Kate Green

Early life

Green was born in Edinburgh, to Maurice and Jessie Craig Green. She attended Currie High School and Edinburgh University graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Career

After University, Green began a career at Barclays Bank, working for the organisation from 1982 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999 she worked as a Whitehall and Industry Group secondee to the Home Office. Green was employed as Director of the National Council for One Parent Families between 2000 and 2004, then taking up the post of Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group until 2009. Alongside this, Green also served as a member of the London Child Poverty Commission, eventually serving as the commissioner chairing the body. Green also served as a magistrate in the City of London between 1993 and 2009.

Politics and Parliament

Green joined the Labour Party in 1990 and stood as the Labour Party candidate in the 1997 General Election for the Greater London constituency of Cities of London and Westminster. Failing to be elected in 1997, she then contested the 2000 London Assembly election in the West Central constituency though again was not elected. In 2009 Green was selected as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Stretford and Urmston through an all-women shortlist following Beverley Hughes's announcement that she would not be seeking re-election. She was elected as Member of Parliament on 6 May 2010 securing 48.6% of the vote, increasing the majority Hughes gained in the 2005 general election.

Since entering Parliament, Green has been elected as a Vice-Chair of the Labour Party's National Policy Forum and serves as the chairman of the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party.

Following a reshuffle of Labour's shadow ministerial team in October 2011, Green was promoted to shadow Minister of State for Equalities at the Government Equalities Office, working alongside Yvette Cooper. Following a reshuffle of Labour's shadow ministerial team in October 2013, Green was promoted to shadow Minister of State for Work and Pensions.

In November 2011 Green was criticised for failing to declare an interest when tabling an amendment to a bill. Green had neglected to mention her membership of the GMB trade union when attempting to amend the Legal Aid Bill. In a statement in Parliament Green apologised, saying: "I was advised on those amendments by the GMB trade union. My entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests makes clear my membership of and relationship with that union, but I regret that I did not draw attention to that last week in the Chamber because the amendments did not relate specifically to the union, but to the rights of individual employees." The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, accepted Green's apology, describing it as "most courteous" and insisting that the matter had been resolved.

In February 2012, Green complained about a beer sold in the House of Commons Stranger's Bar, called Top Totty. The advertising plate on the pump handle featured an image of a bikini-clad bunny girl, which Green said "demeaned women". Leader of the House Sir George Young upheld her complaint and had the beer removed. The beer, brewed in Stafford by Slater's had been recommended to the House in 2007 by Labour MP for Stafford David Kidney after a visit to Slater's Brewery.

Green was re-elected in the 2015 general election on an increased voter turnout, managing to increase both the Labour Party's share of the vote and the size of the majority in Stretford and Urmston. Following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Leader of the Labour Party, Green was promoted to the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet serving as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities. She resigned from this position on 27 June 2016. Green became chair of Owen Smith' leadership campaign challenging Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 leadership election. Green wrote in the New Statesman in September 2016: "Even when Jeremy gets that there's a problem, his solutions too often reinforce rather than address the root causes of gender inequality". In a March 2016 speech, Corbyn advocated the decriminalisation of the sex industry "without any discussion or consultation with his shadow cabinet, with me as his shadow minister for women and equalities, with women in the PLP or, to the best of my knowledge, with anyone in the wider Labour Party".

In December 2016 Green became chair of the Fabian Society.

Personal life

Green married Richard Duncan Mabb in 1985; the couple divorced in 2006. Her recreations include theatre, books, food and swimming.

She is a member of the GMB and Unite trade unions, the Fawcett Society, the Fabian Society and CPAG.