{{short description|British politician (born 1982)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Use British English|date=January 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Miriam Cates | honorific_suffix = | image = Official portrait of Miriam Cates MP crop 2.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2019 | office = Member of Parliament <br /> for Penistone and Stocksbridge | parliament = | majority = | predecessor = Angela Smith | successor = Marie Tidball | term_start = 12 December 2019 | term_end = 30 May 2024 | birth_name = Miriam Joy Atkins | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1982|08|23}} | birth_place = Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England | death_date = | death_place = | partner = | party = Conservative (since 2018)<ref name=":2" /> | other_party = Labour (1997) | relations = | children = 3 | alma_mater = Christ's College, Cambridge | occupation = | profession = Politician, businesswoman, teacher | signature = | website = {{Official URL}} | footnotes = | spouse = David Cates }}
'''Miriam Joy Cates''' (born 23 August 1982) is a British television host and former politician who was the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Penistone and Stocksbridge from 2019 to 2024.
==Early life and education== Miriam Cates was born on 23 August 1982 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-12-18/debates/2E37F0BD-4DF0-40A6-B9F9-0607212DBFB1/MembersSworn|publisher=parliament.uk|date=18 December 2019|accessdate=18 January 2020|title=Members Sworn|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219003923/https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-12-18/debates/2E37F0BD-4DF0-40A6-B9F9-0607212DBFB1/MembersSworn|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Brunskill|first=Ian|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1129682574|title=The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election|date=19 March 2020|isbn=978-0-00-839258-1|pages=298|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Limited |oclc=1129682574|access-date=6 July 2022|archive-date=9 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109125548/https://www.worldcat.org/title/times-guide-to-the-house-of-commons-2019-the-definitive-record-of-britains-historic-2019-general-election/oclc/1129682574|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Burn">{{cite news |last=Burn |first=Chris |date=28 November 2019 |title=Conservatives on course for first South Yorkshire victory since 1992 in wake of 'chicken run' MP |work=Yorkshire Post |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/conservatives-on-course-for-first-south-yorkshire-victory-since-1992-in-wake-of-chicken-run-mp-1-10127779 |url-status=live |accessdate= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201151225/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/conservatives-on-course-for-first-south-yorkshire-victory-since-1992-in-wake-of-chicken-run-mp-1-10127779 |archive-date=1 December 2019}}</ref> She grew up in a Christian family and has two younger brothers.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url=https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2021/08/18/miriam-cateson-conservatismembracing-complexityand-the-importance-of-family|title=Miriam Cates on conservatism, embracing complexity and the importance of family|time=04:00|date=18 August 2021|accessdate=25 January 2023|publisher=Theos}}</ref> Her father was a general practitioner,<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Turner">{{cite news |last=Turner |first=Janice |date=29 June 2023 |title=Is Miriam Cates a mainstream Tory or a right-wing ideologue? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/miriam-cates-interview-conservative-mp-politics-right-wing-abortion-gender-qcxrj6vdr |work=The Times}}{{subscription required}}</ref> while her mother, who had a maths degree, was a stay at home mum.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Pearson |first=Allison |date=27 May 2023 |title=Miriam Cates: 'If we don't favour our own country no one else will. That is our first duty' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/27/miriam-cates-interview/ |access-date=28 February 2024 |work=The Telegraph |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=28 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228122534/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/27/miriam-cates-interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although her parents had no particular interest in politics,<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=Feroze |first=Natasha |date=3 February 2023 |title=Women With Balls: The Miriam Cates Edition on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-miriam-cates-edition/id1449465020?i=1000597825278 |access-date=28 February 2024 |website=Apple Podcasts |archive-date=28 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228133820/https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-miriam-cates-edition/id1449465020?i=1000597825278 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cates was drawn to the field at an early age, including listening to the ''Today'' programme on the radio from the age of 11.<ref name=":4" /> Her keen interest in politics led her to also become a young fan of ''The Westminster Hour''.<ref name=":1" />
