Mary Creagh
Encyclopedia
Mary Helen Creagh is a British Labour Party
politician and Member of Parliament
(MP) for Wakefield
since 2005
. She was appointed to the shadow cabinet on 7 October 2010.
of Irish parentage, her father a car factory worker and her mother a primary school teacher. She was educated at the Bishop Ullathorne
Comprehensive School
in Coventry and won a scholarship to Pembroke College, Oxford
where she read modern languages. She then attended the London School of Economics
and gained an MSc
in European Studies. She worked in Brussels
for four years, first as a stagiaire at the European Parliament
and then for the European Youth Forum
. She taught entrepreneurship at the Cranfield University
School of Management from 1997 until her election to Westminster
, and spent seven years as a trustee
with Rathbone
, a national charity.
in 1998, becoming the Labour group leader (2000–2004). She stood down from the council in 2005 on her election as a Westminster MP.
In 2002 Creagh instigated an investigation into cronyism
in the appointment the Islington Council Chief Executive by five Liberal Democrats
councillors. After the longest ever investigation by the Standards Board for England
her complaint was rejected. Creagh was criticised by the tribunal as "heavily influenced by her political motives" and that she was an "insensitive witness, lacking in balanced judgment and one who was prepared to make assumptions about honesty and integrity of others without any proper basis". However, Creagh defended herself saying she "blew the whistle because I believed the Liberal Democrats were not meeting the standards we expect from people in public office. I invite people to look at my evidence and draw their own conclusions." The Liberal Democrats involved lost their council seats in the 2006 elections.
for Wakefield with a majority of 5,154 and has remained the MP there since. She made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005 using the occasion to raise issues of poverty in her constituency. She also mentioned locally born sculptor Barbara Hepworth
. She was a member of the Human Rights
Select Committee from 2005 until 2007, and was the Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
, Andy Burnham, from 2006 until June 2009. In June 2009 she was made an assistant Government Whip
in the Department of Health. In 2007 she was among those MPs who backed Gordon Brown
for the leadership of the Labour Party
. In May 2010, Creagh supported David Miliband's bid to become leader of the Labour Party.
She has campaigned successfully on a number of issues since entering parliament. In 2005 she introduced a Children's Food Bill which sought to introduce minimum nutritional standards for all school meals and take fizzy drinks and sugary snacks out of school vending machines. Both of these measures were accepted by the government and came into law as part of the Education and Inspections Bill 2006.
In 2006 she launched a campaign aimed at preventing scalding injuries in the home. She brought together medical experts, campaign groups, and victims of scalding injuries to lobby the government to change the building regulations to prevent people being severely burned by scalding hot water. The coalition pressured the government to make the fitting of a water temperature regulating device, such as a Thermostatic Mixing Valve (TMV), compulsory in new bathrooms in England. In 2009, after a 3 year "Hot Water Burns Like Fire" campaign, the government confirmed that from April 2010 TMVs would be fitted as standard in all new bathrooms.
From 2007 to 2009 Mary Creagh was Chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, succeeding Chris Bryant
MP and succeeded by Richard Corbett
MEP.
In 2009, as vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, Mary Creagh called on Justice Secretary Jack Straw
to tighten UK law so that people accused of genocide could be prosecuted in Britain. She said there was an "impunity gap" which allowed people accused of terrible crimes in places like Rwanda and Bosnia to escape justice and live freely in Britain. As a result of this the government agreed to amend the Coroner's and Justice Bill and tighten the law so that anyone suspected of war crimes anywhere in the world since 1991 and resident in the UK can be prosecuted by UK courts.
On 8 October 2010, Creagh was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
. In February 2011 she secured a debate in the House of Commons on the government’s plans to sell off 85% of England’s Public Forest Estate. The plans were subsequently abandoned by the government as it had become clear the public “were not happy with the proposals”.
Creagh has criticised the decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to cut flood defence spending in real terms by 32%. She has also been involved in campaigns calling for the banning of wild animals from circuses and opposing the government’s policy of badger culling. At the Labour Party’s annual conference in September 2011 Creagh launched the Back the Apple campaign with Unite the Union
. The campaign opposes the government’s plan to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board which sets wages and conditions for thousands of agricultural workers.
In October 2011 Creagh was retained by Labour leader Ed Miliband as Shadow Environment Secretary.
) and a daughter, Beatrice. She is fluent in French and Italian and enjoys cycling and yoga. She is a member of the GMB Trade Union
.
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Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Wakefield
Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)
Wakefield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
since 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. She was appointed to the shadow cabinet on 7 October 2010.
Background
Creagh was born and brought up in CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
of Irish parentage, her father a car factory worker and her mother a primary school teacher. She was educated at the Bishop Ullathorne
William Bernard Ullathorne
William Bernard Ullathorne was an English Roman Catholic bishop and a missionary in Australia.-Early life:William Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, Yorkshire, the eldest of ten children of William Ullathorne, a prosperous grocer, draper and spirit merchant, and his wife Hannah, née Longstaff...
Comprehensive School
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in Coventry and won a scholarship to Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
where she read modern languages. She then attended the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and gained an MSc
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in European Studies. She worked in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
for four years, first as a stagiaire at the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and then for the European Youth Forum
European Youth Forum
The European Youth Forum is the platform of the national youth councils and international non-governmental youth organisations in Europe...
