Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. A socialist member of the Labour Party, she served in Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Home Secretary from 2016 to 2020. Abbott is the first black woman elected to Parliament, and the longest-serving black MP in the House of Commons.

Born in Paddington, London W2, to a British Jamaican family, Abbott attended Harrow County Grammar School before going up to read History at Newnham College, Cambridge. After joining the Civil Service, she worked as a reporter for Thames Television and TV-am before becoming a press officer for the Greater London Council. Joining Labour, she was elected as a Councillor on Westminster City Council in 1982 and then as an MP in 1987, being returned in every general election since for 35 years.

She was a member of the Labour Party Black Sections, the same as fellow MPs Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant and Keith Vaz, who were also elected in 1987. Critical of Tony Blair's New Labour project which pushed the party to the centre during the 1990s, in the House of Commons Abbott voted against several Blairite policies, including the launching of the Iraq War and the proposed introduction of ID cards. She stood for the Labour Party leadership on a left-wing platform in 2010, losing to Ed Miliband, who appointed her Shadow Minister for Public Health in the Official Opposition frontbench.

A supporter of Jeremy Corbyn's bid to become Labour Leader in 2015, Abbott became Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, then Shadow Health Secretary, and eventually Shadow Home Secretary. As a key Corbyn ally, she supported his leftward push of the Labour Party. She unsuccessfully attempted to be the Labour candidate for the 2016 London mayoral election, and backed the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign to retain UK membership of the European Union. After the 2019 general election, Abbott left the Shadow Cabinet. She remains in the House of Commons as a backbencher.

John Rees (born 1957) is a British political activist, academic, journalist and writer who is a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition, and founding member of Counterfire. He is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London.

He was formerly a leading member of the Socialist Workers Party and, as an SWP member, was heavily involved in Respect – The Unity Coalition. His books include Timelines, a political history of the modern world and A People's History of London, co-authored with his partner Lindsey German. He also produces documentaries and presents current affairs programmes for the Islam Channel.

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. Formerly a Labour MP, he now sits as an independent.

Born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and raised in Wiltshire and Shropshire, Corbyn joined the Labour Party as a teenager. Moving to London, he became a trade union representative. In 1974, he was elected to Haringey Council and became Secretary of Hornsey Constituency Labour Party until being elected as the MP for Islington North in 1983; he has been reelected to the office nine times. His activism has included roles in Anti-Fascist Action, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and advocating for a united Ireland and Palestinian statehood. As a backbench MP, Corbyn routinely voted against the Labour whip, including New Labour governments under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. A vocal opponent of the Iraq War, he chaired the Stop the War Coalition from 2011 to 2015, a period when he received the Gandhi International Peace Award; he also won the Seán MacBride Peace Prize in 2017. According to some studies, media coverage of Corbyn has often been hostile and misrepresented his views and political positions. Corbyn has condemned antisemitism, but has been criticised by political opponents for his past associations with individuals accused of antisemitism.

Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour Party in 2015. The party's membership increased sharply, both during the leadership campaign and following his election. Taking the party to the left, he advocated renationalising public utilities and railways, a less interventionist military policy, and reversals of austerity cuts to welfare and public services. Although critical of the European Union, he supported continued membership in the 2016 referendum. After Labour MPs sought to remove him in 2016, he won a second leadership contest, defeating Owen Smith. In the 2017 general election, Labour increased its share of the vote to 40%, with its 9.6% vote rise their largest improvement since the 1945 general election. Under Corbyn, Labour achieved a net gain of 30 seats and a hung parliament, but the Conservative Prime Minister, Theresa May, formed a minority government and Labour remained in Opposition.

In 2019, after deadlock in Parliament over Brexit, Corbyn endorsed holding a referendum on the withdrawal agreement, with a personal stance of neutrality. In the 2019 general election, Labour's vote share fell to 32%, its lowest since 2015, leading to a net loss of 60 seats and leaving it with 202, its fewest since 1935. Corbyn said he would not lead Labour into the next election, triggering a leadership election in 2020 that was won by Keir Starmer, his Shadow Brexit Secretary. Corbyn was suspended from Labour Party membership in October 2020 after stating antisemitism in the party had been overstated for political reasons. The membership suspension was lifted a month later after Corbyn was issued with a formal warning by a party disciplinary panel, but the Labour leadership declined to restore the whip, denying readmission to the parliamentary party pending an apology and retraction of his comments. As of April 2022, he sits as an independent.

Philip Glanville is a British Labour Party politician who currently serves as the directly elected mayor of Hackney in London. Philip Glanville was elected Mayor of Hackney in September 2016, becoming the borough's second directly elected mayor following the resignation of the incumbent, Jules Pipe. He has supported several local community and trade union movements, most recently joining lecturers at Loughborough University London on the picket line to protest changes in university pension scheme.

He was previously a councillor in Hoxton for ten years, and spent three years as Cabinet Member for Housing before briefly becoming Deputy Mayor in 2016.

Glanville has acknowledged that more housing should be built to tackle London's growing housing crisis.

Glanville has lobbied to introduce 'curfews' for new nightlife venues, to manage the impact of late-night opening on local communities. This initiative has been launched in an attempt to "encourage new pubs and clubs to consider hard-working neighbours trying to get a good night's sleep", while also encouraging new business development in Hackney.

Ercüment Akdeniz (b.1972, Malatya) politician, journalist, writer, leader of the Labour Party of Turkey.

He was born in Malatya in 1972. He grew up as one of the 5 children of a worker family in Varto. He completed his primary and secondary education in Iskenderun. He worked in construction, printing and textile sectors in Istanbul. In 1991, he began to attend Marmara

University, receiving an education in Fine Art Work Learning. He took part in higher education youth struggles in the Universities. In addition to organising activities for the Labour Youth, he was also involved in the executive of the Labour Party.

He hosted a program called Tower of Babel on the TV channel Hayatın Sesi, affiliated with the Labour Party. Akdeniz, who is a columnist for Evrensel newspaper, focused on refugees in his articles and worked on refugees. He has conducted field studies on refugees and migrant labour for many years, with his work been published in various newspapers and magazines. His books “In the Shadow of the Syrian War: Refugee Workers” (2014), “From Death Corridor to Refugee Bargaining: Refugees” (2016) and “The Most Beautiful Song” (2018) have been published. He was deemed worthy of the Fişek Institute Children’s Human Rights Award, Community Centre’s Pursuing the Truth Award and Musa Anter Journalism Awards. At the 9th Ordinary Congress of the Labour Party on November 22, 2020, he was elected as the chairman of the Party; he initiated public debates about Syrian, Afghan and other refugees, printed bilingual leaflets and continues to expend efforts to unite the struggle of Turkish and refugee workers. He is married and has two children.

Works

In the Shadow of the Syrian War: Refugee Workers (2014)

From Death Corridor to Refugee Bargaining: The Refugees (2016)

Best Song (2018)

The Global Movement of Migrant Labor: The Eighth Continent (2021)