Diane Abbott
Diane Abbott was first elected to the House of Commons in 1987, making her the first black woman to sit in Parliament. She served as Shadow Public Health Minister from 2010 to 2013, securing herself a position on the party front benches for the first time in her career. Abbott’s selection for this role came about partly as a result of her raised profile following the 2010 Labour Party leadership contest. She surprised the party by joining the race after criticising the apparent similarity of the existing white, male nominees. Prior to this, Abbott was best known as a left-wing backbencher, critical of numerous government policies. Rarely shying from controversy, Abbott aroused much criticism in 2003 when she decided to send her son to a fee-paying school despite having previously criticised colleagues who had chosen selective state schools for their children.
Abbott’s public profile has been further raised by her engagement with the media. She has appeared regularly on the political discussion programme This Week, alongside former Conservative minister Michael Portillo.
Before becoming an MP, Abbott was a journalist and race relations officer, working for Thames Television, TV-AM and the National Council for Civil Liberties. Abbott was born in 1953 and graduated from Cambridge University in 1976.
Website: http://www.dianeabbott.org.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HackneyAbbott
