Diana Johnson

Diana Johnson
MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools
In office
5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Sarah McCarthy-Fry
Succeeded by Jonathan Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford
Member of Parliament
for Hull North
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded by Kevin McNamara
Majority 12,899 (36.5%)
Member of the London Assembly
for the Labour Party
In office
1 March 2003 – 10 June 2004
Preceded by Trevor Phillips
Succeeded by Murad Qureshi
Personal details
Born (1966-07-25) 25 July 1966
Northwich, Cheshire, England
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Spouse(s) Kevin Morton[1]

Diana Ruth Johnson (born 25 July 1966) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hull North since the 2005 general election; she was the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Schools in the Department for Children, Schools and Families until the resignation of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, as well as being an Assistant Whip for the Government.

Early life

Johnson was born in Northwich, Cheshire. After returning from wartime service in the Navy her father, Eric Johnson, founded the Eric Johnson Electrical engineering (electricians) company in Little Leigh near Northwich, Cheshire (now continued by his son). She passed the Eleven plus and attended the Northwich County Grammar School for Girls (later the County High School Leftwich). At sixth form she level she studied at Sir John Deane's College from 1982-4 where she studied History, English and Economics. She gained an LLB in Law from Brunel University. Johnson is a barrister and was a councillor in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets from 1994 to 2002, serving as Chair of social services. She became a barrister in 1991. From 1999–2005, she was a Barrister in Law at Paddington Law Centre.

Parliamentary career

She stood unsuccessfully in Brentwood and Ongar at the 2001 general election.

She became a member of the London Assembly on 1 March 2003 after the resignation of Trevor Phillips who became chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, having been next on the list of London-wide members at the 2000 election. She did not stand for re-election in 2004. At the May 2005 general election, she was elected Labour Member of Parliament for the Kingston upon Hull North constituency, succeeding veteran Labour MP Kevin McNamara. She is Hull's first female MP.

In November 2005 Johnson was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to 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 the scandal of MPs' expenses it 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"[2]

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.[3]

In 2014, Johnson proposed a Bill under the Ten Minute Rule that would require sex and relationships education, including discussions around issues such as consent, to be made a compulsory part of the National Curriculum[4]

Johnson was appointed in September 2015 by Jeremy Corbyn, shortly after he became Labour leader, as a shadow minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth team.[5] In late June 2016, along with dozens of her colleagues, she resigned as a shadow minister, unhappy at the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn following the 'leave' vote in the European membership referendum.[6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/110124/part2.htm
  2. ↑ Prince, Rosa (19 May 2009). "MPs' expenses: Diana Johnson claims £987 for an architect and repays it two years later". Telegraph. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Hull North". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  4. ↑ "Hull MP calls for schools to help protect children from sex abuse". ITV. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Chakelian, Anoosh (18 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet: the full list of ministers". New Statesman. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  6. ↑ Syal, Rajeev; Perraudin, Frances; Slawson, Nicola (27 June 2016). "Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2016.

News items

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Kevin McNamara		 Member of Parliament for Hull North
2005–present 		Incumbent
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