Dame Diana Ruth JohnsonDBE(born 25 July 1966) is a British politician who has served as theMember of Parliament(MP) forKingston upon Hull Northsince the2005 general election.A member of theLabour Party,she has served asMinister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Preventionsince July 2024.[2][3]
During theBrown ministry,she served asParliamentary Under Secretary of Statefor Schools in theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families,as well as being anAssistant Government Whip.
Early life
editJohnson was born inNorthwich,Cheshire.After returning from wartime service in the Navy her father, Eric Johnson, founded the Eric Johnsonelectrical engineeringcompany inLittle Leighnear Northwich, Cheshire (now continued by his son). She passed the Eleven plus and attended the Northwich County Grammar School for Girls (later theCounty High School Leftwich). At sixth form level she studied atSir John Deane's Collegefrom 1982 to 1984 where she studied History, English and Economics.[4]
She gained anLLBin Law fromQueen Mary University of London.[5]She became abarristerin 1991. From 1999 to 2005, she was a Barrister in Law at Paddington Law Centre.
Johnson was a councillor in theLondon Borough of Tower Hamletsfrom 1994 to 2002, serving as Chair ofSocial services.She became a member of the London Assembly on 1 March 2003 after the resignation ofTrevor Phillipswho became chair of theCommission for Racial Equality,having been next on the list of London-wide members at the2000 election.She did not stand for re-election in 2004.
Parliamentary career
editShe stood unsuccessfully inBrentwood and Ongarat the2001 general election.[6]
At the2005 general election,she was elected Labour Member of Parliament for theKingston upon Hull Northconstituency, succeeding veteran Labour MPKevin McNamara.She is Hull's first female MP.
In November 2005 Johnson was appointed as aParliamentary Private Secretaryto the Minister of State for Pensions Reform,Stephen Timms.In 2007 she left this role to become an assistant Government Whip. She took on the additional role of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools in the reshuffle of June 2009.
During theUnited Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandalit was revealed that Johnson had claimed £987 in architects fees for her second home, which she voluntarily repaid, and had a £563 claim for crockery rejected as "excessive"[7]
In the 2010 general election Johnson polled 39.2% of the vote and held onto the Hull North constituency for Labour with her majority reduced to 641 votes.[8]
In 2014, Johnson proposed a Bill under theTen Minute Rulethat would require sex and relationships education, including discussions around issues such as consent, to be made a compulsory part of theNational Curriculum[9]
Johnson was appointed in September 2015 byJeremy Corbyn,shortly after he became Labour party leader, as a shadow minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth team.[10]In late June 2016, along with colleagues, she resigned as a shadow minister, unhappy at Corbyn's leadership following the 'leave' vote in theEuropean membership referendum.[11]She supportedOwen Smithin the2016 Labour leadership election.[12]
She is co-chair of theAPPGonHaemophiliaandContaminated Blood,[13]campaigned on the Contaminated Blood Scandal and, in November 2018, received thePolitical Studies Association's 'Backbencher of the Year' award in recognition of her efforts.[14]
In September 2019, Johnson became the first Labour MP to face a full reselection process by her local party after members voted that she should face a challenge.[15]On 25 October 2019, Johnson's local party voted by 292 votes to 101 to reselect her as the candidate for the next election.[16]She was re-elected in the 2019 general election.[17]
Political positions
editProstitution
editOn 9 December 2020, Johnson introduced aTen Minute Rulebill that would introduce theNordic model approach to prostitution,which would criminalise those paying for sex and criminalise websites which advertise prostitution. The bill was strongly criticised and opposed by sex workers including theEnglish Collective of Prostitutesgroup, women's rights organisations,trade unions,Amnesty Internationaland thousands of individuals, who argued that this legislation would push the industry underground and put sex workers in danger.[18][19]
Israel
editIn September 2020, Johnson was appointed a vice-chair ofLabour Friends of Israel.[20]
In November 2021, Johnson in theJewish Newswrote an article supporting a speech byKeir Starmerthat opposed theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctionsof Israel. She said "Rejectinganti-Zionistantisemitismmeans opposing the BDS movement which demonises and delegitimisesIsrael,singling it out for boycotts and sanctions. "[21]
Abortion
editIn July 2021, Diana Johnson proposed an amendment that would liberaliseabortion in England and Wales.[22]Proponents of the amendment suggested this would bring English and Welsh law in line with recent legislative changes inNorthern Ireland.However, Johnson was strongly criticised for not clarifying whether this would allow for abortion up until birth. It has also been suggested bypro-lifeorganisations that this would have removed the requirement for a doctor to be involved, allow forsex selective abortionand removed conscience protections for those medical professionals who object to abortion.[23]
Johnson was also criticised by 800 medical professionals in a letter that suggested such an amendment would remove legal safeguards for both the mother and child and pointed out that extensions to the 24 week limit were only supported by 1% of the UK population according to a recentSavanta ComRespoll.Johnson received little support in Parliament for the amendment and was also criticised by somepro-choicepoliticians[citation needed].Johnson declined to take the amendment to a vote.[24]
In 2024, Johnson's amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which would decriminalise women themselves in relation to their own pregnancies but would leave the rest of abortion law and regulation unchanged, has been backed by theRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,theBritish Medical Association,Mumsnet, and many groups who work with survivors of gender based violence such as Women's Aid and Karma Nirvana.[25]Conservative ChancellorJeremy Hunt,who has previously backed a reduction in abortion time limits, has indicated he may support her amendment.[26]The Health SecretaryVictoria Atkinshas also suggested she may vote for the amendment.[27]
Brexit
editJohnson supported theindicative Parliamentary votes on Brexitand her local paperHull Livereported that she had been threatened along with fellow Hull MPEmma Hardyon social media with being "shot and hanged" for this position.[28]
Votes at 16
editIn 2017, Johnson co-sponsored a Bill in Parliament that would have granted 16-year-olds the right to vote in Parliamentary elections.[29]
Honours
editJohnson was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire(DBE) in the2020 New Year Honoursfor charitable and political service,[30]in part for her campaigning on contaminated blood transfusions.[31]She was appointed to the Privy Council on 10 March 2021.[32]
References
edit- ^"House of Commons – The Register of Members' Financial Interests – Part 2: Part 2".House of Commons.Retrieved14 January2017.
