Catherine Elizabeth West (born 14 September 1966) is an Australian and British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, formerly Hornsey and Wood Green, since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific from 2024 to 2025. In May 2026, following Labour's losses in the 2026 United Kingdom local elections, West triggered the 2026 Labour Party leadership crisis and called for a cabinet minister to challenge Keir Starmer's leadership, stating that she would stand herself if no senior figure did so. She later withdrew her threat to challenge Starmer, instead stating she wanted Starmer to set out a timetable for an election of a new leader in September. West later said that if a leadership contest did happen, she might support Starmer anyway.

Infobox

Prime Minister

Keir Starmer

Preceded by

Terry Stacy

Succeeded by

Richard Watts

Majority

21,475 (44 %)

Born

Catherine Elizabeth West (1966-09-14) 14 September 1966 Mansfield, Victoria, Australia

Citizenship

Australia United Kingdom

Party

Labour

Spouse

Colin Sutherland

Children

Relatives

Michael West (brother) Italia Conti (great-great-aunt)

Education

Meriden School Ravenswood School for Girls

Alma mater

University of Sydney (BA, BSW) SOAS, University of London (MA)

Website

Official website

Tables

· External links

Preceded byLynne Featherstone