Junior ministerial offices

Minister for Women and Equality
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Ruth Kelly
Succeeded by	Theresa May
In office 3 May 1997 – 27 July 1998
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	The Baroness Jay of Paddington
Minister of State for Justice
In office 10 May 2005 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Michael Wills
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office 11 June 2001 – 10 May 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Ross Cranston
Succeeded by	Mike O'Brien

Further offices held

Shadow cabinet portfolios
2010-2015	Deputy Prime Minister
2011–2015	Culture, Media and Sport
2007–2015	Party Chair
2010–2011	International Development
1996–1997	Social Security
1995–1996	Health
1994–1995	Employment
1992–1994	Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Committee chairmanships
2022–2024	Commons Privileges
2023–2024	Commons Standards
2015–2024	Joint Human Rights

Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal

Incumbent

Assumed office
19 August 2024
Life peerage

Member of Parliament
for Camberwell and Peckham

In office
28 October 1982 – 30 May 2024

Preceded by

Harry Lamborn

Succeeded by

Miatta Fahnbulleh

Personal details

Born

Harriet Ruth Harman

30 July 1950 (age 74)
Marylebone, London, England

Political party

Labour

Spouse

Jack Dromey

(m. 1982; died 2022)

Children

Parents

John B. Harman
Anna Spicer

Relatives

See list

Joseph Chamberlain (great-granduncle)

Richard Chamberlain (great-granduncle)

Beatrice Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed)

Austen Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed)

Neville Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed)

Ida Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed)

Hilda Chamberlain (first cousin twice removed)

Alma mater

Goodricke College, York

Signature

Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, is a British politician and solicitor. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 40 years, from 1982 to 2024. This makes her one of the longest-serving female MPs in British history.

Harman represented Camberwell and Peckham from 1997 to 2024 and Peckham from 1982 to 1997. She is a member of the Labour Party. She served as Deputy Labour Leader and Chair of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2015. She also briefly became Leader of the Opposition in 2010 and 2015. This happened after Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband resigned.

Harman held many important roles in the government and the opposition. Since 2024, she has been a member of the House of Lords. She also co-hosts a Sky News podcast called Electoral Dysfunction.

Harriet Harman's Early Life and Education
Harman as a Member of Parliament
- Becoming an MP for Peckham
- Roles in Opposition
Harman in Government Roles
Harman's Return to Opposition
Harman's Peerage
Harman's Personal Life
Images for kids

Harriet Harman's Early Life and Education

Harriet Ruth Harman was born in London on July 30, 1950. She went to a private school called St Paul's Girls' School. Her father, John Bishop Harman, was a doctor. Her mother, Anna Spicer, was a lawyer.

Harman's family had a history of public service. Her great-great-uncle was Joseph Chamberlain, a famous politician. She is also related to former Prime Ministers Neville Chamberlain and David Cameron.

Harman studied politics at the University of York. She earned a good degree there. After university, she became a solicitor, which is a type of lawyer. She worked at a Law Centre in London.

From 1978 to 1982, she worked for the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL). This group helps protect people's rights. During this time, she helped a prisoner who was held alone. She shared some court documents with a journalist. This led to a legal case.

Harman later took her case to the European Court of Human Rights. She successfully argued that her right to speak freely had been ignored. This case is still important in British law.

Harman was also involved in another case against MI5, the UK's security service. It was found that MI5 had kept files on her. She argued that this was wrong because MI5 wasn't properly checked by law. This case helped lead to a new law in 1989.

Harman as a Member of Parliament

Becoming an MP for Peckham

In 1982, the MP for Peckham, Harry Lamborn, passed away. Harriet Harman was elected to take his place in a special election. She won with a good number of votes.

Roles in Opposition

After becoming an MP, Harman quickly took on important roles. In 1984, she became a Shadow Social Services minister. This meant she was part of the opposition team that watched over the government's social services.

Later, she became a Shadow Health minister in 1987. After the 1992 election, she joined the Shadow Cabinet. She served in several key roles, including:

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1992–1994)
Shadow Employment Secretary (1994–1995)
Shadow Health Secretary (1995–1996)
Shadow Social Security Secretary (1996–1997)

Harman in Government Roles

Working Under Tony Blair

When the Labour Party won the 1997 election, Harriet Harman became a government minister. She was appointed Secretary of State for Social Security. She also became the very first Minister for Women.

