Conor McGinn
Conor Patrick McGinn (born 31 July 1984) is a British–Irish Labour Party politician. At the 2015 general election, he became the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens North.
Conor McGinn MP | |
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Shadow Minister of State for Security | |
Assumed office 9 April 2020 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Nick Thomas-Symonds |
Member of Parliament for St Helens North | |
Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | David Watts |
Majority | 12,209 (25.3%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Newry, Northern Ireland | 31 July 1984
Citizenship | Irish; British[1] |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse(s) | Kate Groucutt |
Children | One son and one daughter |
Alma mater | London Metropolitan University |
Website | www |
Early life
McGinn was born in Camlough, near Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland,[2] and brought up in the nearby village of Bessbrook. The village was highly militarised during The Troubles.[3] His mother was an NHS clerical officer, and his father was a Sinn Féin councillor.[3][4]
McGinn went to St Paul's High School, Bessbrook.[5] Before going to university, he worked for the African National Congress in South Africa on a fellowship for two months.[4] 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,[5] and later for the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas.[3][6] He later completed his history, politics and Irish studies degree part-time at London Metropolitan University.[6][4]
Political career
McGinn was chair of the Young Fabians from 2006 to 2007, and has been vice-chair of Young Labour.[6] He stood to be a councillor on Islington London Borough Council in 2006 and 2010 without success.[6][7] He has been on the executive of the Fabian Society and until 2012 was chair of the Labour Party Irish Society.[6] In 2011 he represented the socialist societies on the Labour Party National Executive Committee.[6][8]
He worked as a public affairs and government relations consultant,[6][8] 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.[8][9]
Post election, he was appointed to the Defence Select Committee and as an Opposition Whip.
McGinn was briefly a communist in his youth, but is now regarded as being on the right of the Labour Party.[3] He is listed as a Parliamentary supporter of both the Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East. He made an visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories in 2014. He supports a two-state solution.[10] McGinn supported Andy Burnham’s bid for the leadership of the Labour Party in 2015.[11][12][13] McGinn nominated Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election.[14]
In 2016, he was involved in a Twitter spat, which became a media story, 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] The Guardian later reported that McGinn was reporting what other whips had told him, possibly sourced from a Corbyn staff member, rather than directly from Corbyn.[18]
Following the October 2016 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, and the replacement of Dame Rosie Winterton as Chief Whip, McGinn resigned as a whip.[19]
On 9 April 2020, McGinn was appointed as Shadow Minister of State for Security.[20]
Personal life
McGinn lives in Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows. He is a Roman Catholic.[3] He married Kate Groucutt about 2009, and has a son and a daughter.[5][21] McGinn holds both Irish and British citizenship.
References
- "EU Nationals in the UK - Hansard Online". hansard.parliament.uk.
- "South Armagh man wins Merseyside seat for Labour". Irish Times. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- Kevin Schofield (23 May 2016). "Conor McGinn: "People don't feel Labour listens to them, never mind speaks for them"". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- 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.
- Mark Hennessy (21 March 2015). "A Northern Irish candidate for a northern English stronghold". Irish Times. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- 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.
- Mark Hennessy (7 May 2010). "Final hunt for votes in battleground borough". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- "Conor McGinn appointed as political adviser to Vernon Coaker". BBC News. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- "Conor McGinn named as St Helens North's candidate". St Helens Reporter. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- "Labour Visit to Meet Israeli and Palestinian Leaders". Vernon Coaker MP. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- 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.
- Andy Moffatt (27 June 2016). "McGinn tweets support for sacked Hilary Benn". St Helens Reporter. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- "Labour 'losing touch with working class' - Conor McGinn". BBC News. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- 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.
- "Corbyn faces 'bully' accusations from Labour MP". ITV News. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- Darren McCaffrey (22 July 2016). "Labour MP: Corbyn Tried To 'Bully Me'". Sky News. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- Simpson, Fiona (22 July 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn 'threatened to ring Labour MP's father over criticism'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- Peter Walker (22 July 2016). "Corbyn denies threatening to phone MP's father over row". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- Rajeev Syal (9 October 2016). "Two Labour MPs resign as whips after Rosie Winterton sacking". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- Rodgers, Sienna (9 April 2020). "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- "MP Conor McGinn delivers daughter on living room floor". BBC news. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
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 | ||
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Preceded by David Watts |
Member of Parliament for St Helens North 2015–present |
Incumbent |
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 |