Kate Hollern

Catherine Malloy Hollern (born 12 April 1955)[1][2] is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn since 2015. A member of the opposition front bench under the leadership of both Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer, she previously served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the former from 2017 to 2020, a Shadow Minister for Local Government from 2020 until her resignation in 2021, and briefly a shadow defence minister in 2016. Prior to her election to Parliament, she served as the leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.

Kate Hollern
MP
Shadow Minister for Local Government
In office
9 April 2020 – 12 May 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byJim McMahon
Succeeded byJeff Smith
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition
In office
14 July 2017 – 7 January 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded bySteve Rotheram
Succeeded byTan Dhesi
Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces
In office
7 January 2016 – 10 October 2016
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byKevan Jones
Succeeded byWayne David
Member of Parliament
for Blackburn
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byJack Straw
Majority18,304 (40.9%)
Personal details
Born
Catherine Malloy Hollern

(1955-04-12) 12 April 1955
Dumbarton, Scotland
Political partyLabour
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and career

Hollern moved to Blackburn in the late 1970s.[3] She worked as a supervisor at Newman's Footwear, before becoming the contracts manager at Blackburn College.[3]

Hollern led the Labour Group on the Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council from 2004 to 2015, serving as council leader from 2004 to 2007, and again from 2010 to 2015.[4][5][6]

Parliamentary career

In March 2014, Hollern was selected, using an all-women shortlist, to succeed former cabinet minister Jack Straw as Labour's candidate for the constituency of Blackburn.[7] She was elected in the 2015 general election.[8][9] Hollern served as Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces from January 2016 to October 2016, following the reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet, and resignation of Kevan Jones.

She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the leadership election.[10] On 10 October 2016, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government.[11] In July 2017, Hollern was appointed Corbyn's Parliamentary Private Secretary.[12]

Following Keir Starmer's election as Labour leader, Hollern served as Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government from 2020. She resigned on 12 May 2021 after being accused of trying to "isolate a parliamentary worker who had made allegations of sexual harassment" against former Labour MP Mike Hill.[13]

Personal life

Her partner was Labour Party councillor John Roberts, until his death in February 2017 from cancer.[14] She has two daughters[3] called Faye and Megan, and six grandchildren.[14]

References
  1. "Kate Malloy Hollern". findthecompany.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9123.
  3. Hollern, Kate (April 2015). Elect Kate Hollern leaflet. Labour Party.
  4. "About Kate". Blackburn Labour Party. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  5. Labour holds Blackburn Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, lancashiretelegraph.co.uk; accessed 15 May 2015.
  6. "Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Kate Hollern steps down to fight election". Lancashire Telegraph. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 December 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  7. "Kate Hollern replaces Jack Straw as Labour Blackburn candidate". BBC. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  8. "Blackburn". UK Polling Report. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  9. "Blackburn". Election 2015. BBC. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  10. "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  11. "New Frontbench role for Kate Hollern MP". Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  12. Jacobs, Bill (15 July 2017). "Blackburn MP Kate gets job as Labour leader's key aide". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  13. Syal, Rajeev (12 May 2021). "Shadow minister steps down after MP accuses her of meddling in harassment case". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  14. "Tributes paid to Councillor John Roberts after he loses battle with cancer". Lancashire Telegraph. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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