International Womens Month 2008: Features

Diane Abbott, the first black woman to be elected to parliament

The recent party thrown by the Fawcett Society at the House of Commons to celebrate the achievements of Diane Abbott, the first black woman to be elected to parliament, also served to bitterly highlight how little things have moved on.

Since Abbott was first elected as a Labour MP for Hackney and Stoke Newington in 1987, only two other black women have joined her in parliament - Dawn Butler and Oona King. That’s three black women in the history of politics. And there is yet to be an Asian woman MP elected.
What’s gone wrong here? Based on the average of one additional ethnic minority woman MP every 10 years, it will take more than 300 years before parliament reflects Britain’s population of ethnic minority women who make up 5.2 per cent of the UK.

“Many thought that I couldn’t win, that people just wouldn’t come out to vote for a young black woman to become a Member of Parliament. Even a number of black people thought that”

Speaking to Coutts Woman, Abbot gave her view: “Black women suffer from a double whammy in that they suffer from sexism which women do anyway, but also there’s racism on top. That makes it that much harder for them. But I think there are many able and dynamic black women around and they have a lot of things to offer, so I hope to encourage them to get active in politics.”

“Black women suffer from a double whammy in that they suffer from sexism which women do anyway, but also there’s racism on top. That makes it that much harder for them. But I think there are many able and dynamic black women around and they have a lot of things to offer, so I hope to encourage them to get active in politics.”

In a profession where you are scrutinised for your every word and move, it’s not perhaps the most appealing of careers. Though this has never much bothered Abbott. Throughout her 20 years, she has been a highly controversial figure, often rebelling against the views of New Labour rather than towing the party line.

For this, she has gained wide-spread respect and become somewhat of an iconic figure for the left. However, all this nearly lay in tatters in 2003 when Abbot sent her son to a fee-paying school in the City of London rather than to a state school in her own constituency.
“Sending my son to a fee-paying school was one of my toughest times but I don’t regret the decision I took about his education.

“It was very difficult because I was trying to do the right thing as a mother, and some people were upset by that. That was one of my toughest times but I don’t regret the decision I took about my son’s education,” she insists.

She survived the career crisis, although many people remain divided about her and her decision even now. The measured response she gives now on the matter, is an indication of just how far she’s come since the early days of her career, when she was renowned as a feisty, staunchly feminist, anti-racist Member of Parliament.

Diane Abbott, (left) with members of working links.

“When I first started, it was very difficult because I wasn’t just black and female, I was also quite young. It was a difficult election campaign that a lot of people thought I couldn’t win because people just wouldn’t come out to vote for a young black woman to become a member of parliament. Even a number of black people thought that as well,” she said.

But when she did? “It was a big adjustment for me and for parliament. The early years were probably the toughest. It’s got a little bit better partly because you’re very familiar to people,” she admitted.

It was during Abbott’s college years that she developed a fire in her belly for politics. “My family came to this country from the Caribbean, my mother was a nurse and my daddy worked in a factory. I went to Cambridge and was really struck by the huge gulf between my background and most of the people I was at university with. And by the opportunities available to people like my parents, friends and relatives at school, and those I was meeting at Cambridge. It seemed I was living in a very divided society and I wanted to do something about it,” she insisted.

And, over the last 20 years, some things have been done. “In Westminster, there are now 126 women and that’s a big change. There are also many more younger MPs. When I started in parliament, it seemed a very elderly place.

“Outside politics, there are many more black women in professions like teaching and on TV. But still only two more black women have joined parliament in the last 20 years.”

So, what would she like to see for the future of politics? “I think it’s very important that Britain has a parliament that looks like Britain, which means that it should be more diverse. Also, I think that for Britain to complete globally it needs to make a virtue of its diversity. It’s an asset and that should be reflected in parliament as well as everywhere else.”

And for her personally? “My life’s ambition is to be an MP and I’ve been able to do that. I suppose the only thing left is to write a book. Probably fiction. I’ll have to wait for a few people to die before I write my memoir. It might be controversial.” We’d expect nothing less! *

Features

TheWinning vote: Diane Abbott MP