Kerry McCarthy | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Climate | |
| In office 9 July 2024 – 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Katie White |
| Shadow Minister for Climate Change | |
| In office 29 June 2022 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Olivia Blake |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Shadow Minister for Green Transport | |
| In office 9 April 2020 – 4 December 2021 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Gill Furniss |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |
| In office 13 September 2015 – 26 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Maria Eagle |
| Succeeded by | Rachael Maskell |
| Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
| In office 7 October 2011 – 13 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Emma Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Diana Johnson |
| Shadow Treasury Minister | |
| In office 8 October 2010 – 7 October 2011 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Shadow Minister for Disabled People | |
| Acting 6 May 2010 – 8 October 2010 | |
| Leader | Harriet Harman |
| Preceded by | Mark Harper |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Curran |
| Member of Parliament forBristol East | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Jean Corston |
| Majority | 6,606 (14.3%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kerry Gillian McCarthy (1965-03-26)26 March 1965 (age 60) Luton,Bedfordshire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Residence(s) | Bristol, England London, England Luton, Bedfordshire, England |
| Alma mater | University of Liverpool London Guildhall University University of London |
| Website | Official website |
Kerry Gillian McCarthy[1] (born 26 March 1965) is a British politician who has served asMember of Parliament (MP) forBristol East since 2005. A member of theLabour Party, she wasShadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2015 to 2016. She served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Climate from July 2024 to September 2025.[2]
McCarthy was born in Luton,[3] where she attendedDenbigh High School, followed byLuton Sixth Form College. McCarthy studied at theUniversity of Liverpool readingRussian studies, before studying law atCity of London Polytechnic.
McCarthy qualified as a solicitor in 1994 and worked as a lawyer forAbbey National Treasury Services (1994–1996),Merrill Lynch Europe (1996–1999) and the Labour Party (2001). She was a director ofLondon Luton Airport Ltd (1999–2003), a director atBritain in Europe (2002–2004), and Head of Public Policy at the Waterfront Partnership (2004–2005).[4]
McCarthy began a doctorate on Labour links with theCity of London atGoldsmiths' College, but did not complete it.[5] She was a councillor inLuton, and was a member of Labour'sNational Policy Forum.
In 2005, McCarthy was selected as the Labour candidate for Bristol East through anall-women shortlist[6] and retained the seat for her party at the2005 general election. She was appointed a member of theTreasury Select Committee, and was involved in its inquiries into financial inclusion,globalisation and the role of theInternational Monetary Fund, and the administration oftax credits. She has also sat on two Finance Bill committees, as well as the UK Borders Bill Committee, the Offender Management Bill Committee and the Mental Health Bill Committee. She was described as aGordon Brown loyalist, stating in 2005 that "The Chancellor's nine Budgets are the bedrock of all that we have achieved in government".[5]
In April 2007, McCarthy was appointedParliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) toRosie Winterton, Minister for Health Services, and helped her steer theMental Health Bill through the Commons. From July 2007 to January 2009, she worked as PPS toDouglas Alexander, the Secretary of State for International Development, before being made a JuniorWhip in June 2009.[7] She is chair of the South West Group of Labour MP.
She was re-elected at the2010 General Election, with her majority reduced by more than a half.[8] McCarthy was appointed as an acting Shadow Minister forWork and Pensions in May 2010 with responsibility for disability.[9] She supportedEd Balls in the2010 Labour leadership election,[10] and became a junior ShadowTreasury Minister followingEd Miliband's election in October 2010.[11][12] In September 2011, McCarthy was made Shadow Foreign Office Minister with a responsibility for East Asia, South Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and human rights.[13]
OnWorld Vegan Day in November 2011, McCarthy became the first MP to set out in Parliament the case for becomingvegan.[14] She is also believed to be the first MP to deliver a speech in Parliament with the aid of aniPad.[15]
After being re-elected with an increased majority in the2015 General Election, McCarthy nominatedAndy Burnham in that year'sLabour leadership campaign.[16] She was appointed byJeremy Corbyn asShadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in September 2015. She argued in a Spring 2015 interview withViva!life, a magazine for vegans, that meat should be treated like tobacco, with "public campaigns to stop people eating it".[17] Tim Bonner of theCountryside Alliance said her opinions "are completely out of step with the vast majority of people".[18] "The world is not going to turn vegan because I am in post", McCarthy said onBBC Radio 4'sFarming Today shortly after her appointment. "I have my own personal views on what I choose to eat, but I accept that we have a livestock industry in this country. What I want is for the industry to have the best welfare standards possible, to be sustainable as well as economically viable."[18]
On 26 June 2016, McCarthy was amongdozens of shadow ministers who resigned from Corbyn's team.[19] She argued that "a new leader is needed to take on the challenges ahead".[20] According to McCarthy, in an article forThe Huffington Post: "When the leader's office did venture into Defra territory, they didn't talk to the shadow team".[21] McCarthy did not believe Corbyn was the right Labour leader or a potential prime minister.[22] She supportedOwen Smith in the2016 Labour leadership election.[23]
In November 2017, McCarthy raised a complaint of inappropriate behaviour againstKelvin Hopkins, Labour MP forLuton North,[24] which remained unresolved at the time Hopkins stepped down as an MP before the2019 General Election.[25]
McCarthy nominatedKeir Starmer in the2020 Labour leadership election, and was appointed Shadow Green Transport Minister following his election in April 2020.[26][27] She stepped down from the front bench owing to 'personal reasons' in Autumn 2021.[28]
On 29 June 2022 McCarthy returned to the Labour frontbench as Shadow Minister for Climate Change following the resignation ofOlivia Blake.[29]
TheNew Statesman included McCarthy as one of the Labour MPs who best understand climate and nature policy, as identified by the UK's leading green groups and think tanks.[30]
In May 2024, McCarthy introduced a ten minute rule bill requiring the Government to identify and support children with a parent in prison.[31]
In May 2009, McCarthy repaid £402 for a second bed claimed in expenses for her one bedroom flat. She stated the claim had been made in error.[32][33]
In October 2010, McCarthy admitted a charge ofelectoral fraud, accepting apolice caution for revealing on Twitter the number of postal votes cast per party in her constituency at the 2010 election, and apologised for this action.[11][34][35][36]
In May 2012, McCarthy branded a fellow train passenger a "lager drinking oaf" and suggested he should "have been killed before he could breed" in comments made to her followers onTwitter. According to McCarthy, he was playing loud techno music on the train and wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with an obscene phrase about his sex life.[37]
McCarthy is avegan, and has given talks on the subject. She was a presenter at theVegan Society's 2005 annual awards.[38] She divides her time betweenBristol and London, and is a part-owner of a house inLuton.[39]She is a vice-president of theLeague Against Cruel Sports,[40] and an honorary associate of theNational Secular Society.[41]
McCarthy is a fan ofpunk andpost-punk music. She has written aboutindustrial bands includingCabaret Voltaire andTest Dept for the websiteLouder Than War.[42]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBristol East 2005–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Artists | |
|---|---|
| People | |