Lord Cashman

Michael Cashman was born on the 17th December 1950 in London, England. He is a former actor who is now a Labour Party politician.

Political Career

Michael Cashman was a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands Constituency from 1999 until he stood down in 2014. In the European Parliament he was Labours spokesman on human rights. During his time as a European MP, Cashman worked on a number of issues including the Millennium Development Goals, climate change and transparency in extractive industries as well as overseas development aid.

Cashman is also a leading critic of discrimination against minorities in the EU. He has also led a cross-party coalition to tackle the rise of homophobia throughout Europe. He is the President of the European Parliament’s intergroup on lesbian and gay issues.

In 1989, Cashman formed the Stonewall Group in the UK, which puts forward the case for equality for LGBT people on the mainstream political agenda. Ed Miliband announced on the 23rd September 2014 that Cashman would be appointed as the Labour Party’s special envoy on LGBT issues worldwide. On this day he was also created a life peer, receiving the title Baron Cashman of Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Education

In 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Staffordshire for his human rights work.

Notable Work

He is best known on screen for playing Colin Russell in the BBC Soap Opera Eastenders in which he took part in the first gay on screen kiss in a British Soap. He has also served as a director at New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle under Lyme and was made associate artist at Birmingham Rep.

External Links

http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-cashman/4340