Arlene McCarthy MEP

Arlene was elected to the European Parliament in 1994 and has been Labour MEP for the North West region since 1999.

Arlene is Vice Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and will continue to be an active member of the committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

She was the first Labour woman MEP to Chair the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. As Chair she delivered several important new EU laws to end rip-off mobile phone charges; protect vulnerable consumers and the elderly from rogue traders and scams; secured a new EU law to ban toxic toy imports; secured an EU wide ban on the cruel trade in cat and dog fur in the EU.

Arlene is a children's rights campaigner leading on campaigns to combat internet child abuse and to introduce an EU-wide missing children hotline.

Arlene is a graduate of the Police Parliamentary Scheme. Working with Greater Manchester Police's Armed Crime Unit she introduced a major reform to EU law on gun control to tackle the illeagal supply of convertible weapons to the UK. She is a member of the Co-operative Party, UNISON and Amicus-AEEU.

Arlene is an active supporter of football in the community, and recently secured additional funding for the Premier League and Football Foundation's Kickz project.