Kate Hollern

Catherine Malloy Hollern (born 12 April 1955) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council from 2004 to 2007 and 2010 to 2015.

Kate Hollern
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Blackburn
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byJack Straw
Majority18,304 (40.9%)
Shadow portfolios
2016–2021Local Government
2017–2020PPS to the Opposition Leader
2016–2016Defence
Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council
In office
14 September 2010 – 1 April 2015
Preceded byMichael Lee
Succeeded byMohammed Khan
In office
1 July 2004 – 17 May 2007
Preceded byBill Taylor
Succeeded byColin Rigby
Member of Blackburn with Darwen Council
In office
4 May 1995 – 7 May 2015
WardBank Top (1995–1997)
Wensley Fold (1997–2015)
Preceded byChristine Cramsie
Succeeded byQuesir Mahmood
Personal details
Born
Catherine Malloy Hollern

(1955-04-12) 12 April 1955
Dumbarton, Scotland
Political partyLabour
SpouseJohn Roberts (died 2017)
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and career

Catherine Malloy Hollern was born on 12 April 1955 in Dumbarton, Scotland.[1][2] She moved to Blackburn in the late 1970s.[3] Hollern worked as a manager at a footwear factory, before becoming a manager at Blackburn College.[3]

At the 1995 local elections, Hollern was elected to represent Bank Top on Blackburn with Darwen Council.[4] She defeated the incumbent councillor, a former Labour representative standing as a Labour independent.

Re-elected to represent Wensley Fold following boundary changes in 1997,[5] she succeeded Bill Taylor to become Council Leader in 2004. Continuing as group leader after Labour lost control in 2007, she returned to lead the Council once they regained power in 2010.[6]

Hollern stepped down as Council Leader ahead of the 2015 general election, and didn't seek re-election to the Council in the local election of the same year.[7]

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.[8] She was elected in the 2015 general election.[9][10][11] Hollern served as a Shadow Defence Minister from January 2016 to October 2016, following the resignation of Kevan Jones.

She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the leadership election.[12] On 10 October 2016, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government.[13] In July 2017, Hollern was also appointed as Corbyn's Parliamentary Private Secretary.[14]

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.[15]

Personal life

Her partner was Labour Party councillor John Roberts, until his death in February 2017 from cancer.[16] She has two daughters.[3][16]

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. "Blackburn Borough Council Election Results 1973-1996" (PDF).
  5. "Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Election Results 1997-2012" (PDF).
  6. "About Kate". Blackburn Labour Party. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  7. "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.
  8. "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.
  9. "Blackburn". UK Polling Report. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  10. "Blackburn". Election 2015. BBC. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  11. Labour holds Blackburn Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, lancashiretelegraph.co.uk; accessed 15 May 2015.
  12. "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.
  13. "New Frontbench role for Kate Hollern MP". Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  14. Jacobs, Bill (15 July 2017). "Blackburn MP Kate gets job as Labour leader's key aide". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  15. Syal, Rajeev (12 May 2021). "Shadow minister steps down after MP accuses her of meddling in harassment case". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  16. "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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