Newcastle upon Tyne North / data
Catherine McKinnell · Labour Party · sitting since 06 May 2010 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
5832days
from 06 May 2010
Divisions
343
of 504 possible
Attendance
68%
161 absent / paired
Whip alignment
96%
vs party majority
Speeches
404
49 debates
Written Qs
26
26 answered
Committees
1
memberships
Expenses
£312k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 128 claims
Interests
6
4 categories
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 71 | |
| Economy | 67 | |
| Employment | 47 | |
| Crime & Policing | 28 | |
| Education | 24 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 24 | |
| Housing | 21 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 18 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1 | — |
| Education | 27 | 25,864 |
| Social Care | 12 | 10,268 |
| Fiscal Policy | 6 | 9,167 |
| Local Government | 8 | 7,672 |
| Economy Jobs | 7 | 6,394 |
| Health | 7 | 5,803 |
| Labour Market | 2 | 5,128 |
B · Notable divisions
Free votes, rebellions and high-salience whipped votes — the moments that distinguish this MP from the party machine. The full division-by-division record will follow once the per-MP archive is wired.
| Date | Division | Whip | MP voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Third ReadingMPs voted on the Third Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — the final Commons vote on whether to pass the assisted dyin… | Free vote | No |
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: New Clause 16A procedural vote on whether to allow New Clause 16 to be formally considered as part of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at Rep… | Free vote | Aye |
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 24Vote on whether to prevent someone from qualifying as 'terminally ill' under the assisted dying bill solely because they have chosen to stop… | Free vote | Aye |
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)To be clear, the challenge is not so much people who want to take up those roles, because you mentioned that they are unpaid. Of the 400 public appointments that DCMS is responsibl… | 60 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)Are you seeing a difference in approach? Are you seeing museums and galleries being able to make decisions that they may not have been able to make previously as a result of any of… | 36 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)Okay. I get the sense from what you are saying that the multi-year funding settlements will not actually make a significant difference, because the organisations are not able to re… | 37 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)Have we had an unusually high number because of the general election, as you mentioned? Or is there generally a lag that you are trying to address? | 27 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)We have had quite a lot of discussion about financial management capabilities within the museum and gallery sector, and an important part of that is having the right board composit… | 72 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)I can see the advantage in making sure that you have quality appointments and that you have diversity in the people who come forward—that is not always the same process that gets t… | 54 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)How many current vacancies are there, across the boards? | 9 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (2026-04-20)What work are you doing with museums and galleries to make sure that they can take full advantage of the flexibility and additional planning they can do under the three-year settle… | 42 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 888)This does not quite make sense to me in terms of the evidence you have given previously. The widows have been described to you, and the people who have been waiting since October. … | 85 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 888)How many of those loans has Capita issued to date, and what is their total value? | 16 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 888)You are not able to give us a sense at all today of how many people might be awaiting payments still. | 21 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 888)Can you give us a rough estimate? | 7 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 888)Sorry, how did you describe that? As a hardship— | 9 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 888)I appreciate that this is, I would hope, your number one workstream and priority at the moment. You will appreciate that, as Members of Parliament, we are contacted on a range of i… | 169 |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Public Accounts Committee — Oral Evidence (HC 888)I have to say that it is not clear at all. I have some figures here that were, I believe, correct up to 23 February 2026. They say that you received 1,804 hardship cases: 798 were … | 213 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department for Education | 8 | 30.8% |
| Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 5 | 19.2% |
| Department for Business and Trade | 4 | 15.4% |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 2 | 7.7% |
| Home Office | 2 | 7.7% |
| Treasury | 1 | 3.8% |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 1 | 3.8% |
| Department of Health and Social Care | 1 | 3.8% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Mar 2026 | Ministry of Defence | To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of using timber to a) build new and b) repair old military homes. | Answered |
| 19 Mar 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools to help tackle climate change. | Answered |
| 19 Mar 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of using timber materials in a) constructing and b) maintaining school buildings. | Answered |
