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Harriet Harman

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The Right Honourable
Harriet Harman MP

QC
Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Privy Seal
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 June 2007
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byJack Straw
Minister for Women and Equality
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 June 2007
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byRuth Kelly
In office
03 May 1997 – 27 July 1998
Preceded byPosition Created
Succeeded byBaroness Jay
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office
11 June 2001 – 10 May 2005
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byRoss Cranston
Succeeded byMike O'Brien
Secretary of State for Social Security
In office
03 May 1997 – 27 July 1998
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byPeter Lilley
Succeeded byAlastair Darling
Member of Parliament
for Camberwell and Peckham
Peckham (1982-1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 October 1982
Preceded byHarry Lamborn
Personal details
Born (1950-07-30) 30 July 1950 (age 74)
Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom
Political partyLabour
SpouseJack Dromey
Alma materUniversity of York
OccupationLawyer
Websitehttp://www.harrietharman.org

Harriet Ruth Harman, QC (born 30 July 1950) is a British solicitor and Labour politician. Since 24 June 2007, she has been the Deputy Leader and Party Chair of the Labour Party. On 28 June 2007 she was appointed Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal and Minister for Women and Equality.[1] On 12 October 2007 she became head of a new UK Government Department, the Government Equalities Office, made up of staff transferred from the already existing Women and Equality unit. She still however retains her title of Minister for Women, bringing her total number of jobs to five.

Harman is a well known feminist [2] and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham since 1997, having previously been MP for Peckham since 1982. She is the longest continuously serving female MP.

Early life

She was born in London to the Harley Street physician John Bishop Harman FRCP (who was an expert witness in the trial of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams[3]) and his wife Anna, a solicitor, the only child of Group Captain Malcolm Spicer, RAF,[4][5] son of James Spicer of Eltham, who was a member of the paper manufacturing family and a brother of the Liberal MP Sir Albert Spicer and also a brother of the surgeon and campaigner for women's rights, Louisa Martindale.[6] Her parents both came from non conformist backgrounds — her grandfather Nathaniel Bishop Harman was a prominent Unitarian [7] and the Spicer family were well known congregationalists. She was educated at the famous independent St Paul's Girls' School and the University of York, where she gained a BA in Politics. Between 1978 and 1982 she was legal officer for the National Council for Civil Liberties and as such was found in contempt of court in the important civil liberties case Home Office v. Harman [1983] 1 A.C. 280, 308, before becoming MP for Peckham in a by-election in 1982.

Harman was later involved in a European Court of Human Rights case against MI5 after it was revealed by whistleblower Cathy Massiter in 1984 that personal files were held by MI5 on her and another leading member of the NCCL — Patricia Hewitt.[8] They successfully argued that there had been an infringement of their rights because MI5 was not a legally constituted and democratically accountable organisation, this being the minimum standard in democracy.[9] The success of the case was largely resultant in the subsequent implementation of the 1989 Security Services Act by Parliament.[10]

Member of Parliament

In the by-election held on 28 October 1982 she was elected Member of Parliament for Southwark, Peckham with a majority of 3,931 votes. She became Labour's front-bench spokesperson for Social Services in 1984, and then Health in 1987. After the 1992 general election she was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet and became shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, then Shadow Secretary of State for Health.

In government

After Labour's victory in the 1997 general election, she became Secretary of State for Social Security and was given the task of reforming the Welfare State. However, she made little progress and fell out with her junior minister, Frank Field. During this period Harman became regarded as an over-promoted "New Labour" apparatchik, and she was called "Harriet Harrperson" by her fellow Labour MP Austin Mitchell[1]. Both Harman and Field were sacked in a reshuffle in 1998. Harman's decision to send one of her children to a selective school some distance from her home was also not popular with many in Labour party at the time.

She made a return to the front bench after the 2001 general election with her appointment to the office of Solicitor General, thus becoming the first female Solicitor General.

