Kim Johnson (politician)
Kim Johnson | |
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Member of Parliament for Liverpool Riverside | |
Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
Preceded by | Louise Ellman |
Majority | 37,043 (70.2%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Kim Marie Johnson 25 August 1966 |
Political party | Labour |
Other political affiliations | Socialist Campaign Group (2019–present) |
Kim Marie Johnson[1] (born 25 August 1966)[2] is a British Labour Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Riverside since the 2019 general election.[3] She is Liverpool's first black MP.[4][5]
Early life and career[]
Kim is the daughter of Joseph Johnson and Kathleen Johnson. She has a Diploma in Youth and Community Work, a BA in Social Studies, and a Postgraduate Certificate.[6]
Since 2015, Johnson has been the Chairperson of Squash Liverpool, a Community Interest Company. In 2020, she became a patron of Mandela8.[6]
Prior to becoming an MP, Johnson was a Unison shop steward. She held a role of creative diversity manager in the Capital of Culture bid team, representing the longest established black community in the country.[7]
Parliamentary career[]
On 4 November 2019, Johnson was selected as Labour's candidate for Liverpool Riverside by a panel made up of national, regional and local party representatives.[8] She replaced Dame Louise Ellman in that role after the latter chose to leave the party over the issue of anti-Semitism.[9] She was elected at the 2019 general election, winning 41,170 votes, representing 78.0% of the vote.[10] She sits on the Women and Equalities Committee, Education Committee and Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art.[11]
On 15 October 2020, Johnson resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Angela Rayner to vote against the proposed Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill, disagreeing with the Labour whip to abstain.[12]
On 10 May 2021, Johnson publicly described the shadow cabinet reshuffle; specifically Keir Starmer's treatment of Angela Rayner as a "despicable act of cowardice".[13] She again criticised the leadership after Starmer wrote an article for The Sun, a newspaper her Liverpool constituency had been boycotting after its coverage of the Hillsborough disaster.[14]
Personal life[]
Johnson has a son and daughter. Outside politics, her recreations are running, boxing, theatre and arts.[6]
References[]
- ^ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
- ^ "Liverpool Riverside gets the city's first ever black MP". ITV. 13 December 2019.
- ^ Colchester, Max (3 August 2020). "In a City Built on the Slave Trade, Britain's Oldest Black Community Seeks a Reckoning". The Wall Street Journal.
Kim Johnson last year became Liverpool's first Black lawmaker.
- ^ Johnson, Kim (27 March 2020). ""We are a resilient city and we will always fight back" – Kim Johnson's maiden speech". LabourList.
I am immensely proud to have been elected as the first black MP for Liverpool.
- ^ a b c "Johnson, Kim Marie, MP (Lab) Liverpool Riverside, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u293925. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "Kim Johnson - latest news and information on the Labour Party candidate for Riverside". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna (4 November 2019). "Kim Johnson chosen to replace Louise Ellman in Liverpool Riverside". LabourList. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "MP Louise Ellman quits Labour Party". 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Liverpool Riverside Parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
- ^ "Parliamentary Career for Kim Johnson MP". n.d. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ Kim Johnson MP [@KimJohnsonMP] (15 October 2020). "I resigned today as a PPS to Angela Rayner in order that I could vote against the #CHISBill in line with my conscience & to stop the abuses that took place against Stephen Lawrence's family & friends, against the Hillsborough fight for justice, against trade unionists" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 April 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Labour reshuffle: Anneliese Dodds out in Starmer's post-election reshuffle". BBC News. 10 May 2021.
- ^ "MP calls for Labour leader to explain Sun article to Hillsborough families". BBC News. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
External links[]
- 1960 births
- Living people
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- UK MPs 2019–present
- 21st-century British women politicians
- Black British women politicians
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies
- Trade unionists from Liverpool
- Black British MPs