive director advising on sport and the 2012 Olympics.

Other interests

Hoey in 2010, at the launch of the Blue Badge 2012 Guided Tours for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Hoey is known for her fight against the Labour Government's plans to ban fox hunting in Britain; a rare position among Labour MPs.

On 22 July 2005, Hoey was named the new chairman of the Countryside Alliance (the main British pro-hunting group). She said the appointment was a "great honour and a great challenge". The Alliance's headquarters are in Hoey's Vauxhall constituency. This appointment was controversial in the Labour Party as the Countryside Alliance was seen to be behind a campaign to unseat Labour MPs at the 2005 election.

Hoey is patron of Roots & Shoots, a vocational training centre for young people in Lambeth http://www.rootsandshoots.org.uk/home.php

Hoey has been a trustee of the Outward Bound charity since October 2002. A Vice President of the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, Hoey is a strong supporter of the women's national team and the work of the charity in general.

Kate Hoey nominated John McDonnell for the Labour leadership, but on his withdrawal, switched her nomination to Diane Abbott.

Government and parliamentary positions

• Opposition spokesperson, citizen's charter and women (1992–1993)
• PPS to Frank Field, Department of Social Security (1997–1998)
• Junior minister, home office (1998–1999)
• Junior minister, department of culture, media and sport (1999–2001)
• Backbencher (2001–present)

External links

• Kate Hoey MP official constituency website
• Lambeth Labour Party
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• London Northern Ireland Supporters Club
• Sunday Times Magazine profile, 8 August 1993
• Hoey becomes Countryside Alliance Chairman, 22 July 2005

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Stuart Holland	Member of Parliament for Vauxhall 1989–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Tony Banks	Minister for Sport 1999–2001	Succeeded by Richard Caborn