- ^"Ministerial Appointments: July 2024".GOV.UK.Retrieved8 July2024.
- ^"Minister of State (Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention) – GOV.UK".gov.uk.Retrieved1 August2024.
- ^"Former SJD?s student becomes an MP".Sir John Deane's College.Archived fromthe originalon 30 October 2007.
- ^"About Diana".dianajohnson.co.uk.Retrieved21 March2022.
- ^"Barrister selected to fight seat".BBC News.23 February 2004.Retrieved17 June2024.
- ^Prince, Rosa (19 May 2009)."MPs' expenses: Diana Johnson claims £987 for an architect and repays it two years later".Daily Telegraph.Retrieved26 March2015.
- ^"UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Hull North".Election 2010.BBC. 7 May 2010.Retrieved10 May2010.
- ^"Hull MP calls for schools to help protect children from sex abuse".ITV. 19 October 2014.Retrieved26 March2015.
- ^Chakelian, Anoosh (18 September 2015)."Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet: the full list of ministers".New Statesman.Retrieved14 September2016.
- ^Syal, Rajeev; Perraudin, Frances; Slawson, Nicola (27 June 2016)."Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying".The Guardian.Retrieved14 September2016.
- ^"Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith".LabourList.21 July 2016.Retrieved15 July2019.
- ^Commons, The Committee Office, House of."House of Commons – Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups as at 20 December 2017: Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood".publications.parliament.uk.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^"Hull MP Diana Johnson wins top political award for Backbencher of the Year".BriefReport.Retrieved28 November2018.
- ^Schofield, Kevin (7 September 2019)."Diana Johnson becomes first Labour MP to face reselection battle through trigger ballot process".PoliticsHome.Retrieved8 September2019.
- ^Wood, Alex (25 October 2019)."Hull North MP Diana Johnson sees off Momentum-backed candidate".The Yorkshire Post.Retrieved25 October2019.
- ^"Hull North parliamentary constituency – Election 2019".BBC News.13 December 2019.Retrieved19 December2019.
- ^Oppenheim, Maya (9 December 2020)."Labour MP fiercely criticised for proposing legislation which would criminalise buying sex".The Independent.Retrieved9 December2020.
- ^Parsons, Vic (9 December 2020)."Labour MP tables controversial bill to criminalise buying sex. Sex workers say it would put their lives in danger".PinkNews.Retrieved18 December2020.
- ^Harpin, Lee (9 September 2020)."Labour Friends of Israel announces six new vice-chairs".The Jewish Chronicle.Retrieved9 September2020.
- ^Johnson, Diana (29 November 2021)."Keir's stance against BDS and antisemitism is true Labour values".blogs.timesofisrael.Archivedfrom the original on 29 November 2021.Retrieved29 November2021.
- ^"The week ahead in Parliament".BBC News.2 July 2021.Retrieved8 July2021.
- ^"Relief as" regressive "abortion amendment withdrawn at Westminster".CARE.Retrieved8 July2021.
- ^"Large group of MPs speak out against introducing abortion up to birth".righttolife.org.uk.6 July 2021.Retrieved8 July2021.
- ^https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/53621/documents/4252[bare URL]
- ^Pogrund, Gabriel (11 April 2024)."Jeremy Hunt poised to back vote to decriminalise abortion".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved11 April2024.
- ^Hayward, Eleanor (11 April 2024)."Parliament poised to decriminalise abortion in historic vote".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved11 April2024.
- ^Daly, Patrick (24 March 2019)."Online trolls want Diana Johnson 'shot and hanged' over Brexit".HullLive.Retrieved29 November2021.
- ^"Representation of the People (Young People's Enfranchisement and Education) Bill 2017–19".parallelparliament.co.uk.Retrieved29 November2021.
- ^"No. 62866".The London Gazette(Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N8.
- ^Walker, Peter (27 December 2019)."Iain Duncan Smith among three MPs in new year honours list".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved27 December2019.
- ^"Order in Council"(PDF).Privy Council Office.Retrieved6 May2021.
External links
edit
- Diana Johnson MP's websiteofficial site
- The Labour Party – Diana Johnson MPofficial biography
- ProfileatParliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in ParliamentatHansard
- Voting recordatPublic Whip
- Record in ParliamentatTheyWorkForYou
- Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Diana Johnson MP
- BBC PoliticsArchived21 October 2007 atarchive.today
- AppearancesonC-SPAN