Mo O'Toole

{{Short description|British Labour Party politician (born 1960)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Mo O'Toole

| image = Barbara O'Toole 1999.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 1999

| constituency_MP = North East England

| parliament = European

| term_start = 10 June 1999

| term_end = 10 June 2004

| predecessor = Constituency established

| successor = Constituency abolished

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|2|24|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| birthname = Barbara Maria O'Toole

| alma_mater = University of Leeds

| party = Labour Party

}}

Barbara Maria O'Toole (born 24 February 1960), known as Mo O'Toole, is a former politician in the United Kingdom.

O'Toole attended Sacred Heart Convent School in Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, then studied at Northumbria University.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090414181238/http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/about/CI/events/outputs/regional_policy_conference/speakers/mo_otoole.aspx Mo O'Toole], ESRC Society Today Soon afterwards, she married future Labour Party MP Alan Milburn, although the couple split in the late 1980s.Andy McSmith, "[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/why-minister-apologised-to-female-official-over-gossip-540749.html Why minister apologised to female official over gossip]{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}", The Independent, 15 June 2003 During this period, O'Toole also served as a Labour Party councillor in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

O'Toole then completed a PhD at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, then became a lecturer in Government and Public Policy, first at the University of Bristol, then at Newcastle. At the European Parliament election, 1999, she was elected for the Labour Party in North East England from third on the party list. She lost her seat in 2004, despite being moved up to second on the party list. O'Toole was on an all-woman shortlist to be the Labour candidate in the safe seat of Bishop Auckland at the 2005 general election, but was not selected."[http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2005/3/3/21121.html Four women in battle for Labour]", Northern Echo, 3 March 2005

Since 2008 she has been a visiting professor and the Jean Monnet Fellow at Newcastle University.{{cite web |title=Research Associates at the Jean Monnet Centre |url=https://research.ncl.ac.uk/jeanmonnet/associates.html |publisher=Newcastle University |access-date=3 October 2024}}