Whilst at primary school, she was "raised with rhymes about how much people hated Margaret Thatcher."<ref name=":1" /> She then attended a comprehensive school, where she was a straight-A student.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |last=Lloyd |first=Will |date=7 February 2024 |title=Miriam Cates: the radical traditionalist |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics-interview/2024/02/miriam-cates-radical-traditionalist-interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217053615/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics-interview/2024/02/miriam-cates-radical-traditionalist-interview |archive-date=17 February 2024 |access-date=28 February 2024 |website=The New Statesman}}</ref> She reports that the "Leftist" ethic of her school turned her towards conservative ideas.<ref name=":1" /> Initially, she intended to become a concert pianist.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
Cates went on to study Natural Sciences at Christ's College, Cambridge,<ref>"Oxbridge colleges offer a particularly sheltered existence — when I was at Christ's College, our rooms were cleaned, our bins emptied and all our meals cooked." Cates, Miriam (10 May 2024). [https://thecritic.co.uk/the-students-are-revolting/ "The students are revolting. Far too many young people are sheltered from the real world by their university education."]. ''The Critic''. Retrieved 12 May 2024.</ref> where she earned a degree in genetics.<ref name=":2" /> She went on to obtain a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Sheffield Hallam University, and worked as a biology teacher at Tapton School in Sheffield.<ref name=":2" />
==Political career== ===Parish councillor=== In an interview, Cates described moving to the village of Oughtibridge, joining the local Parent–Teacher Association and organising nights for mothers and the playgroup at her local church.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |title=UNBELIEVABLE, a conversation with...: Miriam Cates on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/miriam-cates/id1553852153?i=1000511351063 |access-date=28 February 2024 |website=Apple Podcasts }}</ref> Speaking on a podcast in 2021, Cates said of that time: "I got a sense of what you could achieve if you're passionate about your community".<ref name=":5" /> Cates was elected in 2015 as a parish councillor for Oughtibridge Ward on Bradfield Parish Council, which, at one point involved her campaigning to save local parkland.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/looklocalnewspaper/docs/issuu_1092/s/10126544|title=Conservative Candidate Elected|publisher=Look Local|date=19 December 2019|accessdate=12 July 2022|archive-date=14 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114101903/https://issuu.com/looklocalnewspaper/docs/issuu_1092/s/10126544|url-status=live}}</ref> She was re-elected in 2019 and resigned her seat in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sheffieldnewsroom.co.uk/elections/parishelections2019/|title=Local Parish Election Results|accessdate=2 June 2020|publisher=Sheffield City Council|archive-date=26 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426032242/https://sheffieldnewsroom.co.uk/elections/parishelections2019/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/220503/cates_miriam.htm|title=The Register of Members' Financial Interests As at 3 May 2022|publisher=UK Parliament|accessdate=12 July 2022|archive-date=14 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114100401/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/220503/cates_miriam.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
Cates stood as a Conservative candidate for Stannington ward in the 2018 Sheffield City Council election and joined the party in the same year, finishing third behind the Liberal Democrats candidates.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/content/dam/sheffield/docs/your-city-council/elections/City_Results_Sheets-1.pdf|title=Sheffield City Council Results|page=24|accessdate=23 January 2020|publisher=Sheffield City Council|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623205530/https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/content/dam/sheffield/docs/your-city-council/elections/City_Results_Sheets-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Member of Parliament=== Cates described a family friend asking her to stand as a Conservative candidate for Penistone & Stocksbridge in October 2018.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name="CH2">{{cite web |last=Hill |first=Henry |date=25 October 2018 |title=Miriam Cates selected for Penistone & Stocksbridge |url=https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2018/10/miriam-cates-selected-for-penistone-stocksbridge.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117091440/https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2018/10/miriam-cates-selected-for-penistone-stocksbridge.html |archive-date=17 January 2020 |access-date=23 January 2020 |publisher=ConservativeHome}}</ref> Though unsuccessful in her bid, she found she enjoyed campaigning, and decided to go to the next Conservative party conference.<ref name=":3" />
