Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy (born 1 March 1985)[1] is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Streatham since the 2019 general election.[2][3] In 2020, she was briefly Shadow Minister for Immigration. She chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations.[4] She has described herself as a "life-long socialist".[5]

This British surname is barrelled, being made up of multiple names. It should be written as Ribeiro-Addy, not Addy.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Shadow Minister for Immigration
In office
24 January 2020 – 9 April 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byAfzal Khan
Succeeded byHolly Lynch
Member of Parliament
for Streatham
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byChuka Umunna
Majority17,690 (31.3%)
Personal details
Born
Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy

(1985-03-01) 1 March 1985
Streatham, London
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Campaign Group (2019–present)
EducationStreatham and Clapham High School
Alma materUniversity of Bradford (BSc)
Queen Mary University of London (MA)
BPP Law School (GDL)
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Born and raised in Streatham, south London, Ribeiro-Addy grew up in a working-class family on a council estate on Brixton Hill. She is Christian and of Ghanaian descent.[5][6][7]

Ribeiro-Addy was able to attend the independent Streatham and Clapham High School on a scholarship. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science with Ethics & Philosophy of Science from the University of Bradford in 2006. She then completed a Master of Arts degree in Medical Law & Ethics at Queen Mary University of London, awarded in 2007, and a Graduate Diploma in Law at BPP Law School, awarded in 2015.[8]

She was the National Black Students' Officer for the National Union of Students (NUS) from 2008 to 2010, national co-ordinator of the Student Assembly Against Racism, and the national convenor of the NUS' Anti-Racism/Anti-Fascism campaign.[9] In 2010, she and LGBT+ officer Daf Adley pushed the Durham Union Society to cancel a debate on multiculturalism, threatening to bus coaches of students to Durham for a "colossal demonstration" if British National Party MEP Andrew Brons were to speak on campus.[10]

Political career

Between 2016 and 2019,[11] Ribeiro-Addy was chief of staff to former Labour frontbencher Diane Abbott.[12][13] Ribeiro-Addy served as a school governor at Saint Gabriel's College, Camberwell, from 2018 to 2022.[11]

In the 2019 general election, Ribeiro-Addy was elected as the Labour member of parliament (MP) for Streatham, with a majority of 17,690 votes.[14]

Ribeiro-Addy in her maiden speech called for some form of reparations to former colonial subjects,[15] and spoke of the injustices faced by black people in Britain.[16] In one of her first news interviews as an MP, she called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ghana, stating that it is her duty to make sure all people are free, and not discriminated against.[17]

In January 2020, Ribeiro-Addy was appointed as Shadow Minister for Immigration, just weeks after her election as a member of parliament. She was not retained in the role following the election of Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader.[18] Ribeiro-Addy became the co-chairperson of Labour's left-wing Socialist Campaign Group.

She has challenged the role of the media in devaluing black female MPs, particularly regarding errors by BBC Parliament and other outlets[19] involving the mislabelling of photos of black female Labour MPs Marsha de Cordova and Dawn Butler.[20]

Ribeiro-Addy – whose first UK-born black relative was Thomas Birch Freeman, born in Twyford, Hampshire, in 1809[21] – has called for better black history education in schools, saying: "Our civil rights struggle here in the UK is not one that we learn about as much."[22]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ribeiro-Addy called on the government to release people held in immigration detention centres.[23]

Ribeiro-Addy is a supporter of adopting a Zero-COVID strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote an article in June 2021 in support of delaying the lifting of lockdown, criticised a "vaccine only" approach and called for the continuation of restrictions until case numbers reach zero.[24] In December 2021, she voted against the introduction of vaccine passports and mandatory vaccination of NHS staff.[25][26]

On 24 February 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ribeiro-Addy was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which questioned the legitimacy of NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures.[27]

As of summer 2023,[28] she chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations.[4] She has argued for revision of the British Museum Act 1963, which currently prevents exhibits such as the Benin bronzes and the Parthenon marbles from being returned to their countries of origin.[28]

References
  1. Brunskill, Ian, ed. (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. Times Books. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. Somerville, Ewan (13 December 2019). "Streatham constituency results 2019: Labour's Bell Ribeiro-Addy wins". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. Brobbey, Lucille (13 December 2019). "Streatham election results in full: Labour's Bell Ribeiro-Addy gains seat". SW Londoner. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. "Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups [as at 5 April 2023]: Afrikan Reparations". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023.
  5. "Local left candidate squares off Nov. 2 in Streatham V. two councillors from Blairite-dominated Lambeth". Skwawkbox. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. Bokpe, Seth (13 December 2019). "UK elections: Two Ghanaian women win seats for Labour". The Ghana Report. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  7. "Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (Labour)". OBV. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  8. "International Women's Day- Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy". Heart Streatham. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  9. "Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP". AKADi Magazine. No. 6: Ghanaians in Politics. p. 2. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  10. Tallentire, Mark (10 February 2010). "Student union apologises over BNP claim". Northern Echo.
  11. "Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP". LinkedIn.
  12. Holmes, Tom (13 December 2019). "New Streatham MP vows not to give in to bigotry: 'I never thought I'd see the N-word so much'". SW Londoner. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  13. Ribeiro-Addy, Bell (18 November 2020). "Diane Abbott MP- 33 years as a Titan of British Politics". Black History Month. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  14. "Bell Ribeiro-Addy | 2019 General Election". UK Parliament. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  15. Shah, Hasit (6 October 2020). "What the UK owes in reparations". Quartz. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  16. Ribeiro-Addy, Bell (18 February 2020). "Being an MP doesn't make any difference - I still face racism in the workplace". The Guardian.
  17. Apinga, David (2 January 2020). "Homosexuality: 'Allow people to do what they want' - British MP of Ghanaian descent". The Ghana Report.
  18. "Bell Ribeiro-Addy appointed as shadow immigration minister". The Voice Online. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  19. "Black MP caption mistakes 'show lack of respect'". BBC News. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  20. Mohdin, Aamna; Jim Waterson (4 February 2020). "News outlets criticised for mislabelling photos of black MPs". The Guardian.
  21. "Black History and Cultural Diversity in the Curriculum | 6.25pm: Bell Ribeiro-Addy". Hansard. UK Parliament. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  22. Sleigh, Sophia (30 October 2021). "'Racist And Condescending' – MP Slams Refusal To Return Benin Bronzes". HuffPost. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  23. Dearden, Lizzie (1 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Immigration detainees must be released to stop spread of virus, Labour says". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  24. Ribeiro-Addy, Bell (18 June 2021). "After a litany of Tory failures, why we still need a Zero Covid Strategy – Bell Ribeiro-Addy #Covid19UK". Labour Outlook. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  25. Mortimer, Josiah (15 December 2021). "Here's how London MPs voted on Covid vaccine passports and mask rules". MyLondon. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  26. "draft Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No.2) Regulations 2021". UK Parliament. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  27. Wearmouth, Rachel (24 February 2022). "11 Labour MPs threatened with suspension for signing Stop The War letter attacking NATO". Mirror. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  28. Batty, David; Brown, Mark (27 August 2023). "Thefts expose British Museum's 'ridiculous' stance on return of artefacts, says MP". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023.
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