Kate Costain

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Kate Costain

|honorific-suffix = MHK

|image =

|office = Leader of the Liberal Vannin Party

|term_start = February 2014

|term_end =

|predecessor = Peter Karran

|successor =

|office2 = Member of the House of Keys for Douglas South

|term_start2 = 2011

|term_end2 = 2020

|leader2 = Peter Karran {{small|(until 2014)}}

|predecessor2 = Bill Malarkey

|successor2 =

|birth_name = Kathleen Joan Beecroft

|birth_date =

|birth_place = Isle of Man

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Liberal Vannin Party

}}

Kathleen Joan "Kate" Costain (née Beecroft) is a Manx politician who is a former Leader of the Liberal Vannin Party and was a Member of the House of Keys for Douglas South from 2011 to 2020. She changed her surname from Beecroft to Costain in 2019.[http://www.iomtoday.co.im/article.cfm?id=51911&headline=LibVan%20leader%27s%20name%20change§ionIs=news&searchyear=2019 LibVan leader's name change], Manx Independent, 9 November 2019

Career

Costain was born on the Isle of Man and worked as an accountant before entering politics.

She stood unsuccessfully for the Liberal Vannin Party in Middle in the 2006 Manx general election but later became a Braddan Commissioner from 2007 to 2011. Beecroft served as Chairman of the Liberal Vannin Party from 2008 to 2009.{{cite web|title=Kate Beecroft MHK|url=http://www.liberalvannin.org/kate-beecroft-mhk/|website=Liberal Vannin Party|accessdate=12 April 2015|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20150412104630/http://www.liberalvannin.org/kate-beecroft-mhk/|archivedate=12 April 2015}} She stood unsuccessfully again in Douglas East in a by-election in 2010, coming second and only seven votes behind Chris Robertshaw who won.{{cite web|title=Kathleen Joan BEECROFT MHK (Douglas South)|url=http://www.tynwald.org.im/memoff/member/Pages/BeecroftKJ.aspx|website=Tynwald - Parliament of the Isle of Man|accessdate=12 April 2015}}

In the 2011 Manx general election Beecroft was elected for the Liberal Vannin Party in Douglas South, becoming one of three Liberal Vannin MHKs.

In February 2014, Peter Karran, the Leader of the Liberal Vannin Party, renounced his leadership in favour of Beecroft. Karran said that it "was time for a change."{{cite news|last1=Vannin|first1=Ellan|title=Kate Beecroft succeeds Peter Karran as Liberal Vannin leader|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-26322339|accessdate=12 April 2015|work=BBC News|date=24 February 2014}} She once revealed aspirations to bring more women into the House of Keys and to field a Liberal Vannin candidate in every constituency in the 2016 Manx general election.{{cite news|last1=Darbyshire|first1=Adrian|title=New Liberal Vannin leader Kate Beecroft says party is getting results|url=http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/new-liberal-vannin-leader-kate-beecroft-says-party-is-getting-results-1-6476228|accessdate=12 April 2015|work=IOM Today|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924043033/http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/new-liberal-vannin-leader-kate-beecroft-says-party-is-getting-results-1-6476228|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}} At the 2016 election Liberal Vannin initially fielded only 4 candidates in the 12 constituencies, with one of those resigning from the party on the day of the election.{{cite news|last1=Manx Radio|title=Ayres resigns from Lib Van|url=http://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/ayres-resigns-from-lib-van/|accessdate=27 September 2016|work=Manx Radio}}

Beecroft was Minister for Health and Social Care from 2016 until 2018. She was asked by the Chief Minister to resign as minister in January 2018 in controversial circumstances after two political members had resigned from her Department in 2017 and one LibVan MHK had resigned from the party.

She resigned as an MHK in July 2020.Tynwald Court Hansard for 21 July 2020

Electoral performance

House of Keys elections

class="wikitable"
Date of election ! Constituency ! ! Party ! Votes ! % of votes ! Result
2006 general election \|Middle \| style="background-color: {{party color\|Liberal Vannin Party}}" \| \|Liberal Vannin Party \|548 \|28.5 \|Not elected
2010 by-election \|Douglas East \| style="background-color: {{party color\|Liberal Vannin Party}}" \| \|Liberal Vannin Party \|381 \|25.3 \|Not elected
2011 general election \|Douglas South \| style="background-color: {{party color\|Liberal Vannin Party}}" \| \|Liberal Vannin Party \|1,191 \|29.5 \|Elected
2016 general election \|Douglas South \| style="background-color: {{party color\|Liberal Vannin Party}}" \| \|Liberal Vannin Party \|1,134 \|36.0 \|Elected

class="wikitable"

Date of election

! Constituency

! Party

! Votes

! % of votes

! Result

2006 general election

|Middle

| style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Vannin Party}}" |

|Liberal Vannin Party

|548