Karen Buck

Karen Buck MP
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition
In office 17 April 2013 – 12 September 2015
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	John Denham
Succeeded by	Steve Rotheram
Shadow Minister for Education
In office 8 October 2011 – 17 April 2013
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Iain Wright
Succeeded by	Tristram Hunt
Member of Parliament for Westminster North Regent's Park and Kensington North (1997–2010)
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	John Wheeler (Westminster North) Dudley Fishburn (Kensington)
Majority	2,126 (5.4%)
Personal details
Born	(1958-08-30) 30 August 1958 Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Barrie Taylor
Children	Cosmo Buck-Taylor
Alma mater	London School of Economics
Profession	Member of Parliament
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	Official website parliament..karen-buck

Karen Patricia Buck (born 30 August 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1997, firstly for Regent's Park and Kensington North until 2010, and for Westminster North after that. She is a former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport.

Early life

Born in Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, she 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 a 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 the Hackney London Borough Council in 1983 initially as a senior disability officer, and from 1986 a public health officer. She began to work for the Labour Party in 1987 as a health directorate researcher, becoming a campaign strategy coordinator in 1992. She was elected as a councillor to the City of Westminster Council in 1990 and remained on the council until her election to parliament in 1997.

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 with a majority of 14,657 and has been the MP there since. She made her maiden speech on 17 June 1997.

Following her election to parliament, Buck joined the Social Security Select Committee, and after the 2001 General Election on 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 Tony Blair's government in the wake of the 2005 General Election as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport.

Buck made her name whilst a councillor at Westminster when she was involved in exposing fraudulent behaviour of Shirley Porter[1] and the Homes for Votes scandal. She is more pro-hunting-ban than the average Labour MP, and against replacing Trident.

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 July 2015, she was elected as a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.

Personal life

Karen Buck's spouse is Barrie Taylor, a school governor and City of Westminster Council Labour Councillor. Buck chose not to adopt her husband's surname for personal reasons. They have a son, named Cosmo Buck-Taylor.

External links

• Karen Buck MP official site
• Profile at the Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Karen Buck MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com – Karen Buck MP
• CNN.com video segment on Buck's 2010 reelection campaign: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/06/uk.election.analysis.oakley/index.html

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–present	Incumbent