Yvette Cooper

The subject of this article is standing for re-election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 4 July, and has not been an incumbent MP since Parliament was dissolved on 30 May. Some parts of this article may be out of date during this period. Please feel free to improve this article (but note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed) or discuss changes on the talk page.

The Right Honourable Yvette Cooper MP
Official portrait, 2019
Shadow Home Secretary
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 November 2021
Leader	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Nick Thomas-Symonds
In office 20 January 2011 – 12 September 2015
Leader	Ed Miliband Harriet Harman (acting)
Preceded by	Ed Balls
Succeeded by	Andy Burnham
Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee
In office 19 October 2016 – 1 December 2021
Preceded by	Tim Loughton (acting)
Succeeded by	Tim Loughton (acting)
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	James Purnell
Succeeded by	Iain Duncan Smith
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office 24 January 2008 – 5 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Andy Burnham
Succeeded by	Liam Byrne
Shadow portfolios 2010–2013 Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities In office 11 May 2010 – 7 October 2013 Leader Harriet Harman (acting) Ed Miliband Preceded by Theresa May Succeeded by Gloria De Piero Shadow Foreign Secretary In office 8 October 2010 – 20 January 2011 Leader Ed Miliband Preceded by David Miliband Succeeded by Douglas Alexander Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010 Leader Harriet Harman (acting) Ed Miliband Preceded by Theresa May Succeeded by Douglas Alexander
Ministerial offices 1999–2008 Minister of State for Housing and Planning In office 10 May 2005 – 24 January 2008 Prime Minister Tony Blair Gordon Brown Preceded by Keith Hill Succeeded by Caroline Flint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Regeneration and Regional Development In office 13 June 2003 – 10 May 2005 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Chris Leslie Succeeded by The Baroness Andrews Parliamentary Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department In office 29 May 2002 – 12 June 2003 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Michael Wills Succeeded by Office abolished Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health In office 11 October 1999 – 29 May 2002 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Tessa Jowell Succeeded by David Lammy
Member of Parliament for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford Pontefract and Castleford (1997–2010)
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Geoffrey Lofthouse
Majority	1,276 (2.6%)
Personal details
Born	(1969-03-20) 20 March 1969 (age 55) Inverness, Scotland
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Ed Balls
Children	3
Parent	Tony Cooper (father)
Education	Balliol College, Oxford (BA) Harvard University London School of Economics (MSc)
Signature
Website	Official website
Yvette Cooper's voice Cooper delivers an Amnesty International lecture on fixing the refugee crisis Recorded 20 October 2016

Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Home Secretary under Keir Starmer since 2021, having also served in the position under Ed Miliband from 2011 to 2015. She previously served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2008 to 2009 and Work and Pensions Secretary from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, previously Pontefract and Castleford, since 1997.

First elected to Parliament at the 1997 general election, Cooper was a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at three departments under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1999 to 2005. She was promoted to Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2005, and was retained in the role when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007. In 2008, she was appointed to Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, before being promoted to Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2009. After Labour's defeat at the 2010 general election, Cooper served in Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2010 to 2011. In 2011, her husband Ed Balls was promoted to Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer; Cooper replaced Balls as Shadow Home Secretary and served until Labour lost the 2015 general election.

On 13 May 2015, Cooper announced she would run to be Leader of the Labour Party in the leadership election following the resignation of Miliband.^[1] Cooper came third with 17.0% of the vote in the first round, losing to Jeremy Corbyn.^[2] Cooper subsequently resigned as Shadow Home Secretary in September 2015. Cooper was the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee from 2016 to 2021.^[3] As a backbencher, Cooper repeatedly sought to extend Article 50 to delay Brexit. She became Shadow Home Secretary again in Keir Starmer’s November 2021 reshuffle.