Voting record

Harman has supported the Labour government[11], and voted with the party in all but a few instances. Like most Labour MPs she supported the Iraq war, although during the Deputy Leadership campaign, she claimed that she would not have voted for it had she been in full possession of the facts, specifically about the non-existence of weapons of mass destruction.[12][13]

How Harriet Harman voted on key issues since 2001:[13]

Minister of Justice

After the 2005 general election she became a Minister of State in the Department for Constitutional Affairs with responsibilities including constitutional reform, legal aid and court processes. During this time she was made an honorary silk (Queen's Counsel), gaining the letters "QC" after her name.

On 16 March 2006, Harman relinquished her ministerial responsibilities for electoral administration and reform of the House of Lords. She stated that this was to avoid any potential conflict of interest after her husband Jack Dromey, the Treasurer of the Labour Party, announced that he would be investigating a number of loans made to the Labour Party which had not been disclosed to party officers. She retained her other responsibilities.[14]

The Department for Constitutional Affairs was reorganised into the new Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, where she became Minister of State.

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party

Harriet Harman announced her intention to stand for Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party when John Prescott stood down.[15] On 27 November 2006 Patrick Wintour reported that she had commissioned an opinion poll which found that she would be more popular with the electorate than any of the other likely candidates. She used this point to argue that she should become the next Deputy Prime Minister of the UK in an interview with the BBC.[16]

Harman did not have the support of any major unions, and had to borrow money to fund her campaign for deputy leadership, taking out a personal loan of £10,000[17] and a £40,000 extension to her mortgage.[18] Harman failed to report some donations and loans on time, and was subject to an Electoral Commission inquiry for breaches of electoral law.[19] On 24 June 2007, Harriet Harman won the contest and became Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.[20]

She won the election, receiving 50.43% of the vote in the final round of a closely-fought contest. Alan Johnson had led in all but the first of the previous rounds, but the members' votes after re-distribution in each of the 4 elimination rounds – particularly the votes re-allocated from Jon Cruddas according to second preference – led her to narrowly beating Johnson in the final round.

Return to Cabinet

Harman is known as a key supporter of Gordon Brown and has been closely associated with him since the 1980s. She was appointed to sit in newly-appointed Prime Minister Gordon Brown's cabinet as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons (combining these post with the Deputy Leadership and Chairmanship of the Labour Party). She also holds the post of Minister for Women the result being that she has five roles. She attacked the Conservative Party at the Labour Party Conference 2007, referring to them as the nasty party and suggesting that there will be little competition at the next election.[21] Harman stood in for Gordon Brown during PMQ's on Wednesday 2nd April, as the Prime Minister was attending a NATO summit in Romania, she became the first female Labour MP, and only the second woman in British political history to take Prime Minister's Questions.

Controversies

Discrimination against white males

Hariet Harman announced possible changes to the race discrimination laws in which black and female candidates will be given priority over white male candidates in regards to jobs and promotions. [22] She also commissioned a report for all-black shortlists[23] designed to increase the number of black MPs in Westminster, at the expense of the white British, on the grounds of positive discrimination. These proposals could face a challenge in the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds of racial discrimination and have been condemned by many fellow MPs.

Dislike of Fathers and the Family Unit

In 1990 Harman co-authored a report entitled "The Family Way". It criticised the family unit and mothers who stay at home. In particular it questioned whether men were an asset to families at all and whether "the presence of fathers in families is necessarily a means to social harmony and cohesion". Critics such as Erin Pizzey described such statements as a "staggering attack on men and their role in modern life". [24]

Choice of school

She was involved in a media controversy when she sent her eldest son, Harry, to a grant-maintained school the London Oratory School in 1993, then her younger son Joseph to St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington in 1995. Harry was head boy of the Oratory School from 2000-1. Euan Blair was deputy head boy the following year. Labour policy opposed these forms of education, but she retained office with the support of the Labour leader, Tony Blair.

