arlene mccarthy MEP

Since January 2006, Arlene has been Chair of the European Parliaments powerful Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee.

She is the first Labour woman to Chair a co-decision committee in the European Parliament. Arlene is also a member of the Legal Affairs Committee. Through her role on these committees she has developed an active interest in, amongst many other policy areas, consumer policy and protection issues, the creative and media industry and better regulation. She is a key children’s rights campaigner and has worked closely with the NSPCC on legislation to protect children from paedophiles on the Internet.

As a Governor of the European Internet Foundation, Arlene takes an active interest in e-commerce issues, has also worked on key Parliament legislation on internet regulation and works closely with the US’s Congressional Internet Caucus.

In 2005 Arlene was elected as a Fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) following a 21 day educational exchange with Bloomberg. Arlene also took part in the Police Parliamentary Scheme, from which she graduated in 2007. Arlene’s involvement in the Police Service Parliamentary Scheme, through which she shadowed Greater Manchester Police, resulted in a major change to European legislation on gun control which was passed by the European Parliament in November 2007.
Arlene has a background in Local Government and Lectured in European Politics at the Free University of Berlin and the University of Manchester. She speaks fluent German and French.

Member of the Co-operative Party, Unison, UNITE and the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum.