26 Facts About Helen Goodman

Helen Catherine Goodman was born on 2 January 1958 and is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland from 2005 to 2019.

Helen Goodman served in government as an Assistant Whip from 2008 to 2009.

Helen Goodman was briefly a Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions in 2010, and returned to the front bench as a Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2017 to 2019.

Helen Catherine Goodman was born on 2 January 1958 in Nottingham, England.

Helen Goodman's mother was a Danish immigrant and her father worked as an architect.

Helen Goodman studied philosophy, politics and economics at Somerville College, Oxford and worked as a researcher for Labour MP Phillip Whitehead upon graduation.

Helen Goodman worked in HM Treasury as a fast stream administrator, holding posts on the Energy Desk, Exchange Rate Desk, Central Budget Unit and Overseas Finance Unit.

Helen Goodman oversaw the establishment of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in 1990.

Helen Goodman was appointed director of the Commission on the Future for MultiEthnic Britain in 1997 and became head of strategy at The Children's Society in 1998.

From 2002 until her election to Parliament, Helen Goodman was Chief Executive of the National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries.

Helen Goodman was selected as the Labour candidate for Bishop Auckland for the 2005 general election, through an all-women shortlist, following the retirement of incumbent MP Derek Foster.

Helen Goodman held the historically safe seat at the election and made her Commons maiden speech in May 2005.

Helen Goodman's majority was halved at the 2010 general election and reduced further in 2015.

Helen Goodman narrowly held her seat with a majority of 502 votes in 2017, but was defeated by Conservative Dehenna Davison at the 2019 general election.

Helen Goodman was a member of the Public Accounts Committee from May 2005 until April 2007, when she became a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Ministry of Justice.

Helen Goodman was promoted to Deputy Leader of the House of Commons in June 2007, and departed the role to become an Assistant Whip in October 2008.

In June 2009, Helen Goodman became a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, with responsibility for child poverty and childcare.

Helen Goodman became a Shadow Minister for Justice following his election victory, responsible for prisons and sentencing, and Shadow Minister for Media from October 2011.

Since February 2016, Helen Goodman has served as a member of the Advisory Board at Polar Research and Policy Initiative.

Helen Goodman raised questions in Parliament regarding the proposed office closure and took part in a match and Rally opposing the closure on 18 March 2017.

In July 2017, Helen Goodman was appointed as a junior spokesperson for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry, with responsibility for the Americas and the Far East.

Helen Goodman is a member of the GMB Union and the Christian Socialist Movement, Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth.

Helen Goodman has published numerous articles in publications including Political Quarterly and Foreign Policy Centre.

In June 2014, Helen Goodman was invited to open the village fair in Ingleton, in her constituency.

Helen Goodman was a leading campaigner for indicative parliamentary votes to resolve Brexit, and supported the proposal to remain in the EU customs union during the March 2019 ballots.

Helen Goodman is married to Charles Seaford, a Senior Fellow at Demos.