Clare Moody
Clare Miranda Moody (born 30 October 1965) is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 2014 to 2019.
Clare Moody | |
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![]() Moody in 2017 | |
Member of the European Parliament for South West England | |
In office 1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Clare Miranda Moody 30 October 1965 Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire |
Political party | Labour |
Residence(s) | Salisbury, Wiltshire |
Alma mater | University of Kent |
Occupation |
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Website | Official website |
Early life and career
Clare Miranda Moody was born on 30 October 1965 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire to Joan and Raymond Moody.[1][2] Brought up in Burford, her father served as town mayor and both her parents were Conservative Party activists.[3][2]
Moody trained as a secretary. Later she studied industrial relations at the University of Kent and began her career in trade unionism at the Banking, Insurance and Finance Union (BIFU).[4] BIFU went through several amalgamations to become UNIFI, Amicus, and later Unite, where she worked as a regional officer in Bournemouth.[5]
Moody worked in the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[3][6] She was the Labour candidate for Salisbury, a safe Conservative seat, at the 2005 general election.[3] Moody also stood to become the inaugural Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner,[7] reaching the second round as Labour's candidate in the 2012 local elections.[8]
European Parliamentary career
![](../I/05-Mayo-17_Visita_Claire_Moody_(31)_(34309885242).jpg.webp)
Moody unsuccessfully contested South West England in the 2004 European Parliament election, in fourth position on the Labour Party list.[3] However, she was elected as a Member of European Parliament for the region in the May 2014 elections, now placed as the lead list candidate.[9]
During her tenure in the European Parliament, Moody served as vice-chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. She has also been a member of the Budget, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Research and Energy, and Women's Rights committees.[1][10][11]
She was co-chair of the Friends of Georgia group, and worked on the EU-Georgia Association Agreement through her Foreign Affairs committee membership.[12][13] Moody voted in favour of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market in 2019, despite concerns that the legislation enforced censorship on EU internet users.[14]
Moody lost her seat in the 2019 European Parliament election, when no Labour candidate was returned in South West England.
Post-Parliamentary career
Moody was appointed Political Director at public relations company Grayling in 2019, a subsidiary of Huntsworth, where she later became Senior Strategic Director.[15][16][17] In 2021, she was appointed co-CEO of the human rights and equality charity Equally Ours.[18][19]
In June 2022, Moody was shortlisted to become the Labour candidate in the marginal Stroud constituency,[18] but was not selected.[20]
Political views
- European Union
Moody supported the remain campaign in the 2016 EU membership referendum,[21] and supported a delay before invoking Article 50 to allow for negotiations post-referendum.[22] She supported Britain staying in the European single market and the Customs Union post-Brexit.[23] She chaired the Labour Movement for Europe from 2017 to 2019, and campaigned for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.[24]
She credited the loss of her European Parliamentary seat in 2019 to Labour's Brexit position, arguing that the party needed to adopt a clear pro-EU stance.[25]
- Labour Party
Moody supported Yvette Cooper in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election.[26] During the leadership challenge to Jeremy Corbyn in June 2016, she supported calls for his resignation.[27]
References
- "Clare MOODY". Europa. European Parliament. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- "Interview: Raymond & Joan Moody". The Bridge Magazine. December 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- Sarah O'Grady (22 March 2010). "Tory roots of Brown's aide Clare Moody". Daily Express. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "Clare Moody". Her Salisbury Story. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- "Contact us - Unite in the South West". Unite the Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "European elections 2014: Labour aim to get back on South West map". BBC News. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- "Union boss throws hat in ring for police post". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "Wiltshire police and crime commissioner results". BBC. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- "vote 2014 - South West". BBC. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- Moody, Clare (27 November 2018). "UK must remain a defence player". The Parliament Magazine. Dods. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "Clare Moody MEP". Labour in Europe. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "MEP calls Georgia a star of the region for commitment to European values". Agenda.ge. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- Moody, Clare (29 January 2019). "With Salome Zurabishvili, Georgia leads the way, again". EURACTIV. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "EU votes for copyright law that would make internet a 'tool for control'". The Guardian. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- "Welcome to Grayling Brussels PA". Grayling. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- "Grayling's report on how politicians across Europe are using social media" (PDF). Grayling. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- "Healthcare". Grayling. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- Loveridge, Ashley (9 June 2022). "Former MEP Clare Moody throws hat into the ring for Stroud Labour seat". Stroud Times. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- "Our team". Equally Ours. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- Stewart, Heather (1 July 2022). "Starmer allies reject claims leftwingers blocked from standing for Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- "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.
- "'Hard Brexit' will 'blow a hole' in the economy, warns Labour MEP". The Herald. Plymouth. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- Moody, Clare (22 June 2017). "After May's election failure, we need to hit the reset button on Brexit negotiations". LabourList. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- Rodgers, Sienna (29 April 2019). "34 Labour MEP candidates sign public vote pledge". LabourList. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- Jenkins, Philippa (27 May 2019). "Former Labour MEP Clare Moody says 'voters have had enough' after losing her seat". CornwalLlive. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- "Unparalleled Ambition for Britain - Why I'm Backing Yvette for Labour Leader". HuffPost UK. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- "South West MEP backs calls for Jeremy Corbyn to stand down". The Herald. Plymouth. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.