At that conference, in 2019, Cates met Anne Jenkin, who was recruiting for women candidates, and identified a seat near her home.<ref name=":1" /> Cates was subsequently selected, and campaigned to be the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge in the 2019 general election.<ref name="Burn" /><ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=October 2019 |title=Battle lines drawn in Penistone and Stocksbridge as Labour chooses candidate to replace MP Angela Smith |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/uk-news/battle-lines-drawn-in-penistone-and-stocksbridge-as-labour-chooses-candidate-to-replace-mp-angela-smith-1748532 |accessdate=15 July 2024 |work=Yorkshire Post}}</ref> The seat was targeted as part of Boris Johnson's red wall strategy, with Cates and Johnson appearing together in the local campaign.<ref name=":0" />
Cates won the seat, with a majority of 7,210 (14.5%) on a swing of 8.6% from Labour to the Conservatives.<ref>{{cite news|title=Penistone & Stocksbridge|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/E14000876|work=BBC News|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614080245/https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/E14000876|url-status=live|accessdate=16 July 2024}}</ref> As such, Cates became the first Conservative MP in South Yorkshire since 1992.<ref name="Burn" />
After her election, it was reported that a mobile app for food banks, developed by a company co-owned by Cates and her husband, was charging charities for its services.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wyatt |first=Tim |date=14 December 2019 |title=Foodbank app run by newly elected Tory MP charges charities to use it |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foodbank-app-miriam-cates-mp-conservative-general-election-universal-credit-a9245901.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foodbank-app-miriam-cates-mp-conservative-general-election-universal-credit-a9245901.html |archive-date=15 May 2022 |accessdate= |work=The Independent}}</ref> Initially the app charged food banks a £360 subscription fee for two years, however after the Conservative Party was approached by the press the pricing structure was changed to a one-off set-up fee of £180.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tory Candidate Faces Questions Over App That Charged Food Banks Hundreds of Pounds |url=https://novaramedia.com/2019/12/11/tory-candidate-faces-questions-over-app-that-charged-food-banks-hundreds-of-pounds/ |access-date=2025-12-07 |website=Novara Media |language=en}}</ref>
Media accused her of breaking Covid rules by attending an event in December 2020, though a later inquiry was "satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the event included both business and social elements".<ref>{{cite web |date=26 March 2024 |title=NOT UPHELD: MS MIRIAM CATES MP, MS VIRGINIA CROSBIE MP, SIR BERNARD JENKIN MP, AND RT HON. DAME ELEANOR LAING MP |url=https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/pcfs/not-upheld/not-upheld---mc-mp-bj-mp-el-mp-vc-mp.pdf |accessdate=30 June 2024 |website=UK Parliament}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=27 March 2024 |title=Sir Bernard Jenkin MP cleared of flouting Covid-19 rules |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-68669669 |accessdate=30 June 2024 |work=BBC News |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406235913/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-68669669 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Once in Parliament, Cates served as a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee and the Education Select Committee.<ref>{{cite web |title=Parliamentary career for Miriam Cates |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4865/career |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115102703/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4865/career |archive-date=15 November 2021 |accessdate=15 November 2021 |publisher=UK Parliament}}</ref> In the latter role, she submitted a report to the Prime Minister presenting evidence that many schools routinely misapply equality law "in favour of gender ideology."<ref>{{cite web |last=Adamus |first=Edmund |date=13 April 2023 |title=Stonewall infiltrated our schools, but the fightback has begun |url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/stonewall-infiltrated-our-schools-but-the-fightback-has-begun/ |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=Catholic Herald }}</ref> In its place, Cates argued for a more strongly pro-parent outlook from Britain's schools.<ref>{{cite web |last=Adamus |first=Edmund |date=13 April 2023 |title=Stonewall infiltrated our schools, but the fightback has begun |url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/stonewall-infiltrated-our-schools-but-the-fightback-has-begun/ |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=Catholic Herald }}</ref>
