Diane Abbott
Ms Diane Abbott MP is a member of parliament for the constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, she is a member of the Labour Party and has been in office since 1987.
Biography
Diane was born in London in 1953. She attended the grammar school Harrow County and then went on to Newnham College Cambridge where she obtained a Masters degree in history.
When she left Cambridge University Diane joined Government as a Home Office Civil Servant. She went on to work for the lobby group the National Council for Civil Liberties, then she became a journalist. She worked extensively as a freelancer and she went on to work as a reporter for the breakfast television company TV-AM and Thames Television. And she also worked as a public relations consultant for various public sector clients.
Diane is founder of the London Schools and the Black Child initiative, which aims to raise educational achievement levels amongst Black children. She hosts an annual conference for educators, children and their parents and an annual academic awards ceremony.
In 2008 Diane was awarded the Spectator/Threadneedle Speech of the Year Award and a Human Rights Award from Liberty.
In May 2010 Diane was re-elected in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and doubled her majority on an increased turnout. In June 2010, she made the ballot for the Labour leadership contest and took part in the summer long campaign to elect the next Labour leader. Although her campaign did not yield the leadership position, she was nonetheless propelled to the front benches as shadow Public Health Minister.
Roles
- Shadow Minister (Public Health) (2010-13)
- Member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee (1994-97)
- Foreign Affairs: Entry Clearance Sub-Committee (1997-98)
- Foreign Affairs Committee (1997-01)
- Treasury Committee (1995-97)
- Treasury & Civil Service Sub-Committee (1989-95)
- Treasury & Civil Service (1989-95)
