David Lammy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Lammy
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Tottenham |
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| Assumed office 22 June 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Bernie Grant | ||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 15,434 (38.4%) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the London Assembly as the 10th Additional Member |
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| In office 4 May 2000 – 4 July 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jennette Arnold | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Born |
David Lindon Lammy
19 July 1972 Archway, London, England |
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| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Nicola Green
(m. 2005) |
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| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
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David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is a British politician. He became the Foreign Secretary in July 2024. He is a member of the Labour Party. Since 2000, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham. Before his current role, Lammy held several junior government positions from 2002 to 2010.
Contents
Early Life and Education
David Lammy was born on 19 July 1972 in Archway, North London. His parents were from Guyana. He grew up in Tottenham with his four siblings and was raised by his mother. His father left the family when David was 12. Lammy often talks about how important fathers are in children's lives.
He went to Downhills Primary School in Tottenham. At age 10, he received a special scholarship to sing at Peterborough Cathedral. He also attended The King's School, Peterborough. Later, he studied law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Lammy then went to Harvard University in the United States. He was the first black British person to study at Harvard Law School. He earned a Master of Laws degree there in 1997. In 1994, he became a lawyer in England and Wales. He worked as a lawyer before entering politics. Today, he is also a visiting lecturer at SOAS and hosts a weekly radio show on LBC.
Political Career
In 2000, David Lammy was chosen to represent the Labour Party in the London Assembly. This was a group that helped run London. While campaigning for the London election, he was also chosen as the Labour candidate for Tottenham. This happened after the previous MP, Bernie Grant, passed away.
Lammy won the special election for Tottenham on 22 June 2000. At 27 years old, he was the youngest MP in the House of Commons until 2003.
Serving as a Minister
In 2002, Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed Lammy to his first government role. He became a junior minister in the Department of Health. In 2003, he moved to the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
After the 2005 election, Blair made Lammy the Minister for Culture. This role was in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
In June 2007, Gordon Brown became the new Prime Minister. He moved Lammy to a junior role in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. In October 2008, Brown promoted him to Minister of State. He also joined the Privy Council, a group of senior advisors to the King. In 2009, Lammy became the Minister for Higher Education. He held this job until Labour lost the election in May 2010.
After Government Roles
After the 2010 election, Labour was no longer in power. David Lammy chose not to join the "Shadow Cabinet" (the opposition's team of spokespeople). He wanted to speak freely on issues affecting his local area.
Lammy considered running to be the Mayor of London in 2012. He supported Ken Livingstone's campaign for the Labour nomination. In 2014, Lammy announced he would try to become Mayor of London for the 2016 election.
In the Labour Party's selection process for the 2016 mayoral election, he came in fourth place. He later apologized and was fined for making too many automated phone calls during his campaign without proper permission.
Return to Frontbench Politics
In 2020, David Lammy supported Keir Starmer to become the new leader of the Labour Party. After Starmer won, Lammy was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet. He became the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice. This meant he was the main opposition spokesperson for justice issues.
In November 2021, Lammy was promoted again. He became the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. In this role, he spoke for the Labour Party on international matters.
In August 2022, an inquiry found that he had accidentally broken some rules for MPs. He apologized for this.
Becoming Foreign Secretary
After winning his seat in the 2024 general election, David Lammy was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. This is a very important job in the government. He was chosen by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 5 July 2024.
Key Views and Beliefs
David Lammy often speaks about issues of fairness and equality. He has talked about Britain's history of slavery. He has also pointed out that the University of Oxford has admitted very few black students.
He believes the Windrush scandal was a great injustice. This scandal affected people from the Caribbean who came to Britain after World War II. They were treated unfairly despite living and working in Britain for many years.
In 2013, Lammy supported the law to allow same-sex marriage. He compared denying same-sex couples the right to marry to the "separate but equal" laws that used to justify unfair treatment in the United States.
In 2016, then-Prime Minister David Cameron asked Lammy to study how racial differences affect the police, courts, and prisons. Lammy published his report in 2017. He suggested ways to reduce unfairness in the justice system.
He has also spoken out against antisemitism (hatred against Jewish people) within the Labour Party.
In 2019, Lammy presented a TV show called The Unremembered: Britain's Forgotten War Heroes. It showed how African soldiers who died fighting for Britain in World War I were not given individual graves. This was despite a promise of equal treatment.
Lammy sees himself as English, British, and of African-Caribbean descent. He says, "I'm black, I'm English, I'm British and I'm proud."
Other Views
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Lammy strongly believes that Britain should be a member of the European Union. He also supports shared parental leave. This means both parents can take time off work to care for a new baby. He thinks this helps fathers be more involved in raising children. He points to countries like Sweden where this has helped increase gender equality.
Personal Life
David Lammy married artist Nicola Green in 2005. They have two sons and one daughter. He is a Christian. He is also a big fan of the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. football team. He describes his identity as "African, African-Caribbean, British, English, a Londoner and European."
In 2011, he wrote a book called Out of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots. It was about the riots that happened in England in August 2011. In 2020, he published his second book, Tribes. This book explored how people connect and belong in society.
Lammy has been included in the Powerlist several times. This list names some of the most influential people in the UK of African or African-Caribbean descent.
Honours and Recognition
- In 2008, he became a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council. This gave him the special title "The Right Honourable" for life.
- He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2002
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy visits Saudi Arabia (54262294435).jpg
Lammy with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh, 12 January 2025
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David Lammy speaking at an anti-Brexit rally in Parliament Square on 25 March 2017