Controversy over Iraq War apology

Harman has been accused of going back on a pledge to apologize for the Blair government's policy on Iraq. During the deputy leadership campaign Harman had participated in a live debate on Newsnight with the other deputy leadership candidates. Jeremy Paxman asked the candidates whether, if knowing what they knew now, any of the candidates would have voted against the war[25], Harman responded by saying that

"if I'd have known if there weren't weapons of mass destruction I wouldn't have voted for the war. Clearly it was a mistake. It was made in good faith. But I think with a new leadership we have to acknowledge the bitterness and anger that there has been over Iraq and that we were wrong."

Later, when asked by Paxman if the Labour Party should say sorry for what happened, Jon Cruddas said that it should; Harman replied:

"Yep, I agree with that".

When Cruddas further said that the Labour Party could "rebuild a sense of trust and a dialogue with the British people" by acknowledging its culpability in the situation in Iraq, Harman replied:

"and I agree with that".

On June 25, her first day in the job, Harman appeared to backtrack on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme and asked for evidence to be provided of where she had stated that the party should apologise.

Speeding convictions

In 2003 Harman was fined £400 and banned from driving for seven days after being convicted of driving at 99 mph (159 km/h) on a motorway, 29 mph (47 km/h) above the speed limit.[26] The sentence was criticised by some given that Harman's salary at the time was £115,989 plus full parliamentary pay, although in Britain speeding fines are awarded without respect to salary.[27]

On 7 April 2007, Harman was issued with a £60 fixed penalty notice and given three penalty points on her license for driving at 50 mph (80 km/h) in a portion of the A14 in Suffolk which had a temporary 40 mph (64 km/h) limit. Harman paid the fine several months late and avoided appearing at Ipswich magistrates court.[28] A Labour Party source said of her failure to pay the fine "She made an innocent mistake. She forgot to pay on time because she was spending all her time on the deputy leadership contest touring the country."[29]

Campaign donation from David Abrahams

Main article: Donorgate

In November 2007, it emerged that property developer David Abrahams' secretary Janet Kidd had given a donation of £5,000 donor to Harman's successful deputy leadership bid.[30] After an investigation by The Mail on Sunday newspaper into other donations made by people associated with Abrahams, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown's assertion that all such monies would be returned, Harman issued a statement saying she accepted the donation on 4 July "in good faith," had registered the monies with the Electoral Commission and the Register of Members' Interests, and that she "was not aware of any funding arrangements... between David Abrahams and Janet Kidd".[31] Harriet Harman was interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme on 27 November 2007 and was evasive when asked to confirm or deny that her campaign team had contacted Janet Kidd soliciting money and was unable to answer this question directly, preferring to change the subject. On 28 November the BBC's Nick Robinson reported on his blog[32] that Mrs Harman had now revealed that her team "may" have asked Mrs Kidd for a donation. The blog entry goes on to wonder whether Mrs Kidd informed the campaign team at that point that she was acting as a proxy. Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington who was working on the deputy leadership of Hilary Benn, questioned and turned down a similar donation of £5,000 by Mrs Kidd; but it was subsequently accepted by Benn's team when made under the name of Mr Abrahams.[31] Kidd offered another donation to the leadership campaign of Gordon Brown, but was turned down as she was not a known donor.[33]

Stab vest for constituency walkabout

On 1st April 2008 the Daily Mail reported that Harriet Harman had decided to wear a kevlar-reinforced stab vest while touring her Peckham constituency under police guard.[34] On 2nd April the Guardian relayed information from the Metropolitan Police that "the type of Met Vest she wore over her jacket protected her from knife attacks and bullets, and, for her at least, was optional".[35]

Harman compared the decision to wearing a hard hat while touring a building site, which led the BBC's John Humphrys to respond, during an interview for BBC Radio 4, "You wear a hard hat on a building site because... there is the danger that something might drop on your head. You don't need to wear a bullet-proof vest on the streets of London, do you?"[36] Media reports quoted a police source who said that "everyone was flabbergasted by her decision to wear the vest, especially when she was guarded by three police officers"[36] - in apparent contradiction of Harman's own claims that it was as a courtesy to the police that she wore the jacket. Beatrice Smith, a Peckham resident, was quoted by the Evening Standard and Daily Telegraph observing that, "The only time we see Harriet Harman is either on voting day or doing some PR stunt. There is a lot of trouble on the estates but we don't get given stab vests....[37] I'd rather see her spending time sorting the crime problem out than posing in such a ridiculous outfit."[38]

