Conor McGinn

Conor Patrick McGinn (born 31 July 1984) is a British and Irish politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens North from 2015 to 2024.

Early life and education Conor McGinn was born on 31 July 1984 in Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and brought up in the nearby village of Bessbrook. The village was highly militarised during The Troubles. His mother was an NHS clerical officer, and his father was a Sinn Féin councillor. Before going to university, he worked for the African National Congress in South Africa on a fellowship for two months.

Political career McGinn was chair of the Young Fabians from 2006 to 2007, and was also vice-chair of Young Labour. He has been on the executive of the Fabian Society and until 2012 was chair of the Labour Party Irish Society.

Parliamentary career McGinn was elected to Parliament as MP for St Helens North with 57% of the vote and a majority of 17,291.

McGinn supported Andy Burnham's bid for the leadership of the Labour Party in 2015. He nominated Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election.

In July 2016, he was involved in a Twitter spat with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, in which McGinn claimed that Corbyn "said that he intended to ring my father", a former Sinn Féin councillor. Corbyn's spokesman said the claim was "untrue".

Following the October 2016 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, and the replacement of Dame Rosie Winterton as Chief Whip, McGinn resigned as a whip.

At the snap 2017 general election, McGinn was re-elected as MP for St Helens North with an increased vote share of 63.7% and an increased majority of 18,406.

In July 2019, McGinn submitted and moved the successful House of Commons amendment to change the law to extend equal marriage for LGBT people to Northern Ireland.

At the 2019 general election, McGinn was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 52.3% and a decreased majority of 12,209.

In February 2020, McGinn supported the campaign for Helen's Law, working with Marie McCourt to successfully introduce a Private Members Bill and getting the Government to commit to introducing tougher penalties for murderers who refuse to reveal the location of their victims' remains.

On 9 April 2020, McGinn was appointed as Shadow Minister for Security. In June 2021, he was appointed as Labour's deputy national campaign coordinator. In December 2021, he was appointed Shadow Minister without Portfolio.

McGinn was suspended by the Labour Party in December 2022, following an unspecified complaint. In October 2023, he left the party in order to withdraw from the process; he stated that he had done nothing wrong, that there had been "no finding of any wrongdoing", and that the process was "flawed, protracted and prejudicial".

In January 2026 he was charged with sexual assault, and in February 2026 he plead not guilty for an alleged offence which happened in July 2022. The full trial should take place late 2026.

Personal life McGinn has lived in Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows. He currently resides in Lambeth, London. McGinn holds both Irish and British citizenship.