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Cat Smith

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Cat Smith
MP
Smith in 2020
Shadow Minister of State for the Cabinet Office
Assumed office
7 January 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Keir Starmer
Preceded byJo Platt
Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs
Assumed office
27 June 2016
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Keir Starmer
Preceded byGloria De Piero
Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
In office
20 December 2016 – 18 July 2017
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Keir Starmer
Preceded byMelanie Onn
Succeeded byKarin Smyth
Member of Parliament for Lancaster and Fleetwood
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byEric Ollerenshaw
Majority2,380 (5.2%)
Personal details
Born
Catherine Jane Smith

(1985-06-16) 16 June 1985 (age 39)
Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Ben Soffa
​
(m. 2016)​
Alma materLancaster University
WebsiteOfficial website

Catherine Jane Smith[1] (born 16 June 1985)[2] is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood since 2015.[3]

Early life

Born in Barrow-in-Furness, Smith attended local comprehensive schools and Barrow-in-Furness Sixth Form College.[4] She moved to Lancaster in 2003 where she studied at Cartmel College, Lancaster University.[5] She graduated with a BA joint honours degree in Sociology and Gender Studies.[6]

Political career

Smith first stood for election in the 2007 Lancaster City Council election in the University ward, where she was unsuccessful. Before entering Parliament, Smith worked for Jeremy Corbyn and as a policy officer for the British Association of Social Workers.[6][7] She unsuccessfully contested Wyre and Preston North in 2010.[7] Before the 2015 election, she was selected as the Labour candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, after winning a women-only shortlist.[8]

Smith has contributed to publications and news blogs associated with the Labour Party, including LabourList and Tribune.[9][10] She identifies herself as a Christian, socialist, feminist, republican and trade unionist.[11]

Smith was one of the 36 Labour Members of Parliament (MP) to nominate Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015 and one of the 14 to support him.[12][13] 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.[14]

Shadow Minister

Corbyn soon appointed Smith to be Minister for Women in the Shadow Equalities Office, where she served under Kate Green. On 27 June 2016 Smith entered the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs.[15] This followed on from a series of resignations of shadow ministers who had lost confidence in Corbyn's leadership.[16] On 6 April 2020, Smith was re-appointed to her shadow cabinet role by the newly elected Labour Party Leader, Keir Starmer.[citation needed]

In addition to her other duties, Smith acts as Shadow Deputy Leader of the House, in which role she made her debut at the Despatch Box on 20 December 2016.[17]

Expenses

On 24 May 2016, Lancashire Constabulary announced that an investigation had been opened following allegations that Smith broke election spending laws by spending thousands of pounds more than she declared.[18][19] In June 2016, Lancashire Constabulary were granted a year-long extension to investigate Smith's election expenses,[20] and in November 2016 they cleared Smith of any wrongdoing.[21]

Personal life

In September 2016 Smith married Ben Soffa, her partner of eleven years.[22] In July 2018 she gave birth to the couple's first child.[23]

In 2019 Smith revealed she was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) which had effected her energy levels, but that she used medication to control the condition.[24]

Smith is a Methodist.[25]

References

  1. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Lancaster City Council. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Biography for Cat Smith". MyParliament. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Lancaster & Fleetwood". BBC News. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Alumni". Barrow Sixth Form College. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Cat Smith". Labour Party. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  6. ^ a b Corbyn, Jeremy. "Report from Jeremy Corbyn MP – 30 years So far" (PDF). Junction Labour. Retrieved 1 June 2015.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b "Lancaster & Fleetwood". ukpollingreport.co.uk. UK Polling Report. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  8. ^ "All women shortlists, Labour Network".
  9. ^ "Cat Smith". LabourList. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  10. ^ "All Articles By: Cat Smith". Tribune. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  11. ^ Smith, Cat (22 August 2013). "Call a spade a spade and a Socialist a Socialist". LabourList. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Who nominated who for the 2015 Labour leadership election?". newstatesman.com. New Statesman. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Cat Smith talks Jeremy Corbyn, Jesus Christ and Why 'Socialism' Isn't 'Radical'". 25 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Lancaster MP Cat Smith says voters have been misled yet again". Lancaster Guardian. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  15. ^ "MP Cat Smith promoted to shadow cabinet". Lancaster Evening Post. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Labour Shadow Cabinet resignations". The Guardian. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Commons Debates 20 December 2016, Column 1408". Hansard. 20 December 2016.
  18. ^ Staff writer (24 May 2016). "Labour MP Cat Smith denies improper expenses claim". BBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  19. ^ Casalicchio, Emilio (24 May 2016). "Police probe into Labour frontbencher Cat Smith's election expenses". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  20. ^ Crick, Michael (13 June 2016). "Did Labour's Battlebus operation break the rules?". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Police drop Lancaster MP expenses investigation". The Bay Radio. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  22. ^ "Barrow-born MP weds her partner with Labour leader among the guests". North West Evening Mail. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  23. ^ "Lancaster and Fleetwood MP Cat Smith has given birth to a baby boy". Lancaster Guardian. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  24. ^ @catsmithmp (1 January 2020). "2010: got diagnosis of POTS and with medication started feeling great! Used new energy to..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Hansard" (PDF). publications.parliament.uk. UK Parliament. 2 January 2016. Lancaster is famous for its nonconformist residents, so as a Methodist I feel I am in good company. I am pleased to be making my maiden speech in the debate on Britain in the world, because it was my faith that led me into politics, through the campaigns to drop third world debt and the campaign for fair trade.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cat Smith.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Lancaster and Fleetwood
2015–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded byas Shadow Minister for Young People and Voter Registration Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs
2016–present 		Incumbent
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