Conor McGinn

2021–2022

• British
• Irish

Conor McGinn
Official portrait, 2017
Member of Parliament for St Helens North
In office 7 May 2015 –30 May 2024		Without Portfolio
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Kate Groucutt
Residence(s)	Earlestown, Merseyside, England
Alma mater	Goldsmiths, University of London London Metropolitan University
Website	conormcginn.co.uk

Conor Patrick McGinn (born 31 July 1984) is a British and Irish politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens North from 2015 to 2024.

Early life and education

Conor McGinn was born on 31 July 1984 in Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, ^[1] and brought up in the nearby village of Bessbrook. The village was highly militarised during The Troubles. ^[2] His mother was an NHS clerical officer, and his father was a Sinn Féin councillor. ^{[2] [3]}

McGinn went to St Paul's High School, Bessbrook. ^[4] Before going to university, he worked for the African National Congress in South Africa on a fellowship for two months. ^[3] He studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, but did not initially complete his degree, remaining in London working for a mental health charity for Irish immigrants, Immigrant Counselling and Psychotherapy, ^[4] and later for the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas. ^{[2] [5]} He later completed his history, politics and Irish studies degree part-time at London Metropolitan University. ^{[5] [3]}

Political career

McGinn was chair of the Young Fabians from 2006 to 2007, and was also vice-chair of Young Labour. ^[5] He stood to be a councillor on Islington London Borough Council in 2006 and 2010 without success. ^{[5] [6]} He has been on the executive of the Fabian Society and until 2012 was chair of the Labour Party Irish Society. ^[5] In 2011 he represented the socialist societies on the Labour Party National Executive Committee. ^{[5] [7]}

He worked as a public affairs and government relations consultant, ^{[5] [7]} before becoming an advisor to shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Vernon Coaker in 2011, and continued to work for Coaker when he became shadow defence secretary. ^{[7] [8]}

Parliamentary career

McGinn was elected to Parliament as MP for St Helens North with 57% of the vote and a majority of 17,291. ^{[9] [10]}

McGinn supported Andy Burnham's bid for the leadership of the Labour Party in 2015. ^{[11] [12] [13]} He nominated Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election. ^[14]

In July 2016, he was involved in a Twitter spat with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, in which McGinn claimed that Corbyn "said that he intended to ring my father", a former Sinn Féin councillor. ^{[15] [16]} Corbyn's spokesman said the claim was "untrue". ^[17]

Following the October 2016 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, and the replacement of Dame Rosie Winterton as Chief Whip, McGinn resigned as a whip. ^[18]

At the snap 2017 general election, McGinn was re-elected as MP for St Helens North with an increased vote share of 63.7% and an increased majority of 18,406. ^[19]

McGinn in July 2019 submitted and moved the successful House of Commons amendment to change the law to extend equal marriage for LGBT people to Northern Ireland. ^[20]

At the 2019 general election, McGinn was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 52.3% and a decreased majority of 12,209. ^[21]

In February 2020, McGinn supported the campaign for Helen's Law, working with Marie McCourt to successfully introduce a Private Members Bill and getting the Government to commit to introducing tougher penalties for murderers who refuse to reveal the location of their victims' remains. ^{[22] [23]}

On 9 April 2020, McGinn was appointed as Shadow Minister for Security. ^[24] In June 2021, he was appointed as Labour's deputy national campaign coordinator. ^[25] In December 2021, he was appointed Shadow Minister without Portfolio. ^{[26] [27]}

In December 2022 McGinn was suspended by the Labour Party following an unspecified complaint. He left the party in order to withdraw from the process in October 2023, stating that he had done nothing wrong, there had been "no finding of any wrongdoing" and that the process was "flawed, protracted and prejudicial." ^{[28] [29] [30]}

On 5 May 2023, McGinn announced he would be standing down at the 2024 general election. ^[31]

Personal life

McGinn lives in Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows. He is a Roman Catholic. ^[2] He married Kate Groucutt around 2009, and has a son and a daughter. ^{[4] [32]} McGinn holds both Irish and British citizenship. ^[33]

References

1. "South Armagh man wins Merseyside seat for Labour". Irish Times. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
2. Kevin Schofield (23 May 2016). "Conor McGinn: "People don't feel Labour listens to them, never mind speaks for them"". PoliticsHome. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
3. Owen Bennett (4 August 2015). "Conor McGinn Interview: My Dad Stood For Sinn Fein But Harriet Harman Is A Hero To Me". Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
4. Mark Hennessy (21 March 2015). "A Northern Irish candidate for a northern English stronghold". Irish Times. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
5. Tim Carr; Iain Dale; Robert Waller (2015). The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015. Biteback Publishing. ISBN   9781849549240 . Retrieved 22 July 2016.
6. Mark Hennessy (7 May 2010). "Final hunt for votes in battleground borough". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
7. "Conor McGinn appointed as political adviser to Vernon Coaker". BBC News. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
8. "Conor McGinn named as St Helens North's candidate". St Helens Reporter. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
9. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. "St Helens North". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
11. Tom Belger (15 August 2015). "St Helens North MP urges Labour members not to back Corbyn as he reveals his second preference". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
12. Andy Moffatt (27 June 2016). "McGinn tweets support for sacked Hilary Benn". St Helens Reporter. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
13. "Labour 'losing touch with working class' – Conor McGinn". BBC News. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
14. Tom Belger (21 July 2016). "This MP's photo perfectly captures the awful state Labour is in right now". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
15. "Corbyn faces 'bully' accusations from Labour MP". ITV News. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
16. Darren McCaffrey (22 July 2016). "Labour MP: Corbyn Tried To 'Bully Me'". Sky News. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
17. Simpson, Fiona (22 July 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn 'threatened to ring Labour MP's father over criticism'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
18. Rajeev Syal (9 October 2016). "Two Labour MPs resign as whips after Rosie Winterton sacking". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
19. "St Helens North parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
20. "Abortion and same-sex marriage moves for NI backed by MPs". BBC News. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
21. "Statement of persons nominated" (PDF).
22. "Conor McGinn's passionate speech to parliament about the importance of Helen's Law". St Helens Star. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
23. "Justice Secretary confirms plans for 'Helen's Law'". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
24. Rodgers, Sienna (9 April 2020). "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
25. Rodgers, Sienna (22 June 2021). "Top team reshuffle continues as Jenny Chapman removed as political director". LabourList. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
26. "Conor McGinn - Parliamentary career". UK Parliament . Retrieved 11 November 2024.
27. Wingate, Sophie (5 May 2024). "MP Conor McGinn announces exit at next general election". The Independent . Retrieved 11 November 2024.
28. "Labour MP suspended from party pending investigation". BBC News. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
29. Crerar, Pippa (7 December 2022). "Labour MP Conor McGinn has whip suspended over complaint". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
30. "MP leaves Labour as he withdraws from investigation process". St Helens Star. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
31. "St Helens North MP Conor McGinn will not stand at the next election". St Helens Star. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
32. "MP Conor McGinn delivers daughter on living room floor". BBC News. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
33. "EU Nationals in the UK – Hansard Online". hansard.parliament.uk.

External links

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• St Paul's Bessbrook Senior Prizegiving 2013 – Conor McGinn (video)

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by David Watts	Member of Parliament for St Helens North 2015–2024	Succeeded by David Baines
Party political offices
Preceded by Prema Gurunathan	Chair of the Young Fabians 2006–2007	Succeeded by Mark Rusling
Preceded by Keith Vaz and Simon Wright	Socialist societies representative on the Labour Party National Executive Committee 2011–2015 With: Keith Vaz	Succeeded by James Asser and Keith Vaz