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Karen Buck

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Dame
Karen Buck
DBE
Official portrait, 2020
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)
In office
1 May 1997 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byJohn Wheeler
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Westminster City Council
for Queen's Park
In office
3 May 1990 – 16 October 1997
Succeeded byPaul Dimoldenberg
Personal details
Born (1958-08-30) 30 August 1958 (age 66)
Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Barrie Taylor
​
​
(m. 2000; died 2024)​
Alma materLondon School of Economics (BSc, MSc, MA)

Dame Karen Patricia Buck DBE (born 30 August 1958) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westminster North, previously Regent's Park and Kensington North, from 1997 to 2024.[1][2] A member of the Labour Party, she served as a Member of Westminster City Council from 1990 to 1997.

Early life

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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 an MSc in Economics, and an MA in Social Policy and Administration.[3][4] Buck was briefly a Young Liberal.[5]

She joined the Labour Party in 1978. The following year, she became a research and development worker with Outset, a charity working with disabled people, before joining Hackney London Borough Council in 1983, initially working for them as a senior disability officer, and from 1986 as a public health officer.[3]

Buck first ran for election in 1982, aged 23, as one of the three unsuccessful Labour candidates in Barnet's Mill Hill ward.[6] In 1986 she stood in Westminster City Council's Cavendish ward, an area straddling Marylebone and the West End of London.[7] Despite the large increase in the Labour vote, all three seats were narrowly retained by the Conservatives, in a tightly contested election which saw Labour come close to winning the council.[8][9]

She began working for the Labour Party in 1987 as a health directorate researcher, becoming a campaign strategy coordinator in 1992.[3] She was elected to Westminster City Council in 1990, representing Queen's Park ward (situated around the area of that name) in a safe seat for her party. Buck remained on the council until shortly after her election to parliament in 1997, when she stood down.[10] Whilst a councillor, she was involved in exposing the fraudulent behaviour of council leader Shirley Porter and the homes for votes scandal.[11]

Parliamentary career

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Buck was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist. The seat was based largely on the former Westminster North constituency, which was held narrowly by the former Conservative 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.[12] In a 2005 profile, she was described as "A bright and humorous centre-left feminist" who "has the perfect New Labour pedigree."[5]

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 become 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.[2]

At the 2010 general election she was elected MP for the newly recreated marginal seat of Westminster North, with a majority of 2,126 over Joanne Cash, the Conservative candidate, in a high-profile race.[13][14]

Buck nominated Ed Miliband for the 2010 Labour leadership contest.[15] During Miliband's tenure as Labour Leader, Buck served as Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform from 2010 to 2011 and Further Education from 2011 to 2013. She was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Miliband, alongside Wayne David, in 2013. Buck joined the Work and Pensions Committee following her re-election and Miliband's resignation in 2015.[16]

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.[17] At the 2017 general election, Buck increased her majority by 14.7%, from 1,977 (5.0%) to 11,512 (26.6%), representing a 10.8% swing to Labour in the constituency.[18]

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.[19] She was re-elected in 2019, with a small swing away from Labour, again with a substantial majority of 10,759 (25.07%), suggesting that Westminster North is now a safe seat. Nationally, Labour were defeated for the fourth time in a row, and a leadership election was held in 2020 to replace Corbyn. Buck nominated Keir Starmer, who won and consequently became party leader.[20] She was appointed Shadow Minister for Social Security in July 2020,[21] serving in the role until she stepped down in September 2023.

In January 2024, Buck announced that she would be standing down at the next general election.[22][23] She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 Birthday Honours.[24]

Views

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Buck expressed concerned in 2018 that homeless Londoners were 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."[25]

She has voted in favour of the hunting ban and gay marriage, whilst in 2007, she voted against replacing Trident.[26][27] Buck was previously a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Whilst an MP, she has been in Greenpeace and Amnesty International.[5]

Buck was formerly a member of two white-collar public service trade unions, the Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) and the National and Local Government Officers' Association (NALGO). Before it merged with Amicus, she was a member of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU).[5]

Personal life

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Buck is a Roman Catholic.[28] In 2000 she married Barrie Taylor, with whom she had a son.[29] Buck and Taylor served alongside each other on Westminster City Council, both representing Queens Park from 1994 to 1997.[10] Taylor died in 2024.[30]

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Ms Karen Buck (Hansard)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Parliamentary career for Ms Karen Buck - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Buck, Karen Patricia, (born 30 Aug. 1958), MP (Lab) Westminster North, since 2010 (Regent's Park and Kensington North, 1997–2010)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u9286. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Karen Buck on the real effects of welfare reform". The Guardian. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Turnball, John (2006). Vacher's Parliamentary Profiles. Dod's Parliamentary Communications. ISBN 9780905702612.
  6. ^ "London Borough Council Elections 6 May 1982" (PDF). 29 July 1982. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Westminster City Council Ward Maps". 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Cavendish Ward 1964–". 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Westminster City Council Election Results". 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b Boothroyd, David (8 January 2020). "Queen's Park Ward 1964-". Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Karen Buck". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Contact information for Ms Karen Buck - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Election history for Westminster North (Constituency) - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Joanne Cash concedes defeat with rant at the press". Evening Standard. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Ed Miliband - Labour Leadership Candidate - The Labour Party". 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Work and Pensions Committee – membership". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  17. ^ "The Labour Party". 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Westminster North Constituency – Election Polling". www.electionpolling.co.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "New appointments this week in UK politics, the civil service and public affairs". Politics Home. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Karen Buck told her constituency Labour party meeting last night that she won't be standing at the next election". X. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  22. ^ "'Champion of an MP' set to stand down". Westminster Extra. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Awards for Birthday Honours List 2024" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  24. ^ Number of homeless households moved out of London soars Archived 29 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian
  25. ^ "Voting record - Karen Buck MP, Westminster North". TheyWorkForYou. mySociety Limited. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Karen Buck MP, Westminster North - Trident Nuclear Weapons System Replacement". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Fall in number of Catholic MPs in the House of Commons ahead of landmark debate on assisted dying". The Tablet. 7 August 2015. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017.
  28. ^ Hilditch, Steve (8 April 2024). "Barrie Taylor obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  29. ^ Maynard Jones, Justin (14 February 2024). "Alderman Barrie Taylor - Westminster Labour Councillors". Westminster Labour. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karen Buck.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency
 Member of Parliament for Regent's Park and Kensington North
1997–2010 		Constituency abolished
New constituency
 Member of Parliament for Westminster North
2010–2024 		Constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Minister for Education
2011–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
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