| 10 Mar 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting lists for NHS-funded weight loss programmes. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department for Business and Trade | To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to expand the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to tackle unfair trading practices in supply chains. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department for Business and Trade | To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of fashion watchdog. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department for Business and Trade | To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Department are taking to help tackle abusive purchasing practices in the fashion industry. | Answered |
| 05 Mar 2026 | Department for Business and Trade | To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the independent Groceries Code Adjudicator to include the functions of the Agricultural Supply… | Answered |
| 18 Dec 2025 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review HM Passport Office's policy on considering urgent government business or compassionate reasons to include (a) scattering of ashes and (b) ritual and prayer ceremonies… | Answered |
| 23 Oct 2025 | Treasury | To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with Valuation Office Agency on its policy not to review the council tax bandings of multiple properties in one request. | Answered |
| 23 Oct 2025 | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of legislation governing the livestreaming of violent content. | Answered |
| 23 Oct 2025 | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will reform the current council tax system to reduce localised disparities in property valuations. | Answered |
| 23 Oct 2025 | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press notice entitled New online safety priorities for Ofcom and launch of study into effects of social media on children, published on 20 November… | Answered |
| 23 Oct 2025 | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on media literacy. | Answered |
| 23 Oct 2025 | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Ofcom’s delivery of its statutory duties on media literacy. | Answered |
E · Committees
| Committee | Role | House | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Accounts CommitteeSelect | Member | Commons | 27 Oct 2025 | present |
F · Expenses
Every business-cost claim reimbursed by IPSA in the current financial year, grouped by category. “Aggregated” rows are IPSA’s own year-end totals for cost types like payroll and rent that aren’t itemised claim-by-claim.
Category breakdown
| Category | Claims | Paid (£) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Costs | 88 | 38,986 | 12.5% |
| Staffing | 3 | 235,221 | 75.3% |
| Accommodation | 20 | 22,551 | 7.2% |
| Miscellaneous | 1 | 520 | 0.2% |
| Dependant Travel | 0 | 503 | 0.2% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 4,219 | 1.4% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 10,417 | 3.3% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bought-in services | Office Costs | 10 | 6,389 |
| Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | Office Costs | 4 | 4,919 |
| Pooled staffing services | Staffing | 1 | 4,600 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 26 | 4,173 |
| Bought-in services | Staffing | 1 | 1,653 |
| Equipment - hire | Office Costs | 13 | 1,506 |
| Website hosting and design | Office Costs | 2 | 1,240 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 18 | 686 |
| Utilities | Accommodation | 9 | 674 |
| Training - staff | Staffing | 1 | 630 |
| Removals | Miscellaneous | 1 | 520 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 6 | 495 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Apr 2025 | Accommodation Utilities | Gas | 19 | Paid |
| 03 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Bought-in services | Professional & consultancy | 520 | Paid |
| 03 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Venue hire, meetings & surgeries | [200011782-308] | 54 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Postage & couriers | ROYAL MAIL ONLINE SHOP [200011725-10326] | 170 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - purchase | Printer, photocopier & scanner | 31 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | PRINTERINKS [200011725-10620] | 189 | Paid |
| 18 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Utilities | Gas | 124 | Paid |
| 17 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | AGA PRINT LTD [200011725-8840] | 677 | Paid |
| 14 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline & internet package | 30 | Paid |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - hire | Printer, photocopier & scanner | 0 | Repaid |
| 06 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Website hosting and design | Website | 1,000 | Paid |
| 06 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Bought-in services | Professional & consultancy | 520 | Paid |
| 01 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline | 34 | Paid |
| 21 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - hire | Printer, photocopier & scanner | 160 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Equipment - hire | Printer, photocopier & scanner | 463 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 458 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 458 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 458 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Banner March 2025 | 372 | Paid |
| 18 Feb 2025 | Office Costs Maintenance, Redecorations & Repairs | Office equipment servicing | 263 | Paid |
G · Register of interests
Every financial interest declared by the MP, grouped under the Register’s official categories. Retracted entries are hidden but counted above.