Her job was to make changes to the welfare system. She helped introduce policies like a minimum income guarantee. She also brought in payments to help older people with winter fuel costs.

Later, it was decided that the fuel payments policy needed to change. This was because men had to wait longer than women to get them. The rule was changed so both men and women could get the payments at age 60.

Harman left the Cabinet in 1998. She returned to a government role in 2001. She was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales. This made her the first woman to hold this legal position.

After the 2005 election, she became a Minister of State in the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Here, she worked on legal aid and court processes.

Becoming Deputy Leader

In 2007, Harriet Harman decided to run for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. She won the election by a very small number of votes.

Working Under Gordon Brown

When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007, Harman joined his government. She became Leader of the House of Commons. This meant she was in charge of the government's business in Parliament.

She also became Lord Privy Seal and Minister for Women and Equality. She was also the Chairman of the Labour Party.

Harman sometimes stood in for the Prime Minister during Prime minister's questions. This made her the first female Labour Minister to do so.

In 2008, her blog was hacked. She later admitted she used simple login details. The hacker was a future Conservative MP, Kemi Badenoch. Badenoch later apologized, and Harman accepted.

Equality Bill and Fairness

Harman worked on a new Equality Bill. This bill aimed to update laws against discrimination. It looked at ways to help people from different backgrounds get jobs. For example, it suggested that employers could choose a candidate from a minority group if they were equally qualified. This was to help create more fairness.

She also supported ideas to increase the number of black MPs in Parliament. She believed that more women should hold top leadership roles. She once said that men "cannot be left to run things on their own."

Harman's Return to Opposition

Leading the Labour Party Temporarily

After the 2010 general election, Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister. As Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman automatically became the temporary leader of the Labour Party. She also became the Leader of the Opposition.

She decided not to run for the permanent leader position. She said she wanted to focus on being Deputy Leader. She helped make sure there was a diverse group of candidates for the leadership election.

Shadow Cabinet Roles

After Ed Miliband was elected leader, Harman returned to her role as Deputy Leader. She became the Shadow Deputy Prime Minister. She also held other important roles in the Shadow Cabinet.

From 2010 to 2011, she was the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. Then, from 2011 to 2015, she was the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

After the 2015 Election

After the 2015 general election, Ed Miliband resigned as leader. Harriet Harman again became the acting leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. She announced she would step down once a new leader was chosen.

During this time, she made some important decisions for the Labour Party. She decided that Labour would not oppose a new welfare bill. She also decided that Labour would vote for a referendum on joining the European Union.

After stepping down, she became the Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights in October 2015.

Mother of the House

On June 13, 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May called Harriet Harman the "Mother of the House". This is a special title given to the longest-serving female MP in the House of Commons.

In 2019, Harman tried to become the Speaker of the House of Commons. However, she withdrew from the vote after the second round.

In December 2021, Harman announced that she would not run for MP again in the 2024 general election.

Investigation into Boris Johnson

Harman chaired the Privileges Committee of the House of Commons. This committee investigated whether former Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled Parliament. The investigation looked into statements he made about gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee published its report in June 2023. They concluded that Johnson had deliberately misled Parliament. They said that if he were still an MP, they would have recommended a long suspension. The committee found that Johnson's actions were "more serious" because he was Prime Minister at the time.

The House of Commons debated the report. Many MPs voted to support the committee's findings.

Harman's Peerage

After leaving her role as an MP, Harriet Harman was nominated for a life peerage. This means she was given a special title and can sit in the House of Lords. She became Baroness Harman, of Peckham in the London Borough of Southwark, on August 19, 2024.

In 2025, Harman suggested a change to a new law. This change would require the government to consider removing the right for some Church of England bishops to sit in the House of Lords. This idea fits with the Labour Party's plan to make wider changes to the House of Lords.

Harman's Personal Life

Harriet Harman married Jack Dromey in 1982. They met in 1977 during a workers' strike. They had three children together: Harry, Joseph, and Amy.

Harman is a strong believer in feminism. She has said, "I am in the Labour Party because I am a feminist. I am in the Labour Party because I believe in equality." In 2017, she wrote a book called A Woman's Work. It talks about how women's politics have changed over the last thirty years.

In 2012, she was given the Freedom of the Borough of Southwark. This is an honor from her local area.

Images for kids

Harman in 2007
Harman in 2017

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Harriet Harman facts for kids

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