Miriam Cates

Miriam Cates

I was born and brought up in Sheffield and developed an interest in politics from a young age. I went to Cambridge University to study Natural Sciences and returned to Sheffield to train as a biology teacher. I took a career break to raise my three children and during that time became involved in our village community, including serving as a parish councillor.
 
Thanks to a series of unexpected opportunities, I found myself standing for Parliament in 2019 and was elected as the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge. It was an honour to represent my local community and a privilege to have a window into so many different peoples’ lives, businesses and, often, struggles. So often I found that the root cause of constituents’ problems was family breakdown.
 
As a backbencher in Parliament, I focussed on issues around strengthening families and protecting children from online harms, particularly violent pornography. One of the highlights of my time as an MP was working with the Centre for Social Justice on a number of reports, including ‘Parents know best’ and the Social Justice Commission.
 
Following my parliamentary defenestration in July 2024, I am absolutely delighted to be appointed to the CSJ as Senior Fellow and excited to be working on the ‘Lost Boys’ project. As a mum and as a former teacher and MP, I am acutely aware of the challenges faces by boys growing up today, particularly those in low-income and fatherless homes. I hope our work can offer some new ideas about how to restore hope and purpose to Britain’s lost boys.
 
I also work as a presenter for GB News, I’m a regular contributor to The Telegraph, The Critic, UnHerd and The Express and I sit on the Advisory Board for the Alliance of Responsible Citizenship.