Born and Raised in Manchester’s Wythenshawe, Katherine is grounded on the importance our public services have to all our lives. She benefited from our wonderful state schools, and was the first in her family to go to university taking science at the University of Nottingham with a Biology BSc Hons. Paying her way through university Katherine’s proud of having worked as a nursing assistant in an elderly care home and understands the importance of the NHS & social care services to us all.
Before becoming an MP, Katherine was an SME business owner, manufacturing & exporting wooden products. Previously she worked in Management & IT Consultancy, business banking operations, the Credit Union Movement and assisted the early setup of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.
Katherine has worked in Lancashire and has close family living in Leyland. With many friends and family commuting to work in South Ribble, Katherine has a deeply personal stake in local industry and jobs, and is a passionate advocate of infrastructure improvements to allow us to continue to thrive and grow.
With a background in environmental sciences and a deep interest in the environment, Katherine is passionate about nature and habitat maintenance. She's a keen birdwatcher and can be found (usually falling off a mountain bike!) in the Lakes, Peak District and North Wales when time allows.
Taking this interest more globally Katherine is also a qualified Safari Ranger ( Field Guide ) and has lived and worked in Mpumalanga / Limpopo South Africa & Mozambique. Her favourite mammal is a Giraffe and she's most scared of Honey Badgers.
Away from politics, Katherine’s love of palaeontology spills into the odd fossil collecting trip, and she’s a lover of the beautiful game with a season ticket at Manchester United
As a candidate to be our next MP, Katherine has a clear six point plan for South Ribble:
1. Securing our flood defences.
2. Improving transport links
3. Supporting local jobs and businesses
4. Fighting for green spaces and nature
5. Championing our NHS
6. Keeping crime down
When first selected by South Ribble Conservatives, she said: “I am so very chuffed to be selected as the Conservative candidate for South Ribble and would like to wish Seema all the best for the future.
“If elected as MP I would carry on with the great work Seema has done here.
“I’ve been passionate about infrastructure improvements since childhood, hard not to be with an Adlington based engineer for a dad, and as a summer job I saw the practicalities of this first hand, when working on the the ‘new’ M6 Thelwall viaduct site.
If elected in South Ribble I would continue to push for the infrastructure which allows our economy to thrive. I’ll take lessons from my time setting up the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, but understanding that a sound-bite is useless if your broadband doesn't work or your phone signal is patchy.
“For large and small businesses to export and thrive, these improvements are 21st century necessities; along with the road and rail connections which are vital to allow commuters to travel easily to work in all our communities.
“I want to become MP for South Ribble to make sure residents here see their hard work recognised and rewarded so they can lead fulfilling, happy lives.
“I also believe that it’s only the Conservatives who can realise the benefits of Brexit and get our country back on the road to a brighter future and as the Conservative MP I would be best placed to ensure this happens.”