Jump to content

Debbie Abrahams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Debbie Abrahams
MP
Abrahams in 2014
Member of Parliament
forOldham East and Saddleworth
Assumed office
13 January 2011
Preceded byPhil Woolas
Majority6,357 (15.9%)
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Secretary of State
2016–2018Work and Pensions
Shadow Minister
2015–2016Disabled People
Personal details
Born
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Morgan

(1960-09-15)15 September 1960(age 63)
Sheffield,West Riding of Yorkshire,England
Political partyLabour
Spouse
​
(m.1986)​
Alma materUniversity of Salford
University of Liverpool
Websitedebbieabrahams.org.uk

Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams(néeMorgan;born 15 September 1960)[1][2]is a BritishLabour Partypolitician who has served asMember of Parliament(MP) forOldham East and Saddleworthsince 2011. Abrahams was a member of theShadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbynfrom 2015 to 2018. She remains in theHouse of Commonsas abackbencher.

Early life and career[edit]

Deborah Abrahams was born on 15 September 1960 inSheffield;her father was a dentist. She was privately educated, going on to study biochemistry and physiology at theUniversity of Salford.Her early employment was as a community worker for a charity inWythenshawein south Manchester, where she set up job training programmes for teenagers.[3]She later studied for a master's degree at theUniversity of Liverpool.Abrahams was head of healthy cities forKnowsleyand served on the board of Bury and Rochdale Health Authority.[3]

In 2002, Abrahams was appointed chair ofRochdalePrimary Care Trust.[4]She was Director of the International Health Impact Assessment Consortium at the University of Liverpool between 2006 and 2010.[5]

Political career[edit]

She resigned from the Chair of Rochdale Primary Care Trust in 2007, over the use of private health companies in theNational Health Service,which she said was "destroying the NHS".[6]She then joined theLabour Party,declaring that she wanted "to challenge health policy at a local and national level to ensure that it reflects [the] core values" of the NHS. She was appointed bySimon Danczuk,then Labour candidate forRochdale,as his advisor on health,[4]and she stood for Rochdale Borough Council in Milnrow and Newhey ward in the2008 local elections.[7]She criticised the local council in Rochdale for failing to address health inequalities in the town.[8]

Parliamentary career[edit]

At the2010 general election,Abrahams stood as the Labour candidate inColne Valley,coming third with 26.4% of the vote behind theConservativecandidateJason McCartneyand theLiberal Democratcandidate.[9][10]

In December 2010, Abrahams was placed on a shortlist of three to be the Labour Party candidate for the2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.[11]At the by-election, Abrahams was elected to Parliament as MP forOldham East and Saddleworthwith 42.1% of the vote and a majority of 3,558.[12]

Abrahams was appointed parliamentary private secretary toAndy Burnhamand elected Chair of theParliamentary Labour Party's Health Committee. In 2014, she organised an Inquiry Into The Effectiveness Of International Health Systems which she said demonstrated that "where there is competition, privatisation or marketisation in a health system, health equity worsens".[13]She sought to reassureClinical commissioning groupsthat the Labour Party's proposed health reforms would not amount to a top-down ‘big bang’ shake up of the NHS.[14]

At the2015 general election,Abrahams was re-elected as MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth with a decreased vote share of 39.4% and an increased majority of 6,002.[15][16]

She was elected as a member of theWork and Pensions Select Committeein July 2015.[17]In September 2015, Abrahams was appointedShadow Minister for Disabled Peopleby Labour leaderJeremy Corbynin recognition on her work with disabled people in the past.[18]Abrahams was appointedShadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensionsin June 2016, followingOwen Smith's resignation from the Shadow Cabinet in the wake of theEU Referendum result.[19]

At the snap2017 general election,Abrahams was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 54.5% and an increased majority of 8,182.[20]Abrahams was again re-elected at the2019 general election,with a decreased vote share of 43.5% and a decreased majority of 1,503.[21]

In February 2021, Abrahams was one of three MPs who successfully took legal action against theDepartment of Health and Social Careover contracts awarded during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Abrahams was re-selected in April 2022 as the Labour candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth at the2024 general election.[23]

She is a member ofLabour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.[24]

2018 bullying claims[edit]

In March 2018, Abrahams was suspended from her position as Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary whilst she was investigated by the Labour Party over a "workplace issue", reported by several media outlets to be related to claims that she bullied staff;[25]she has vehemently denied the claims, adding that she is the victim of a "bullying culture of the worst kind".[26][27]In May that year she was removed from the Shadow Cabinet. In a statement, Abrahams said: "I strongly refute the allegations of bullying made against me. I believe the investigation was not thorough, fair or independent." She said she would now go to the party'sNational Executive Committee disputes panel.[28][29]

Awards[edit]

In January 2013, Abrahams was awarded theGrassroot DiplomatInitiative Award in the Business Driver category, for her campaign to improve late payments affecting small businesses. She not only signed up to be a Champion of the Federation of Small Businesses Real-Life Entrepreneurs Campaign, but has been at the forefront of a campaign to improve the speed with which small businesses are paid by their customers.[30]

