Fleur Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 9 July 2024 – 7 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | The Lord Caine |
| Succeeded by | Matthew Patrick |
| Member of Parliament forPutney | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Justine Greening |
| Majority | 12,488 (25.3%) |
| Member ofWandsworth Council for Bedford | |
| In office 22 May 2014 – 29 March 2021 | |
| Succeeded by | Hannah Stanislaus |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kathleen Fleur Anderson (1971-02-06)6 February 1971 (age 55) |
| Party | Labour |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | www |
Kathleen Fleur Anderson[1] (born 6 February 1971) is a British politician serving asMember of Parliament (MP) forPutney since 2019.[2][3][4] A member of theLabour Party, she served asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 2024 and 2025.
Anderson was born on theChannel Island ofJersey.[5] She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in politics from theUniversity of York in 1993. She was a member ofGoodricke College.[6] She was elected as president of theStudent's Union, holding that post in 1993/94.[7] In 2007, she attended theOpen University for a Master of Science degree in Global Development Management, awarded in 2010.[8]
Anderson began her career in development and environmental and poverty campaigns, both in London and abroad. She worked forChristian Aid from 1994 to 1997, taking on roles as a campaign assistant in London, working in Serbia during the war and as Head of Country Office inBosnia in the aftermath of theBosnian War. From 1997 to 1999 she was Head of World Action for the Methodist youth organisation MAYC, leading campaigns on bullying, Burma and international debt cancellation. She then worked forCAFOD in London as Head of Campaigns and Advocacy Strategy Manager. Here she co-founded the Trade Justice Campaign. From 2003 to 2006 she was a trustee of the Jubilee Debt Campaign. During her time as a freelance consultant in Kenya from 2007 to 2010, she worked on several successful campaigns on water and urban nutrition, working with organisations such asEnd Water Poverty andOxfam, as well as helping to establish grassroots organisations such as the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. Upon returning to London, Anderson joinedWaterAid as Head of Global Campaigns.[9][10]
Anderson decided to get involved in politics in response to the closing of children's centres and local institutions. She was elected to represent Bedford Ward onWandsworth London Borough Council in 2014, alongsideRosena Allin-Khan, and re-elected in 2018.[11][12] Anderson was the Labour Spokesperson for Community Services and the Environment from 2015 to 2018 and the Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Labour Group from 2016 to 2018. She resigned from the council in March 2021.[13]
She co-founded Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees and was the head of community services for theKatherine Low Settlement, a community centre in Battersea from 2016 to 2020. Locally, she campaigned for the 20 mph speed limit, against the closure of children's centres, and against cutting the Autism Advisory Service.[14]
Anderson was elected MP for Putney on 12 December 2019, succeeding retiring MPJustine Greening, who had been elected as aConservative. In a national election in which Labour won its fewest House seats since1935, Putney was the only constituency Labour gained.[15] She made hermaiden speech on 9 January 2020. She backedKeir Starmer and Rosena Allin-Khan in the 2020 Labourleadership anddeputy leadership elections, respectively.[16][17]
On 7 January 2021, Anderson was promoted fromParliamentary Private Secretary toPreet Gill asShadow Secretary of State for International Development to replaceHelen Hayes as a Shadow Minister for the Cabinet underRachel Reeves due to Hayes resigning over Labour's support for theEuropean Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020.[18] In December 2021, she was promoted within the shadow Cabinet Office team to serve asShadow Paymaster General.[19] In theSeptember 2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle, leader Keir Starmer appointed her to be Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland.[20]
Anderson wrote a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak requesting a ceasefire in Gaza and a ban on sale of arms to Israel in April 2024.[20]
Following the2024 general election, Anderson was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,[21] she held the position until the September 2025 reshuffle when she returned to the back benches.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPutney 2019–present | Incumbent |
