Kate Osamor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kate Osamor
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Official portrait, 2020
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| Shadow Secretary of State for International Development | |
| In office 27 June 2016 – 1 December 2018 |
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| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Diane Abbott |
| Succeeded by | Dan Carden |
| Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities | |
| In office 14 January 2016 – 27 June 2016 |
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| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Carolyn Harris |
| Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 12 September 2015 – 14 January 2016 Serving with Steve Rotheram
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| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Karen Buck Wayne David |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Edmonton |
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| Assumed office 7 May 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Andy Love |
| Majority | 16,015 (39.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ofunne Kate Osamor
15 August 1968 North London, England |
| Political party | Labour Co-operative |
| Other political affiliations |
Socialist Campaign Group |
| Domestic partner | Kim Udi (sep.) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent | Martha Osamor (mother) |
| Residence | North London |
| Alma mater | University of East London |
Ofunne Kate Osamor (/oʊˈsæmɔːr/; born 15 August 1968) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton since 2015. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was Shadow Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2018. She is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Early life and career
Ofunne Kate Osamor was born to Nigerian parents on 15 August 1968 in North London and grew up in Haringey. One of four children, her father died when she was a child and her mother, Martha Osamor (née Oburotha), had to work "three, sometimes four jobs."
Osamor was educated at Fortismere School, Muswell Hill from 1979 to 1983. She completed an access course at Hackney College from 2003 to 2006, and subsequently read Third World Studies at the University of East London.
She worked for The Big Issue newspaper after graduating, but has principally worked in the NHS and been active in Unite the Union. Osamor was an executive assistant in a general practitioner (GP) out of hours service for 9 years and a GP practice manager for 2 years.
Political career
In 2014, Osamor was elected a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party.
In the 2015 General Election, Osamor stood as the Labour Party candidate for Edmonton on the retirement of its former Member of Parliament (MP) Andy Love. Osamor obtained 25,388 votes, increasing Labour's majority from 9,613 to 15,419. Osamor was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015. She was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Corbyn in September 2015.
On 14 January 2016, Osamor was appointed by Corbyn to the Opposition frontbench as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities. On 27 June 2016, after the resignations of numerous members of Labour's ministerial team due to disquiet over Corbyn's leadership, Osamor was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. Osamor advocated an increase in aid funding for women's groups, and argued that international aid should be targeted towards schemes which aimed to reduce inequality as well schemes aimed at poverty reduction.
Osamor was re-elected as MP for Edmonton in the 2017 General Election.
Kate Osamor was an active campaigner for the Remain campaign during the EU referendum and a prominent member of the ‘Love Socialism, Hate Brexit’ group.
Osamor has served as the chair for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Nigeria since 2015. On 29 August 2019, she advocated the abolition of the monarchy when Queen Elizabeth II approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to suspend Parliament.
In October 2019, local party members voted for Osamor to face a re-selection contest to stand at the next General Election. However, the contest was scrapped, alongside others, when the snap 2019 general election was called.
In January 2022, Osamor and four other Labour delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe tabled ten amendments to a resolution on "Combating rising hate against LGBTI people". The amendments sought to include the word "sex" alongside gender identity, de-conflate the situation in the UK from Hungary, Poland, Russia and Turkey, and remove references to alleged anti-LGBTI movements in the UK. The delegates received both praise and criticism.
Personal life
Her mother, Martha, is a Labour activist and politician who served as a Councillor and Deputy Leader of Haringey Council. She was appointed to the House of Lords in 2018, on the recommendation of Jeremy Corbyn, where she sits in Parliament alongside her daughter.
Osamor was diagnosed with dyslexia at university, to which she attributes some of her difficulties at school.
She had a son in 1989, Ishmael Osamor (born Ishmael Udi), with her then partner Kim Udi. Ishmael was employed in his mother's Parliamentary office, and served as a Councillor and Cabinet Member on Haringey Council. He resigned from his job and positions after his criminal conviction in 2018.
