Harriet Harman was first elected as the Labour MP for Camberwell and Peckham in a 1982 by-election, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 33,780.
The constituency of Camberwell and Peckham is an inner city seat in south London. At over 50% it has the highest proportion of social housing of any constituency in the UK. An ethnically diverse constituency, black voters account for two fifths of the electorate, again the highest for any seat in the UK. A high proportion of the workforce is said to work in health and social work, and both London’s Kings Hospital and the Maudsley psychiatric hospital are found within this constituency. This area of London has been represented by the Labour Party since the mid 1930s. It is one of the party’s safest seats in the country and a massive seven in ten local voters backed the party in 2019.
Harriet Harman was elected and served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party between 2007 and 2015. In the course of a forty year political career, she is now one of the longest serving women MPs at Westminster.
In December 2021, Harman announced that she planned to stand down from Parliament at the next election.
Harman previously held a range of posts in the Blair and Brown governments. She was Secretary of State for Social Security in the Cabinet between 1997 and 1998, Solicitor General between 2001 and 2005, Minister of State for Justice between 2005 and 2007; and Leader of the House of Commons, Secretary of State for Equalities, Minister for Women and Lord Privy Seal between 2007 and 2010.
Born in 1950, Harman obtained a degree in Politics from York University. She then qualified as a Solicitor and her first job as a solicitor was at Brent Law Centre in 1974. Before becoming an MP, she worked as the Legal Officer to Liberty (then the National Council for Civil Liberties).
Harriet Harman was married to the late Labour MP, Jack Dromey. Mr Dromey died suddenly in January 2022. She is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on War Crimes; and Women in Parliament.
Harman stood unsuccessfully in the contest to succeed John Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons in 2019, coming fourth.
Harman is a leading feminist, and wrote the book ‘Woman’s Work’, an examination of women’s progressive politics over the last thirty years.
Email: harriet.harman.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.harrietharman.org/
Twitter: @HarrietHarman
Facebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/harriet.harman.1
