Catherine McKinnell became the Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North in 2010, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 5,765.
She serves as Shadow Minister for Schools, having been appointed to the role in Keir Starmer’s September 2023 reshuffle.
The Newcastle upon Tyne North contains the Denton, Fawdon, Lemington, East Gosforth, Newburn, Parklands, Westerhope, and Woolsington areas in the north and west of the City. Although this area of Newcastle was held by the Conservative Party up until 1983, this has since become a safe Labour constituency.
McKinnell previously served as Chair of Parliament’s Petitions Committee from January 2020 to September 2023. She resigned her position upon returning to the frontbench in 2023.
McKinnell formerly served as Shadow Attorney General between 2015 and 2016. Between 2010 and 2015 she had served as Shadow Solicitor General, Shadow Minister for Children & Young Families; Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury; and Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
McKinnell was the first person to resign from the Shadow Cabinet in 2016 in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. She later supported Owen Smith in his 2016 challenge to Jeremy Corbyn.
In the 2020 Labour leadership election, she nominated Jess Phillips.
Born in 1976, McKinnell grew up in the west end of Newcastle, attending Sacred Heart Comprehensive School in Fenham. She attended Edinburgh and Northumbria Universities and worked as an employment solicitor in Newcastle before becoming a politician.
She lives in Newcastle with her husband, Rhys, and their three children.
Catherine McKinnell is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Antisemitism; CAFOD; the East Coast Mainline; and Sustainable Aviation. She is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Fairtrade; Food Banks; Hadrian’s Wall; Kinship Care; Transport across the North; and Anti Corruption and Responsible Tax;
Email: catherine.mckinnell.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: www.catherinemckinnell.co.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/CatMcKinnellMP
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/CatMcKinnell