Cates also co-chaired a local advancement initiative, the Stocksbridge Towns Fund, with local property developer Mark Dransfield.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |last2=Duncan |first2=Pamela |last3=McIntyre |first3=Niamh |date=16 July 2021 |title=Labour concerned over management of flagship levelling up scheme |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/16/labour-concerned-over-management-of-flagship-levelling-up-scheme |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115102701/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/16/labour-concerned-over-management-of-flagship-levelling-up-scheme |archive-date=15 November 2021 |accessdate=15 November 2021 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Alongside national-conservative figure Danny Kruger, Cates was elected to the Executive of the 1922 Committee on 11 July 2022.<ref>{{cite web |date=11 July 2022 |title=Results of the 1922 Committee Elections |url=https://conservativehome.com/2022/07/11/results-of-the-1922-committee-elections/ |accessdate=12 July 2022 |publisher=ConservativeHome}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=11 July 2022 |title=1922 Committee re-elects chairman and vice-chairmen |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/11/boris-johnson-liz-truss-next-prime-minister-leadership-priti/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712063633/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/11/boris-johnson-liz-truss-next-prime-minister-leadership-priti/ |archive-date=12 July 2022 |access-date=8 July 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph}} In Updates thread: 5:43PM.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Garton-Crosbie |first=Abbi |date=11 July 2022 |title=Powerful Tory 1922 Committee announces new executive after major election |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/20271665.tory-leadership-election-1922-committee-announce-new-executive/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713070337/https://www.thenational.scot/news/20271665.tory-leadership-election-1922-committee-announce-new-executive/ |archive-date=13 July 2022 |access-date=8 July 2024 |website=The National}}</ref>
Halfway through her term, Boris Johnson resigned from the leadership, and Cates participated in the July-September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election<ref>{{cite news |last=Cates |first=Miriam |date=12 July 2022 |title=Suella Braverman is the anti-woke prime minister our children need |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/12/suella-braverman-anti-woke-prime-minister-children-need/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023025716/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/12/suella-braverman-anti-woke-prime-minister-children-need/ |archive-date=23 October 2023 |accessdate=12 July 2022 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> During the contest, Cates endorsed Suella Braverman; the leadership election was ultimately won by Liz Truss, who resigned less than two months later to be succeeded by Rishi Sunak.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 July 2022 |title=Who's backing whom? Sunak still ahead |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/full-list-tory-endorsements-for-next-leader/ |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=The Spectator}}</ref>
During Braverman's tenure as home secretary, Cates supported Braverman when she was criticised.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cates |first=Miriam |date=21 October 2022 |title=Miriam Cates backs Rishi Sunak for leader |url=https://www.miriamcates.org.uk/news/miriam-cates-backs-rishi-sunak-leader |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101153938/https://www.miriamcates.org.uk/news/miriam-cates-backs-rishi-sunak-leader |archive-date=1 November 2022 |access-date=22 October 2022 |website=Miriam's newsletter}}</ref> When Braveman accused London's Metropolitan Police of being more lenient with pro-Palestine protesters than supporters of Israel, Cates argued: "Suella Braverman's views may be distasteful to Westminster liberals but they're utterly mainstream in the rest of UK."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Webber |first1=Jude |last2=Gross |first2=Anna |last3=Fisher |first3=Lucy |last4=Parker |first4=George |date=9 November 2023 |title='She's toast': Suella Braverman dares Rishi Sunak with provocative rhetoric |url=https://www.ft.com/content/db4fa469-2791-466d-95a0-41e7eef9508d |access-date=25 November 2023 |newspaper=Financial Times |archive-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125063736/https://www.ft.com/content/db4fa469-2791-466d-95a0-41e7eef9508d |url-status=live }}</ref>