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources1 entry
21 Oct 2025
Name of donor: BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Ltd
Address of donor: Unit 4/4a, Tileyard Studios, Tileyard Road, London N7 9AH
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Ticket for the Mercury Prize 2025, value £330
Date received: 16 October 2025
Date accepted: 16 October 2025
Donor status: company, registration 01132389
(Registered 20 October 2025)
4. Visits outside the UK1 entry
06 Jan 2026
Name of donor: Coalition for Global Prosperity
Address of donor: 1 Horse Guards Avenue, London SW1A 2HU
Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): Flights (£1,968.73), accommodation (£1,038.58), local transport (£519.47) and food/miscellaneous (£689.96), value £4,216.74
Destination of visit: United States (Washington DC)
Dates of visit: 30 November 2025 to 5 December 2025
Purpose of visit: Cross-party delegation to strengthen transatlantic relations and to discuss UK-US foreign policy priorities, challenges and opportunities with members of Congress and policymakers
(Registered 16 December 2025)
6. Land and property portfolio with a value over £100,000 and where indicated, the portfolio provides a rental income of over £10,000 a year1 entry
18 Apr 2024
Type of land/property: Residential property (rented)
Number of properties: 1
Location: Northumberland
Ownership details: Joint owner
8. Miscellaneous3 entries
04 Nov 2025
Chair of the RAF Association Commons and Lords Branch. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 5 September 2024
(Registered 3 November 2025)
18 Nov 2025
Husband is a member of the Hospitality Sector Council, a forum to facilitate cooperation between the hospitality sector and Government. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 3 November 2025
(Registered 4 November 2025)
18 Apr 2024
Solicitor (currently non-practising).
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 11 wards, 16 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle | Andrew Ethan Herridge | Labour Party | 1,509 | 02 May 2024 |
| Dene South Gosforth | Karen Lesley Robinson | Liberal Democrats | 1,699 | 02 May 2024 |
| Fawdon West Gosforth | John Hall | Liberal Democrats | 1,604 | 02 May 2024 |
| Fawdon West Gosforth | Rob Austin | Liberal Democrats | 1,530 | 02 May 2024 |
| Forest Hall | Janet Hunter | Labour Party | 1,797 | 02 May 2024 |
| Forest Hall | Joanne Marie Sharp | Labour Party | 1,344 | 02 May 2024 |
| Forest Hall | Peter Gerard Earley | Labour Party | 1,569 | 02 May 2024 |
| Gosforth | Doc Anand | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,399 | 02 May 2024 |
| Kenton | Stephen Lambert | Labour Party | 1,647 | 02 May 2024 |
| Kingston Park South Newbiggin Hall | Alexander Geoffrey Hay | Labour Party | 1,364 | 02 May 2024 |
| Longbenton Benton | Eddie Darke | Labour Party | 1,445 | 02 May 2024 |
| Longbenton Benton | Karen Anne Clark | Labour Party | 1,610 | 02 May 2024 |
| Longbenton Benton | Linda Darke | Labour Party | 1,311 | 02 May 2024 |
| North Jesmond | Peter John Allen | Liberal Democrats | 740 | 12 Sept 2024 |
| Parklands | Pauline Allen | Liberal Democrats | 2,207 | 02 May 2024 |
| South Jesmond | Milo Jasper Barnett | Labour Party | 900 | 02 May 2024 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 111,623 | Electorate 74,768 (2024) |
| Median age | 36 | years |
| Degree-educated | 43.4% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 86.0% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 60.5% | households |
| Private-rented | 21.5% | households |
| Social-rented | 17.8% | households |
| Employment rate | 54.9% | 16-64 in work |
J · Public spending
HMT publishes headline spending identifiable by region in PESA. Constituency-level capital allocations (Levelling-Up Fund, Towns Fund, UKSPF, transport capital, BEIS R&D) are published as separate departmental datasets. We are evaluating the cleanest reconciliation for a per-constituency view.