Catherine Fookes | |
---|---|
![]() Official Portrait, 2024 | |
Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | David TC Davies |
Majority | 3,338 (6.5%) |
Monmouthshire County Councillor for Town Ward | |
In office 5 May 2022 –22 September 2024 | |
Preceded by | Ward established |
Succeeded by | Martin Newell |
Personal details | |
Born | 21 October 1970 |
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | Godolphin School |
Website | Official website |
Catherine Ann Fookes (born October 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the member of parliament (MP) for Monmouthshire since 2024.
Fookes was born in 1970 [1] and was educated at the private Godolphin School,which costs £52,000 a year to attend. [2] She worked in the private sector and later served as chief executive of Women's Equality Network Wales and chair of the Welsh think tank,Fabians Cymru. [3]
In 2017 Fookes was appointed director of the Women's Equality Network Wales. [4]
In 2017 Fookes contested the Wyesham ward on Monmouthshire County Council. She came second,by 24 votes,to the Welsh Conservatives' Laura Anne Jones. [5] [6] In 2022 she was successfully elected to the Council,representing the Town ward in Monmouth. [7]
While on the council she job-shared the equalities and engagement portfolio on the council. She quit her portfolio and job for Women's Equality Network Wales in 2023,after being selected as Labour parliamentary candidate for the 2024 UK general election and to work on the campaign full-time. [8] [9]
In the 2024 general election,Fookes was elected as MP for Monmouthshire with a majority of 3,338 (6.5%),defeating former Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies. [3] On 17 July,Fookes announced her intention to resign her role as a councillor with a statement on social media,saying she would stand down "after the summer," saying she wished to avoid a by-election for her constituents in the summer holidays. [10] Fookes resigned her seat in September 2024, [11] with the following by-election won by Martin Newell,the Conservative candidate. [12]
In October 2024,Fookes was elected to the Women and Equalities Select Committee [13]
In her South Wales Argus column,she vowed to end river pollution by 2029,naming it her "top priority". [14] [15]
In Janurary 2025,Fookes was elected as a Co-Chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Western Gateway. [16]
During the 2024 general election Fookes accumulated more than £25,000 from trade unions and donors,and spent it on her campaign. [17]
In January 2024,Fookes came out in favour of more devolution for the Welsh Parliament,including criminal justice. [18]
In July 2024,Fookes came out and defended embattled First Minister Vaughan Gething,stating:"He has my full support". Gething ended up resigning the following month. [19] [20]
In September 2024,Fookes voted in favour of scrapping the £300 a year winter fuel allowance to pensioners. [21]
In November 2024,Fookes voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,which proposes to legalise assisted suicide. [22]