She spoke up on topical issues affecting families, such as protecting the rights of women and girls, including single-sex spaces;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Legislative Definition of Sex - Hansard - UK Parliament|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-06-12/debates/F74BD8CC-4807-46F4-AA51-5402B7CFE8F9/details#contribution-7A4ABD96-F7DA-4E96-8791-D00A330D7BA6|website=hansard.parliament.uk|date=2025-11-27|access-date=2025-11-27|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Gender Recognition - Hansard - UK Parliament|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-12-06/debates/E7306EC2-EFCB-4331-BD82-F01FDF67CCBF/details#contribution-4A466961-804B-4ACB-AF01-7F26AA4C1298|website=hansard.parliament.uk|date=2025-11-27|access-date=2025-11-27|language=en}}</ref> and led a debate on banning mobile phones in schools.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Smartphones and Social Media: Children - Hansard - UK Parliament|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2024-05-14/debates/9EEEE3FC-7B2A-45E4-87E8-9449B603B1D9/details#contribution-5F21725A-1A6E-4B17-B4F8-A2AA23660905|website=hansard.parliament.uk|date=2025-11-27|access-date=2025-11-27|language=en}}</ref>
At the 2024 general election, Cates lost her seat to the Labour candidate Marie Tidball. Compared to her 2019 performance, she lost a significant share of the vote to Labour and the right-wing populist Reform UK. <ref name=":7">{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001423 | title=Penistone and Stocksbridge – General election results 2024 | work=BBC News | archive-date=5 July 2024 | access-date=5 July 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705233422/https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001423 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=5 August 2024 |title=South Yorkshire election results see clean sweep for Labour |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czq6pz26q6eo |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=BBC News}}</ref>
In an opinion piece about the election, Cates wrote, "Reader, we blew it."<ref name=":8">{{cite news |last=Cates |first=Miriam |date=5 May 2024 |title=Reader, we blew it. The route back for my party is steep and narrow |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2024/05/05/reader-we-blew-it-the-route-back-for-tories-steep-narrow/ |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=The Telegraph |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Offering that her party was "staring into the abyss" because it had failed, or forgotten, voters in post-industrial towns who wanted economic regeneration, patriotism, cultural security family, neighbourhood and nation.<ref name=":8" />
== Political views == thumb|Miriam Cates in an interview in 2023 Cates was described as a "radical traditionalist" who felt that conservatism has become unnecessarily embittered, and that there is "too much whinging on the right".<ref name=":2" /> Cates established the New Social Covenant Unit with fellow Conservative MP Danny Kruger in 2021 with the principal purpose of promoting policy that would "strengthen families, communities, and the nation".<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.newsocialcovenant.co.uk/about-us/ |accessdate=25 January 2023 |publisher=New Social Covenant Unit}}</ref>
=== Brexit === Before entering Parliament, Cates had supported the UK remaining a member of the European Union in the 2016 referendum but, during the election campaign, said she had since changed her mind and supported Brexit.<ref name="Burn" />
===Pro-natalism=== Cates argued for families to be able to have more children, and for societies that value children. She regards the very low number of children being born as the highest political concern for the UK.<ref name=":6">{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |last2=Crerar |first2=Pippa |date=15 May 2023 |title=Low birthrate is UK's top priority, Tory MP tells rightwing conference |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/15/low-birthrate-is-uk-top-priority-tory-mp-tells-rightwing-conference-miriam-cates |access-date=15 May 2023 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In a plenary session of the 2023 National Conservatism Conference, Cates was quoted saying:<blockquote>"I don't care if you're a Red Tory, a communitarian, a follower of Burke, or, heaven forbid, a libertarian free marketeer. None of these traditions has a future, none of our philosophical musings or policy proposals will amount to anything long-lasting unless we address the one overarching threat to British conservatism, and indeed the whole of Western society. No, it's not climate change. It's not Russia or China or Iran. It's not the neo-Marxist ideology that has so weakened our institutions. It's not inflation or taxation or poor productivity. No. There is one critical outcome that liberal individualism has completely failed to deliver and that is babies."<ref>{{cite web |date=2023-05-18 |title=National Conservatism Comes to the U.K. {{!}} John Duggan |url=https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/05/national-conservatism-comes-to-the-uk |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=First Things}}</ref> </blockquote>
