1. Linda McAvan was born on 2 December 1962 and is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire South and Yorkshire and the Humber from 1998, when she was first elected in a by-election following the resignation of Norman West.
Linda McAvan served until her resignation on 19 April 2019.
Linda McAvan was a Member of the European Parliament since 1998.
Linda McAvan chaired the European Parliament's Fair Trade Working Group and serves on the European Parliament Intergroup on the Western Sahara as well as on the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights.
Linda McAvan is a supporter of the MEP Heart Group, a group of parliamentarians who have an interest in promoting measures that will help reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases.
Between 2002 and 2003, Linda McAvan served as one of 16 representatives of the European Parliament in the Convention on the Future of Europe, led by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
In 2002, Linda McAvan was voted UK European Woman of the Year; she received her award from the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam, who praised her efforts to engage women in the future of Europe.
From 2004 to 2009, Linda McAvan served as treasurer of the European Parliament's Socialist Group.
Between 2004 and 2014, Linda McAvan served on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.
Linda McAvan sat on the Temporary Committee on Climate Change between 2007 and 2009; in this capacity, she was part of the Parliament's delegations to the 2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan and to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
Linda McAvan supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.
Labour Party members elected Linda McAvan to be the top-ranked Labour candidate [1] for Yorkshire and the Humber in the 2009 European elections, narrowly beating Richard Corbett for the top place.
Linda McAvan stood down as an MEP on 19 April 2019.
Since leaving the European Parliament, Linda McAvan has been working as executive director for European relations at the European Climate Foundation.
Linda McAvan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year Honours for charitable and political services.
Linda McAvan is married to Paul Blomfield, who, from 2010 to 2024, was the Labour MP for Sheffield Central.