Personal life

Family connections

Harman has significant family connections. Her father was a brother of Elizabeth Longford, the writer who wrote biographies of, amongst others, Queen Victoria and Wellington. Lady Longford was married to Francis Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, the lawyer and social reformer. Harman's first cousins include the writers Thomas Pakenham, Rachel Billington and the historian Antonia Fraser. Fraser is married to Harold Pinter, and was once married to the politician Sir Hugh Fraser and is the mother of Flora Fraser, another writer. Also, Harman's great-grandparents were Arthur Chamberlain and Louisa Kenrick. Arthur Chamberlain was the brother of Joseph Chamberlain, the social reformer and radical politician who served under Gladstone and Salisbury. Louisa's cousin Harriet married Joseph Chamberlain and they were the parents of Sir Austen Chamberlain, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary. Louisa Kenrick's sister Florence married Joseph Chamberlain after Harriet's death and they were the parents of Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937-1940.

Her sister Sarah was a lawyer and part-time judge. She resigned having been caught passing confidential papers to Harriet Harman, then Solicitor General. Sarah Harman was found guilty of contempt of court and "conduct unbefitting a solicitor". She was ordered to pay £25,000 costs.[39] Her other two sisters, Janet and Virginia, are solicitors.

Harman has a house in Suffolk,[28] in addition to her 'main' home in South London. She married Jack Dromey in 1982 in the borough of Brent, after meeting him on the picket line of the Grunwick dispute in 1977; she was legal advisor to the Grunwick Strike Committee. They have two sons (born February 1983 and November 1984) and a daughter (born January 1987).

Styles

  • Miss Harriet Harman (1950-1983)
  • Harriet Harman MP (1982-1997)
  • The Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman MP (1997-2005)
  • The Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP (2005-)