During the COVID-19 pandemic Cates argued the policy emphasis should have been on "the long-term impact of lockdowns on young people's lives."<ref>{{cite web |last=Ashton |first=Lucy |date=18 June 2021 |title=Anger over Sheffield MP's 'offensive and insensitive' Covid and the elderly comment |url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/anger-over-sheffield-mps-offensive-20851048 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114132632/https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/anger-over-sheffield-mps-offensive-20851048 |archive-date=14 November 2021 |accessdate=14 November 2021 |work=Yorkshire Live}}</ref> In a speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship's inaugural conference, she criticised the way "our GDP-obsessed economic system demands that even mothers of small children leave their infants in daycare to return to the workplace."<ref>{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Daniel |date=30 October 2023 |title=Miriam Cates blames increase in working women for rise in children going to school in nappies |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/30/tory-mp-blames-working-women-for-rise-in-nappies-at-school |access-date=25 November 2023 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |archive-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121175736/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/30/tory-mp-blames-working-women-for-rise-in-nappies-at-school/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Conversion therapy === Cates has claimed that she does not support, and never has supported, conversion therapy; however, she has voted against some versions of legislation that oppose it.<ref>{{cite web |last=Murrie |first=Ewan |last2=Parry |first2=Josh |date=1 July 2024 |title=Miriam Cates: Tory candidate was trustee of church that 'endorsed' conversion therapy |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4ngprp5xdvo |access-date=2 July 2024 |website=BBC News |archive-date=1 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701225651/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4ngprp5xdvo |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2 July 2024 |title=Tory candidate was member of church which endorsed gay conversion therapy |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/national/tory-candidate-was-member-of-church-which-endorsed-gay-conversion-therapy-121954/ |access-date=2 July 2024 |website=Kent Online |archive-date=2 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702113954/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/national/tory-candidate-was-member-of-church-which-endorsed-gay-conversion-therapy-121954/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== National conservatism === Cates served on the advisory board of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, a group dedicated to cultural renewal in western nations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dawson |first=Bethany |last2=Boscia |first2=Stefan |date=2 November 2024 |title=This global right-wing movement wants to save the world. It just needs a plan |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/this-global-right-wing-movement-wants-to-save-the-world-it-just-needs-a-plan/ |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=Politico |archive-date=6 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106162302/https://www.politico.eu/article/this-global-right-wing-movement-wants-to-save-the-world-it-just-needs-a-plan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2023, at the National Conservatism Conference, Cates commented that she felt that Western society was threatened by Cultural Marxism and referenced the Great Replacement conspiracy theory by stating that falling birth rates are "the one overarching threat to British conservatism and indeed the whole of western society".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jacob Rees-Mogg: Protester storms stage during speech to warn of 'fascism' |url=https://news.sky.com/story/jacob-rees-mogg-protester-storms-stage-during-speech-to-warn-of-fascism-12881437 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> Cates later stated in an interview in June 2023 that she uses the term as a catch-all pseudonym for "bad liberal ideology".<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Turner |first=Janice |date=28 June 2023 |title=Is Miriam Cates a mainstream Tory or a right-wing ideologue? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/miriam-cates-interview-conservative-mp-politics-right-wing-abortion-gender-qcxrj6vdr |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=The Times |archive-date=20 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920151934/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/miriam-cates-interview-conservative-mp-politics-right-wing-abortion-gender-qcxrj6vdr |url-status=live }}</ref>
