Clare Moody

Clare Miranda Moody (born 30 October 1965) is a British politician who was the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South West England constituency, representing the Labour Party. She was elected in 2014.

For the television and stage actor and producer, see Clare Lawrence Moody.

Clare Moody
Member of the European Parliament
for South West England
In office
1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019[1][2]
Preceded byGiles Chichester
Succeeded byMartin Horwood
Personal details
Born (1965-10-30) 30 October 1965[3]
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire[3]
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
ResidenceSalisbury, Wiltshire
OccupationTrade union official
Websitewww.claremoodymep.com

Early and working life

Moody was born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire[3] and brought up in Burford, Oxfordshire, by parents who were Conservative Party activists. Her father has been Mayor of Burford.[4]

Moody started work at the Banking, Insurance and Finance Union, and through a series of union amalgamations became a regional officer for Unite the Union in Bournemouth. She lives in Salisbury.[4][5]

European Parliament
Moody visiting Gibraltar, which is included in the South West England constituency

In the 2004 European Parliament election she stood for the South West England constituency in fourth position on the Labour Party list, which did not yield her a seat.[4]

In the May 2014 elections for the European Parliament, she was elected as an MEP in South West England, being the lead candidate on the Labour list.[6] On 1 July 2014, the start of her mandate, she was appointed a full member of the Parliament's Committee on Budgets.[3]

Moody supported the Remain platform in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum,[7] and afterward argued against a United Kingdom invocation of Article 50 to start the EU withdrawal process in 2016 or 2017, in order to allow more negotiating time.[8] In June 2016, she called for Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to stand down as part of the 2016 leadership challenge.[9]

Moody was vice-chair of European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defence, and a member of the Foreign Affairs, Women's Rights, and Industry, Research and Energy committees.[10][11] Moody was co-chair of the Friends of Georgia Group in the European Parliament, and through the Foreign Affairs committee, Moody has worked on the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.[12][13]

In March 2019, Moody voted in favour of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market[14] despite strong concerns among experts that the legislation enforced censorship on EU internet users.[15]

Moody lost her seat in the 2019 European Parliament election, where three Brexit Party and two Liberal Democrats candidates gained seats. Moody stated afterwards her loss was due to the Labour party stance on Brexit: "If [Labour] are to avoid having more results like last night we need to adopt a clear #Remain stance and fast."[16]

Other political activities

Moody stood in the 2005 general election for Labour in the Salisbury constituency.[4]

During Gordon Brown's premiership she worked in 10 Downing Street.[4]

In 2012, Moody stood as Police and crime commissioner for Labour in Wiltshire, reaching the second voting round.[17][18]

In 2017-19, Moody chaired the Labour Movement for Europe which campaigned for a public vote (as opposed to just a parliamentary vote) on the final Brexit deal.


References
  1. "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. "Key dates ahead". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. "Clare MOODY". Europa. European Parliament. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  4. Sarah O'Grady (22 March 2010). "Tory roots of Brown's aide Clare Moody". Daily Express. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  5. "Contact us - Unite in the South West". Unite the Union. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  6. "vote 2014 - South West". BBC. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  7. "Should we stay in the EU? MEP Clare Moody will say 'yes' at a Taunton meeting". Somerset County Gazette. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  8. "'Hard Brexit' will 'blow a hole' in the economy, warns Labour MEP". The Herald. Plymouth. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  9. "South West MEP backs calls for Jeremy Corbyn to stand down". The Herald. Plymouth. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  10. Moody, Clare (27 November 2018). "UK must remain a defence player". The Parliament Magazine. Dods. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  11. "Clare Moody MEP". Labour in Europe. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  12. Moody, Clare (29 January 2019). "With Salome Zurabishvili, Georgia leads the way, again". EURACTIV. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  13. "MEP calls Georgia a star of the region for commitment to European values". Agenda.ge. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  14. https://twitter.com/grayvsearth/status/1110534970517401600
  15. "EU votes for copyright law that would make internet a 'tool for control'". The Guardian. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  16. Jenkins, Philippa (27 May 2019). "Former Labour MEP Clare Moody says 'voters have had enough' after losing her seat". CornwalLlive. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  17. "Union boss throws hat in ring for police post". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  18. "Wiltshire police and crime commissioner results". BBC. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
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