Karen Buck

Karen Patricia Buck (born 30 August 1958) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Westminster North, formerly Regent's Park and Kensington North, since 1997. A member of the Labour Party, she was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport from 2005 to 2006 and has served as Shadow Minister for Social Security since 2020.

Karen Buck

MP
Buck in 2020
Shadow Minister for Social Security
Assumed office
5 July 2020
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byKate Green
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition
In office
17 April 2013 – 12 September 2015
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byJohn Denham
Succeeded bySteve Rotheram
Shadow Minister for Further Education
In office
8 October 2011 – 17 April 2013
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byIain Wright
Succeeded byTristram Hunt
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
In office
10 May 2005 – 16 March 2006
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byCharlotte Atkins
Succeeded byGillian Merron
Member of Parliament
for Westminster North
Regent's Park and Kensington North (1997–2010)
Assumed office
1 May 1997
Preceded byConstituency established
Majority10,759 (25.1%)
Personal details
Born (1958-08-30) 30 August 1958
Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Barrie Taylor
Children1
Alma materLondon School of Economics
OccupationMember of Parliament
WebsiteOfficial website
parliament..karen-buck Parliamentary profile

Early life

Born in Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Buck was educated at the Chelmsford County High School for Girls and the London School of Economics, from where she was awarded a BSc and a MSc in Economics, and an MA in Social Policy and Administration. She joined the Labour Party in 1978. In 1979, she became a research and development worker with Outset, a charity working with disabled people, before joining Hackney London Borough Council in 1983 initially as a senior disability officer, and from 1986 a public health officer.

She began working for the Labour Party in 1987 as a health directorate researcher, becoming a campaign strategy coordinator in 1992. She was elected to Westminster City Council in 1990, representing Queen's Park ward, and remained on the council until shortly after her election to parliament in 1997, when she stood down.[1] Whilst a councillor, she was involved in exposing the fraudulent behaviour of Shirley Porter and the Homes for votes scandal.[2]

Parliamentary career

Buck was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist. The seat was based largely on the former Westminster North held narrowly by the Conservative former minister John Wheeler. Wheeler retired, and Buck was elected at the 1997 general election as the Labour MP for Regent's Park and Kensington North as part of the Labour landslide, with a majority of 14,657. She made her maiden speech on 17 June 1997 and has remained an MP since this time.[3]

Following her election to Parliament, Buck joined the Social Security Select committee, and after the 2001 general election she joined the Work and Pensions Select Committee. In 2001, her appointment as an Assistant Government Whip was announced without her knowledge and consent. She declined to take up the post. However, she did became a member of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government in the wake of the 2005 general election as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport.

At the 2010 general election she was elected MP for the new seat of Westminster North with a majority of 2,126 over Joanne Cash, the Conservative candidate, in a high-profile race.

In the Labour leadership contest which resulted from Gordon Brown's resignation as party leader, and Labour going into opposition, Buck nominated Ed Miliband to replace him.[4] Following Miliband's election as Leader of the Labour Party, Buck was made Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions, and then Shadow Minister for Education, before becoming his Parliamentary Private Secretary. In July 2015, she was elected as a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.[5]

Following Labour's defeat at the 2015 election, which saw Buck re-elected with a slightly decreased majority, Miliband resigned as leader. Buck nominated Yvette Cooper in the resulting leadership election. Cooper came third, with Jeremy Corbyn becoming party leader; Buck did not serve in any posts during his leadership. In the 2016 Labour leadership election, when Corbyn was challenged by Owen Smith, Buck nominated Smith.[6] At the 2017 general election, Buck increased her majority by 14.7% to 11,512 (26.6%), representing a 10.8% swing to Labour in the constituency.

In December 2018, Buck's Private Member's Bill received Royal Assent as the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act, coming into force on 20 March 2019. If a landlord failed to let and maintain a property that was fit for human habitation, the Bill would give tenants the right to take action in the courts. The Bill received cross-party support.[7] She was re-elected in 2019, with a small swing away from Labour. Nationally, Labour were defeated for the fourth time in a row, and a leadership election was held in 2020 to replace Corbyn. Buck nominated Sir Keir Starmer, who won and consequently became party leader.[8] In July 2020, she was made a Shadow Minister for Social Security.

Views

Buck is concerned that homeless Londoners are forced to move out of London, stating "Losing your home is a deeply traumatic event and then being offered accommodation miles away from your community, your work, your children's school and your care responsibilities compounds all that trauma. People are struggling against the most appalling odds to hold their own lives together and above all to hold their kids' lives together."[9]

She has voted in favour of the hunting ban and gay marriage, whilst she has voted against the Iraq War and replacing Trident.[10]

Personal life

Buck's spouse is Barrie Taylor, a former Labour councillor in Westminster who was conferred with the title of Honorary Alderman in July 2018.[11] From 1994 to 1997, Buck and Taylor served together as councillors for Queen's Park ward in Westminster.[1]

Buck is a Roman Catholic.[12]

References
  1. Boothroyd, David (8 January 2020). "Queen's Park Ward 1964-". web.archive.org. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. "Karen Buck". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  3. "Contact information for Ms Karen Buck - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. "Ed Miliband - Labour Leadership Candidate - The Labour Party". web.archive.org. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. "Work and Pensions Committee – membership". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  6. "The Labour Party". web.archive.org. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  7. Cromarty, Hannah; Wilson, Wendy (14 December 2018). "Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill 2017-19". www.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  8. Number of homeless households moved out of London soars Archived 29 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian
  9. "Voting record - Karen Buck MP, Westminster North". TheyWorkForYou. mySociety Limited. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  10. "Agenda for Council on Wednesday 11th July, 2018, 7.01 pm". City of Westminster. Westminster City Council. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  11. List of Roman Catholic MPs http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/2380/0/fall-in-number-of-catholic-mps-in-the-house-of-commons-ahead-of-landmark-debate-on-assisted-dying Archived 11 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Constituency Created		 Member of Parliament for Regent's Park and Kensington North
1997–2010		 Succeeded by
Constituency Abolished
Preceded by
Constituency Created		 Member of Parliament for Westminster North
2010–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Iain Wright		 Shadow Minister for Education
2011–2013		 Succeeded by
Tristram Hunt
Preceded by
John Denham		 Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition
2013–2015		 Succeeded by
Steve Rotheram
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