In August 2023, Cates called for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights if the Supreme Court finds the Rwanda policy incompatible with European law. Cates argues that UK equalities legislation has become a threat to freedoms of speech, expression, religion, and association and that the UK's common law heritage provides a strong human rights record, even without the ECHR.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tolson |first=Jack |date=18 August 2023 |title=MP: Mass migration a 'serious security threat' |url=https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/25980/mp-mass-migration-a-serious-security-threat |accessdate=19 August 2023 |work=Barnsley Chronicle}}</ref> Cates argued for the nation to be resolved to use the power of the state to address the needs of voters who feel ignored and disrespected whilst also aiming to keep faith with Brexit voters.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> She said that,<blockquote>Some people on the left have a moral problem with saying we should favour our own. But you favour your own children. Of course you do, because you and you alone are that child's parent; who else will take care of them? It's exactly the same – whether it's immigration or foreign students coming here. If we don't favour our own country no one else will. So that is our first duty.<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>
=== Gender-critical views ===
Cates has expressed gender-critical views by arguing for the importance of biological sex, "by saying that trans women are women, or by denying the importance of biological sex."<ref>{{cite web |date=11 October 2021 |title=Conservative MP argues women 'are being cancelled' over trans debate |url=https://www.politics.co.uk/news-in-brief/conservative-mp-argues-women-are-being-cancelled-over-trans-debate/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114132634/https://www.politics.co.uk/news-in-brief/conservative-mp-argues-women-are-being-cancelled-over-trans-debate/ |archive-date=14 November 2021 |access-date=6 July 2022 |publisher=politics.co.uk}}</ref> She warned that trans advocating charities Stonewall and Mermaids taught "dangerous and contested extreme ideologies that don't have a basis in science".<ref>{{cite web |date=9 November 2021 |title=MP condemns LGBT charities teaching 'dangerous and extreme ideologies' in schools |url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/mp-lgbt-charities-dangerous-schools/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207052759/https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/mp-lgbt-charities-dangerous-schools/ |archive-date=7 December 2021 |access-date=6 July 2022 |publisher=LBC}}</ref> In one speech, she offered anecdotal observation that, for some men, "trans porn that led them into the trans arena."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |last2=Allegretti |first2=Aubrey |last3=Adu |first3=Aletha |date=1 October 2023 |title=Little sign of Tory unity as factions jostle on first day of conference |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/01/little-sign-of-tory-unity-as-factions-jostle-on-first-day-of-conference |accessdate=1 October 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
In 30 June 2022, during a debate surrounding relationship and sex education in the UK, Cates claimed that knowing about transgender identities could be damaging to children. She shared a story from Bayswater Support Group, of a 15 year old child with Asperger syndrome who began identifying as transgender. Their mother was unsupportive, but the school supported the child's new gender identity. Cates referenced the group name, stating that Bayswater had reported a surge of parents contacting them after their children learnt about transgender people at school. <ref name="h362">{{cite web | last=Baker | first=Sasha | last2=Rocca | first2=Valeria | title=The parents group at the centre of a rollback of trans rights | website=TBIJ | date=2 July 2024 | url=https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024-07-02/the-parents-group-at-the-centre-of-a-rollback-of-trans-rights | access-date=20 July 2025}}</ref>
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism approached Cates, asking for comment on her connection to Bayswater Support Group, after their investigation found that the group members encouraged sending their children to conversion therapy, and destroying their children's belongings. A spokesperson for Cates claimed the investigation included factual errors, and was "contrary to publicly available evidence". The spokesperson refused to provide any further specific comments, and threatened The Bureau of Investigative Journalism with legal action.<ref name="h362"/>
