Katherine Anne Green OBE is a British politician who is now the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime. She used to be a Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston from 2010 to 2022. She is a part of the Labour Party and has had different important jobs within the party, like being the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, the Chair of the Committees on Privileges and Standards, and the Shadow Secretary of State for Education.
When Ed Miliband was the leader of the Labour Party, Katherine Anne Green worked as a junior Shadow Equalities Minister from 2011 to 2013 and then as a Shadow Disabled People Minister from 2013 to 2015.
When Jeremy Corbyn became the leader of the Labour Party, Green was given a more important job as the Shadow Women and Equalities Minister.
But, when she lost faith in Corbyn’s leadership, she quit in 2016 and helped Owen Smith in his failed attempt to become the new Labour leader.
In 2018, Katherine Anne Green was chosen to oversee the Privileges and Standards Committees.
However, she had to leave that position when the new leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, asked her to be the Shadow Child Poverty Strategy Minister in April 2020.
Starmer then gave her an even more important job as the Shadow Education Secretary in June 2020. But in November 2021, Green stepped down from her role when the shadow cabinet changed.
Later, in November 2022, she quit her job as a Member of Parliament because Andy Burnham nominated her to be the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime.
Kate Green Introduction
| Name | Kate Green, Katherine Anne Green |
| Date of Birth | Katherine Anne Green 2 May 1960 (age 62) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Parents | Mom: Jessie Craig, Dad: Maurice Green |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Richard Duncan Mabb (m. 1985; div. 2006) |
| Education from | Currie High School, University of Edinburgh (Bachelor of Law) |
| Hobbies | Theater, reading books, trying new food, and swimming |
| Electoral history | Contested Cities of London and Westminster 1997 general election. Member for Stretford and Urmston since 6 May 2010 general election. |
| Political interests | Employment, exclusion, poverty, criminal justice. |
| Website | https://kategreen.org/ |
Kate Green Early Life
Katherine Anne Green, AKA Kate Green, was born on May 2, 1960, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her mom’s name was Jessie Craig, and her dad’s name was Maurice Green, who was Jewish.
She went to Currie High School and then studied at the University of Edinburgh, where she got a Bachelor of Law’s degree.
Career
Once she finished studying at university, Katherine Anne Green started working at Barclays Bank, where she stayed from 1982 to 1997. Then, from 1997 to 1999, she worked at the Home Office as part of a group called the Whitehall and Industry Group.
From 2000 to 2004, Katherine Anne Green was the Director of the National Council for One-Parent Families. After that, she became the Chief Executive of another group called the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), which she did until 2009.
During this time, she was also part of a group called the London Child Poverty Commission from 2006 to 2009, where she started out as a member but then became the chairperson.
Kate Green was also a magistrate in the City of London from 1993 to 2009.
In 1990, she became a member of the Labour Party. However, she was unsuccessful when she tried to become a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Greater London constituency of the Cities of London and Westminster in 1997.
She also tried to become a member of the London Assembly in the West Central constituency in the 2000 election but was not elected.
Career in Parliament
In 2009, Kate Green was chosen to be the candidate for Stretford and Urmston. This was done through a process called an “all-women shortlist” because the previous MP, Beverley Hughes, had said she wasn’t going to run again.
Kate Green won the election on May 6, 2010, with 48.6% of the votes, which was even more than Hughes had won in the previous election in 2005.
Once she became a Member of Parliament, Kate Green was elected as a Vice-Chair of the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum. She also became the leader of a group called the Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party.
In November 2011, Kate Green got in trouble because she didn’t tell everyone she was a member of the GMB trade union when she was trying to change a law called the Legal Aid Bill.
Green said she was sorry and didn’t mean to keep it a secret, but she didn’t mention it because the changes she suggested were not just for the benefit of the union but for everyone who works at the job.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, said that Kate Green’s apology was very polite and that the problem was solved.
In 2012, Kate Green raised an issue about a beer being sold at the House of Commons Stranger’s Bar called “Top Totty.” The advertising plate on the pump handle had a picture of a woman in a bikini which Green found to be disrespectful toward women.
The Leader of the House, Sir George Young, supported her complaint and had the beer removed. The beer was recommended to the House in 2007 by a Labour MP for Stafford, David Kidney, after visiting Slater’s Brewery.
Kate Green was re-elected in the 2015 general election with a higher turnout, which increased both the Labour Party’s share and majority.
Kate Green supported Owen Smith in his campaign to become the leader of the Labour Party in 2016, opposing Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
She wrote an article in the New Statesman explaining her views on gender inequality and how she felt that Corbyn’s solutions did not address the issue’s root causes.
Green won the 2017 and 2019 general elections and announced in February 2022 that she wouldn’t be running for re-election.
Later in 2022, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham picked her to be the Deputy Mayor for Policing, succeeding Baroness Bev Hughes. To take up this new position, Green resigned from her seat in Parliament on November 10.
Frontbench Opposition career
In October 2011, the Labour Party made some changes to its team of politicians who work to oppose the government’s policies.
Kate Green was given a new job as a junior Shadow Minister for Equalities, which means she was responsible for making sure people were treated fairly regardless of their gender, race, sexuality, or other differences.
Two years later, in October 2013, she was given a new job as the Shadow Minister for Disabled People. This meant she was responsible for making sure people with disabilities were treated fairly and had access to the same opportunities as everyone else.
After Jeremy Corbyn was elected as the leader of the Labour Party, Kate Green was promoted to the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. Her role was to be the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities.
In March 2016, Corbyn made a speech supporting decriminalizing the sex industry. Green was unhappy because she had not been consulted on this issue, even though it was part of her role. She resigned from her position on June 27, 2016.
During the EU referendum, Green was in favor of the Remain campaign. In April 2020, she was appointed by the new Labour Party leader Keir Starmer as the Shadow Minister for Child Poverty Strategy.
Later, in June 2020, Green replaced Rebecca Long-Bailey as the Shadow Education Secretary. However, she left the front bench during a reshuffle of the shadow cabinet in November 2021.
Parliamentary Committees
Kate Green has served on several committees in the UK Parliament, including the Work and Pensions Select Committee, European Scrutiny Committee, Justice Select Committee, Committee of Privileges, Commons Select Committee on Standards (which she chaired at different times), the Home Affairs Select Committee, and the Liaison Committee.
These committees review and scrutinize government policies and activities and make recommendations to Parliament.
All-party Parliamentary Groups
Green is a leader or member of several groups in Parliament called All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). These include:
- Migration (chair)
- Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers (chair)
- Women in the Penal System (chair)
- Learning Disability (vice-chair)
- Legal Aid (vice-chair)
- Srebrenica (vice-chair)
- Valproate and other Anti-Epileptic Drugs in Pregnancy (vice-chair)
- Dalits (treasurer)
Personal life and Honours
Kate Green married Richard Duncan Mabb in 1985, but they divorced in 2006. Her hobbies are going to the theater, reading books, trying new food, and swimming.
She is a member of different trade unions like GMB and Unite, organizations like the Fawcett Society, the Fabian Society (which she led from 2016 to 2018), and CPAG.
Kate Green has served on the boards of several charitable organizations in the past, including Friends Provident Foundation, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Family and Parenting Institute, Avenues Youth Project, and End Child Poverty.
She was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) title in the 2005 New Year Honours for her contributions to welfare work, particularly for her work with CPAG and membership in the National Employment Panel.
