Kathleen Fleur Anderson
Early life and education
Anderson was born on the
Channel Islands of
Jersey.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Politics from the University of York in 1993. She was a member of Goodricke College.
She was elected as president of the Students Union, holding that post in 1993/94.
In 2007, she attended the
Open University for a Master of Science degree in Global Development Management, awarded in 2010.
Career
International development and advocacy
Anderson began her career in development and environmental and poverty campaigns, both in London and abroad. She worked for
Christian Aid from 1994 to 1997, taking on roles as a campaign assistant in London, working in Serbia during the war and as Head of Country Office in
Bosnia in the aftermath of the
Bosnian War. From 1997 to 1999 she was Head of World Action for the Methodist youth organisation MAYC, leading campaigns on bullying, Burma and international debt cancellation. She then worked for
CAFOD in London as Head of Campaigns and Advocacy Strategy Manager. Here she co-founded the Trade Justice Campaign. From 2003 to 2006 she was a trustee of the Jubilee Debt Campaign. During her time as a freelance consultant in Kenya from 2007 to 2010, she worked on several successful campaigns on water and urban nutrition, working with organisations such as End Water Poverty and
Oxfam, as well as helping to establish grassroots organisations such as the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. Upon returning to London, Anderson joined
WaterAid as Head of Global Campaigns.
Politics
Anderson decided to get involved in politics in response to the closing of children's centres and local institutions. She was elected to represent Bedford Ward on Wandsworth London Borough Council in 2014, alongside Rosena Allin-Khan, and re-elected in 2018.
Anderson was the Labour Spokesperson for Community Services and the Environment from 2015 to 2018 and the Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Labour Group from 2016 to 2018. She resigned from the Council in March 2021.
She co-founded Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees and was the Head of Community Services for the Katherine Low Settlement, a community centre in Battersea from 2016 to 2020. Locally, she campaigned for the 20 mph speed limit, against the closure of children's centres, and against cutting the Autism Advisory Service.
Anderson was elected MP for Putney on 12 December 2019, succeeding retiring MP Justine Greening, who had been elected as a Conservative. In a national election in which Labour won its fewest House seats since 1935, Putney was the only constituency Labour gained.
On 7 January 2021, Anderson was promoted from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Preet Gill as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development to replace Helen Hayes as a Shadow Minister for the Cabinet under Rachel Reeves due to Hayes resigning over Labour's support for the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020.
Anderson wrote a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak requesting a ceasefire in Gaza and a ban on sale of arms to Israel in April 2024.
Following the 2024 general election, Anderson was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
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