== Post-politics == After losing her seat in Parliament, Cates announced she would be taking roles in media and research.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tolson |first=Jack |date=1 August 2024 |title=Former MP takes on new TV host role |url=https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/28996/former-mp-takes-on-new-tv-host-role |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=Barnsley Chronicle}}</ref> She was revealed as a stand-in presenter for GB News in late July 2024.<ref>{{cite web |date=22 July 2024 |title=Big news for GB News viewers as new host revealed |url=https://www.gbnews.com/news/gb-news-host-miriam-cates |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=GB News |archive-date=2 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802110846/https://www.gbnews.com/news/gb-news-host-miriam-cates |url-status=live }}</ref> She continues to write on themes of politics and culture, contributing to UnHerd, ''The Critic'' and ''The Telegraph''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cates |first=Miriam |author-link=Miriam Cates |date=4 July 2024 |title=Labour could cause irreversible damage in government |url=https://thecritic.co.uk/labour-could-cause-irreversible-damage-in-government/ |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=The Critic Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cates |first=Miriam |date=2 September 2024 |title=Donald Trump's IVF plan doesn't go far enough |url=https://unherd.com/newsroom/donald-trumps-ivf-plan-doesnt-go-far-enough/ |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=UnHerd |archive-date=20 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920151934/https://unherd.com/newsroom/donald-trumps-ivf-plan-doesnt-go-far-enough/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/year-general-election-former-mps-now|title=One Year After The General Election: Where Are Former MPs Now?|last=Crowther|first=Zoe|date=6 July 2025|work=PoliticsHome|accessdate=28 July 2025}}</ref>
==Personal life== Cates lives in Oughtibridge, a village near Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire, with her husband Dave and three children.<ref name="CH2"/><ref name=":2" /> She is an evangelical Christian and met her husband while working on a voluntary project at their church, the Network Church in Sheffield, on a gap year after her Cambridge studies.<ref name=Turner/><ref name="Net">{{cite AV media |url=https://ncsheffield.org/talks/ted-talks-3/ |title=Following God into the neighbourhood |date=25 February 2018 |publisher=Network Church Sheffield |time=01:10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114161849/https://ncsheffield.org/talks/ted-talks-3/ |archive-date=14 November 2021 |url-status=live |accessdate=14 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2 February 2021 |title=Miriam Cates MP: we're obsessed with what we can measure |url=https://unherd.com/thepost/miriam-cates-mp-weve-become-obsessed-with-what-we-can-measure/ |access-date= |website=UnHerd |archive-date=14 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114132622/https://unherd.com/thepost/miriam-cates-mp-weve-become-obsessed-with-what-we-can-measure/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Juvenal">{{cite web |last=Juvenal |date=31 May 2023 |title=Rising star of the right: who is Miriam Cates? |url=https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/rising-star-of-the-right-who-is-miriam-cates/ |access-date=28 February 2024 |website=Yorkshire Bylines }}</ref>
She and her husband founded and own together a software company, Redemption Media.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 February 2020 |title=Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs |url=https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/class-of-2019-meet-the-new-mps |access-date=28 February 2024 |website=Politics Home |archive-date=17 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617034129/https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/class-of-2019-meet-the-new-mps |url-status=live }}</ref> He is the managing director and she is the finance director, and there are no further employees; the company was valued at £5,000 in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Companies House: Redemption Media Ltd|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06399337/}}</ref>
Her husband is also the chairman of the trust board overseeing the Peak Edge Academy Trust.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://peakedge.org.uk/about/trustees/|title=Trustees|accessdate=15 November 2021|publisher=Peak Edge Academy Trust|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115102705/https://peakedge.org.uk/about/trustees/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *{{UK MP links |parliament=4865 |publicwhip=Miriam_Joy_Cates |theywork=miriam_cates}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef|before=Angela Smith}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br /> for Penistone and Stocksbridge|years=2019–2024}} {{s-aft|after=Marie Tidball}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cates, Miriam}} Category:Living people Category:Conservative Party (UK) councillors Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Category:UK councillors 2015–2019 Category:UK councillors 2019–2023 Category:UK MPs 2019–2024 Category:21st-century British women politicians Category:21st-century English businesspeople Category:21st-century English businesswomen Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Category:Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University Category:People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Category:1982 births Category:21st-century English women politicians Category:Women councillors in England Category:English evangelicals Category:Councillors in South Yorkshire