Catherine West was first elected as the Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green in 2015, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 19,242.
The constituency of Hornsey and Wood Green is found in north London, and includes the western parts of the London Borough of Haringey. It includes the communities of Muswell Hill, Crouch End, and Wood Green. This is an economically and ethnically diverse seat. It includes pockets of inner city deprivation with an above average proportion of social housing, alongside expensive privately owned housing. The ethnic mix in this part of London includes notable Jewish, Muslim, Cypriot and Afro Caribbean communities. London’s Alexandra Palace is found in this constituency.
Once held by the Conservatives in 1983, the seat was gained by Labour in 1992 and held by the party till 2005 when it was won by the Liberal Democrats. Labour regained the seat in 2015. In 2019 Labour won by a massive twenty thousand votes here, making this now a very safe Labour seat. A high three quarters of the electorate here backed Remain in the 2016 EU referendum.
West is currently the Shadow Minister for Asia and the Pacific at Westminster.
She was previously an opposition spokesperson on Foreign Affairs between 2015 and 2017, but was sacked after voting for the UK to remain in the EU single market. She was a bitter opponent of Brexit.
Born in 1966, Catherine West was brought up in Australia, and has dual Australian and British citizenship. She studied at the University of Sydney and worked as a social worker in Australia. She moved to England in 1998, and obtained a master’s degree in Chinese politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She later worked as a caseworker for David Lammy prior to becoming an MP herself.
Catherine West was elected to Islington Council from May 2002 to May 2014. She was leader of the Council’s Labour Party Group from 2004, and Leader of the Council between 2010 and 2013. She is currently the Vice-President of the Local Government Association.
West supported Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 and 2016 Labour leadership election, and is opposed to the UK’s Trident nuclear missile programme. She supported Emily Thornberry in the 2020 Labour leadership election.
Catherine West is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion; Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases; and Swimming. She is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Australia and New Zealand; British Overseas Territories; Chagos; Devolution; Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood; Rare, Genetic and Undiagnosed Conditions; North Korea; Norfolk Island; Alevis; Uzbekistan; Surrogacy; Pacific Islands; Serbia; Thalassaemia; and Zoos and Aquariums.
She is married with two children. West speaks five languages including mandarin. West is a Quaker, and one of just two Quaker MPs at Westminster.
Email: contact@catherinewest.org.uk
Personal Website: http://www.catherinewest.org.uk/
Twitter: twitter.com/CatherineWest1
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catherine-West-MP/
