Diane Abbott

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Diane Abbott

Member of Parliament
In office
1987 – present
Born September 27, 1953
Constituency Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Majority 7,427 (25.3%)
Political party Labour

Diane Julie Abbott (born September 27, 1953 in Paddington, London) is a British Labour Party Member of Parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency. She was the first black woman elected to the House of Commons when she was elected in the 1987 General Election. She remained the only black woman MP for ten years until she was joined in the Commons by Oona King in 1997. She is seen as being to the left of New Labour and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group.

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[edit] Early life and career

Abbott was born to Jamaican immigrants, her father a welder and her mother a nurse. She went to Harrow County Grammar School and then to Newnham College, Cambridge where she read history. After university she became a fast-tracked civil servant (1976 to 1978), and then a "Race Relations Officer" at the National Council for Civil Liberties from 1978 to 1980. Amongst her colleagues at NCCL were Harriet Harman, Patricia Hewitt and Paul Boateng, all of whom went on to become Labour Party Members of Parliament. All except Abbott served as Cabinet Ministers in the post 1997 Labour Government.

[edit] Journalism

Abbott was a researcher and reporter at Thames Television from 1980 to 1983 and then a researcher and reporter at the breakfast television company TV AM from 1983 to 1985. Abbott was a press officer at the Greater London Council under Ken Livingstone from 1985 to 1986 and Head of Press and Public Relations at Lambeth Council from 1986 to 1987.

[edit] Political career

Her career in elected politics began in 1982 when she was elected to Westminster City Council, one of the first black women councillors. Five years later in 1987 she was elected to the House of Commons, replacing the 75 year old Ernest Roberts as MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington. She has always been on the left of the party, and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group.

[edit] Media work

She is a pundit alongside the Conservative politician and media personality Michael Portillo (who went to the same school in Harrow), on the BBC's weekly politics digest This Week. They have known each other for many years. At school she played Lady Macbeth to his Macbeth in a production of the Shakespeare play. Despite their opposing politics, they work well together on the programme, which has been described by Jonathan Dimbleby as a "love in" between the two.[1]

[edit] Private life

Diane Abbott married in 1991 and divorced in 1993; she has one son by that marriage. Abbott chose as her son's godfather Jonathan Aitken, who had been her boss at TV AM and subsequently her "pair" in divisions in the house. Her decision to send her son to the private City of London School, which she herself described as "indefensible", caused controversy and was seen by many as hypocritical.[2] [3] [4]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Any Questions?. BBC Radio 4 (23 September 2005). Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
  2. ^ Abbott speaks out on school row. BBC News (31 October 2003). Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
  3. ^ Michael Rosen (December 2003). Education: Dear Diane Abbott.... Socialist Review. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
  4. ^ Diane Abbott (March 2004). Education: Dear Michael Rosen.... Socialist Review. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ernest Roberts		 Hackney North & Stoke Newington
1987 – present		 Incumbent
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