References

  1. ^ BBC NEWS | Politics | Harman made equalities secretary
  2. ^ Harriet Harman elected deputy leader of Labour Party - Times Online
  3. ^ Pamela V. Cullen, "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
  4. ^ Forthcoming Marriages, The Times, February 26, 1946
  5. ^ Births, The Times, August 1, 1950
  6. ^ Louisa Martindale, Spartacus Educational
  7. ^ Obituary, The Times, December 8, 1945
  8. ^ Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers: MI5 and the David Shayler Affair: M15, M16 and the Shayler Affair (Hardcover) by Annie Machon Book Guild Ltd (May 2005) ISBN-10: 185776952X, The Guardian 21 of February 1985, ‘20/20 Vision’(Documentary) Channel 4 1985
  9. ^ Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers: MI5 and the David Shayler Affair: M15, M16 and the Shayler Affair (Hardcover) by Annie Machon Book Guild Ltd (May 2005) ISBN-10: 185776952X, The Guardian 21 of February 1985, ‘20/20 Vision’(Documentary) Channel 4 1985
  10. ^ Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers: MI5 and the David Shayler Affair: M15, M16 and the Shayler Affair (Hardcover) by Annie Machon Book Guild Ltd (May 2005) ISBN-10: 185776952X, The Guardian 21 of February 1985, ‘20/20 Vision’(Documentary) Channel 4 1985
  11. ^ "Harriet Harman". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "Voting Record — Harriet Harman MP, Camberwell & Peckham". The Public Whip. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ a b "Full Voting Record — Harriet Harman MP, Camberwell & Peckham". The Public Whip. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Full" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Harman gives up Lords reform role". BBC Website. Thursday, 16 March 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ "Harman intends Labour deputy bid". BBC Website. Friday, 15 September 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ Wheeler, Brian (8 March 2007). "Interview: Harriet Harman". BBC Website. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ Francis Elliott, Philip Webster and Greg Hurst (28 November 2007). "Harriet Harman may pay price for leaving her leader in lurch". The Times. Retrieved 2007-12-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Harriet Harman faces second finances inquiry". The Daily Telegraph. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Harman reminded of donation rules". BBC. 16 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  20. ^ Mark Sellman and Sam Coates (June 24, 2007). "Harriet Harman elected deputy leader of Labour Party". The Times. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  21. ^ BBC NEWS | Politics | Tories still nasty, says Harman
  22. ^ Equality move could hit white men | World news | The Observer
  23. ^ Harriet Harman in plan to give parties all-black shortlists - Times Online
  24. ^ How feminists tried to destroy the family | the Daily Mail
  25. ^ Video of Deputy Leadership debate, Newsnight, BBC 2
  26. ^ BBC NEWS | Politics | Harman banned for speeding
  27. ^ "Harman is fined £400 for driving at 99mph". The Independent. 2003-02-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "accessdate-2008-03-27" ignored (help)
  28. ^ a b Sapsted, David (2007-09-21). "Harriet Harman avoids court over speeding". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-12-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ "Harman in dock for failing to pay speed fine". Evening Standard. 2007-09-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "accessdate-2007-12-02" ignored (help)
  30. ^ Jonathan Oliver (25 November 2007). "How big Labour backer is a jobbing builder who knows NOTHING about his £200,000 donation". The Mail on Sunday. Retrieved 2007-12-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ a b "Harman took cash 'in good faith'". BBC News online. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ Nick Robinson (28 November 2007). "Someone else knew (and sorry Harriet & Janet)". Nick Robinson's Newslog. Retrieved 2007-12-24. Harriet Harman has accepted that her campaign may have asked Janet Kidd for a donation after seeing her name on the list of Labour's donors. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "Brown admits donations 'unlawful'". BBC News online. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Ben Brogan (1 April 2008). "Harriet Harman: Wearing a stab-proof vest in my constituency is the same as donning a hard hat on a building site". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2008-04-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Helen Pidd (2 April 2008). "Armour furore leaves Harman wounded". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-04-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ a b "Harman defends wearing stab vest". BBC News online. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Joe Murphy (1 April 2008). "It's normal to wear a stab-proof vest to tour my constituency". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2008-04-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ Richard Edwards (1 April 2008). "Harriet Harman in stab vest for Peckham walk". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-04-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ Quentin Letts (26 June 2007). "Harriet Harman: 'A bleating, hectoring and finger wagging vote loser'". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Publications

  • Sex Discrimination in Schools: How to Fight it by Harriet Harman, 1978, Civil Liberties Trust ISBN 0-901108-73-1
  • Justice Deserted: Subversion of the Jury by Harriet Harman et al, 1979, Civil Liberties Trust ISBN 0-901108-79-0
  • Violence Against Social Workers: The Implications for Practice by Dan Norris, foreword by Harriet Harman, Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN 1-85302-041-9
  • The Family Way: A New Approach to Policy Making by Harriet Harman et al, 1990, Institute for Public Policy Research ISBN 1-872452-15-9
  • The Century Gap: 20th Century Man/21st Century Woman by Harriet Harman, 1993, Vermilion ISBN 0-09-177819-0
  • Winning for Women by Harriet Harman and Deborah Mattinson, 2000, Fabian Society ISBN 0-7163-0596-8
  • Women with Attitude by Susan Vinnicombe, John Bank, foreword by Harriet Harman, 2002, Routledge ISBN 0-415-28742-1

News items

Audio clips

Video clips


Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Peckham
1982–1997 		Constituency
abolished
Constituency
created 		Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham
1997– 		Incumbent
Legal offices
Preceded by Solicitor General for England and Wales
2001–2005 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State for Social Security
1997–1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
2007– 		Incumbent
Preceded by Labour Party Chair
2007–
Preceded by Minister for Women and Equality
2007–
Preceded by Leader of the House of Commons
2007–
Lord Privy Seal
2007–
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Ladies
Lord Privy Seal 		Succeeded by


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