. She taught entrepreneurship at the Cranfield University
Cranfield University
Cranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
School of Management from 1997 until her election to Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, and spent seven years as a trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
with Rathbone
Rathbone (charity)
Rathbone is a charitable organization in the United Kingdom. It educates and trains children, young people and adults in its own training centres and residential projects.Rathbone was created out of The Rathbone Society, founded by Elfrida Rathbone...
, a national charity.
Councillor
Creagh was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of IslingtonLondon Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...
in 1998, becoming the Labour group leader (2000–2004). She stood down from the council in 2005 on her election as a Westminster MP.
In 2002 Creagh instigated an investigation into cronyism
Cronyism
Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy....
in the appointment the Islington Council Chief Executive by five Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
councillors. After the longest ever investigation by the Standards Board for England
Standards Board for England
Standards for England, formerly known as the Standards Board for England, is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Established following the Local Government Act 2000, it is responsible for promoting high ethical standards in local democracy...
her complaint was rejected. Creagh was criticised by the tribunal as "heavily influenced by her political motives" and that she was an "insensitive witness, lacking in balanced judgment and one who was prepared to make assumptions about honesty and integrity of others without any proper basis". However, Creagh defended herself saying she "blew the whistle because I believed the Liberal Democrats were not meeting the standards we expect from people in public office. I invite people to look at my evidence and draw their own conclusions." The Liberal Democrats involved lost their council seats in the 2006 elections.
Member of Parliament
She succeeded the retiring David HinchliffeDavid Hinchliffe
David Martin Hinchliffe was Labour Member of Parliament for Wakefield from 1987 to 2005 when he stood down and was replaced by Mary Creagh.-Early life:...
for Wakefield with a majority of 5,154 and has remained the MP there since. She made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005 using the occasion to raise issues of poverty in her constituency. She also mentioned locally born sculptor Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
. She was a member of the Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
Select Committee from 2005 until 2007, and was the Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...
, Andy Burnham, from 2006 until June 2009. In June 2009 she was made an assistant Government Whip
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
in the Department of Health. In 2007 she was among those MPs who backed Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
for the leadership of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. In May 2010, Creagh supported David Miliband's bid to become leader of the Labour Party.
She has campaigned successfully on a number of issues since entering parliament. In 2005 she introduced a Children's Food Bill which sought to introduce minimum nutritional standards for all school meals and take fizzy drinks and sugary snacks out of school vending machines. Both of these measures were accepted by the government and came into law as part of the Education and Inspections Bill 2006.
In 2006 she launched a campaign aimed at preventing scalding injuries in the home. She brought together medical experts, campaign groups, and victims of scalding injuries to lobby the government to change the building regulations to prevent people being severely burned by scalding hot water. The coalition pressured the government to make the fitting of a water temperature regulating device, such as a Thermostatic Mixing Valve (TMV), compulsory in new bathrooms in England. In 2009, after a 3 year "Hot Water Burns Like Fire" campaign, the government confirmed that from April 2010 TMVs would be fitted as standard in all new bathrooms.
From 2007 to 2009 Mary Creagh was Chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, succeeding Chris Bryant
Chris Bryant
Christopher John Bryant is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rhondda since 2001...
MP and succeeded by Richard Corbett
Richard Corbett
Richard Corbett was a Member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for Yorkshire and the Humber, serving between 1996 and 2009...
MEP.
In 2009, as vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, Mary Creagh called on Justice Secretary Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
to tighten UK law so that people accused of genocide could be prosecuted in Britain. She said there was an "impunity gap" which allowed people accused of terrible crimes in places like Rwanda and Bosnia to escape justice and live freely in Britain. As a result of this the government agreed to amend the Coroner's and Justice Bill and tighten the law so that anyone suspected of war crimes anywhere in the world since 1991 and resident in the UK can be prosecuted by UK courts.
On 8 October 2010, Creagh was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a position with the Opposition's Shadow Cabinet that deals with issues surrounding the environment and food and rural affairs; if elected, the designated person is slated to become the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food...
. In February 2011 she secured a debate in the House of Commons on the government’s plans to sell off 85% of England’s Public Forest Estate. The plans were subsequently abandoned by the government as it had become clear the public “were not happy with the proposals”.
Creagh has criticised the decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to cut flood defence spending in real terms by 32%. She has also been involved in campaigns calling for the banning of wild animals from circuses and opposing the government’s policy of badger culling. At the Labour Party’s annual conference in September 2011 Creagh launched the Back the Apple campaign with Unite the Union
Unite the Union
Unite – the Union, known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union, formed on 1 May 2007, by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union...
. The campaign opposes the government’s plan to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board which sets wages and conditions for thousands of agricultural workers.
In October 2011 Creagh was retained by Labour leader Ed Miliband as Shadow Environment Secretary.
Personal life
Creagh has been married to Adrian Pulham since 2001 and they have a son, Clement (named after the former Labour Prime Minister Clement AttleeClement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
) and a daughter, Beatrice. She is fluent in French and Italian and enjoys cycling and yoga. She is a member of the GMB Trade Union
GMB Union
The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom, and has more than 600,000 members. Its members are drawn from many sectors, with particular strength amongst manual workers in local government and the health service...
.
External links
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