Personal life[edit]

Abrahams marriedJohn Abrahams,a former captain ofLancashire County cricket team,in the late 1980s. They have two daughters, Victoria and Dawn.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Index entry".FreeBMD.ONS.Retrieved26 February2018.
  2. ^"No. 61961".The London Gazette.19 June 2017. p. 11776.
  3. ^abcMacmillan, Ross (13 January 2011)."Oldham candidates standing in today's by-election".24dash. Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2012.Retrieved14 January2011.
  4. ^ab"Simon Danczuk announces new health advisor".Rochdale Online. 17 March 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 19 July 2011.Retrieved14 January2011.
  5. ^"About – Institute of Psychology Health and Society".University of Liverpool.Archivedfrom the original on 11 March 2015.Retrieved19 July2016.
  6. ^"Health Boss quits over private company use".Manchester Evening News.13 August 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved22 October2014.
  7. ^Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael, eds. (2008)."Rochdale"(PDF).Local elections handbook 2008: the 2008 local election results.Plymouth: Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, University of Plymouth. p. 47.ISBN9780948858437.
  8. ^Staff writer (22 March 2008)."Council must share responsibility for damning report".Rochdale Online.Archivedfrom the original on 17 December 2014.Retrieved22 October2014.
  9. ^"Election Data 2010".Electoral Calculus.Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2013.Retrieved17 October2015.
  10. ^"UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Colne Valley".Election 2010.BBC. 7 May 2010.Retrieved11 May2010.
  11. ^"Labour picks Debbie Abrahams for by-election".Saddleworth News.12 December 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 14 May 2016.Retrieved28 June2016.
  12. ^"Ten Candidates To Fight By-Election".Saddleworth News. 23 December 2010.Retrieved12 December2010.
  13. ^Abrahams, Debbie (22 May 2014)."Inquiry into the effectiveness of international health systems".Socialist Health Association.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2016.Retrieved26 May2016.
  14. ^Hazell, Will (16 October 2014)."Labour seeks to mollify reorganisation fears".Local Government Chronicle.Archivedfrom the original on 23 October 2014.Retrieved22 October2014.
  15. ^"Election Data 2015".Electoral Calculus.Archived fromthe originalon 17 October 2015.Retrieved17 October2015.
  16. ^"Election 2015 – Oldham East & Saddleworth".BBC News.Retrieved13 October2015.
  17. ^"Work and Pensions Committee – membership".UK Parliament.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved26 September2015.
  18. ^Staff writer (18 September 2015)."DPAC Welcome Debbie Abrahams as the new Shadow Minister for Disabled People".Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC).Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2018.Retrieved14 March2018.
  19. ^Gaul, Phil (9 February 2015)."About Debbie".debbieabrahams.org.Archivedfrom the original on 25 February 2018.Retrieved13 November2017.
  20. ^"Oldham East & Saddleworth parliamentary constituency".BBC News.
  21. ^Sansome, Jessica; Otter, Saffron (14 November 2019)."All the Greater Manchester General Election 2019 candidates".men.Retrieved15 November2019.
  22. ^"Coronavirus: 'Right' to delay contract transparency in pandemic, says Hancock".BBC News.21 February 2021.Retrieved21 February2021.
  23. ^Debbie Abrahams [@Debbie_abrahams] (19 April 2022)."I'm so proud to have been unanimously re-selected by every single branch of Oldham East and Saddleworth's Constituency Labour Party, and their affiliates, and to stand again as Labour's candidate in the next #GeneralElection #ThankYou @oldhamlabour"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  24. ^"Parliamentary Supporters".LFPME.1 January 1970.Retrieved5 June2024.
  25. ^Walker, Peter (11 March 2018)."Labour's Debbie Abrahams investigated by party over workplace issue".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 11 March 2018.Retrieved12 March2018.
  26. ^Staff writer (12 March 2018)."Row as Labour's Debbie Abrahams leaves front bench".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 12 March 2018.Retrieved12 March2018.
  27. ^Demianyk, Graeme; Forrester, Kate (11 March 2018)."Labour's Debbie Abrahams forced to quit Shadow Cabinet over 'workplace issue'".HuffPost.Archivedfrom the original on 14 March 2018.Retrieved15 March2018.
  28. ^Staff writer (8 May 2018)."Debbie Abrahams MP has been sacked from Labour's shadow Cabinet".Granada Reports.ITV Granada.Archivedfrom the original on 9 May 2018.Retrieved8 May2018.
  29. ^Staff writer (8 May 2018)."Abrahams axed from shadow cabinet over bullying claims".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2018.Retrieved10 May2018.
  30. ^"Grassroot Diplomat Who's Who".Grassroot Diplomat.15 March 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 20 May 2015.Retrieved27 April2015.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDebbie Abrahams.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
forOldham East and Saddleworth
2011–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
2016–2018 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Debbie_Abrahams&oldid=1234900217"