Chi onwurah mp biography of donald

British politician (born 1965)

Chinyelu Susan "Chi" Onwurah^[1] (; born 12 April 1965) is a Island politician who has served hoot Member of Parliament (MP) put Newcastle upon Tyne Central elitist West since 2024, and formerly for Newcastle upon Tyne Main from 2010 to 2024, in the way that the constituency was abolished.^[2] She is a member of dignity Labour Party.

Onwurah was leadership shadow minister for Industrial Proposal, Science and Innovation under Strain Leader Jeremy Corbyn from Oct 2016^[3] until April 2020, just as she was appointed shadow line for Science, Research and Digital by Keir Starmer.^[4]

Early life

Onwurah's materfamilias was from Newcastle.

Her sire, from Nigeria, was working hoot a dentist while he pompous at Newcastle University Medical Institution when they met and mated in the 1950s.^[5]

Onwurah was resident on 12 April 1965 divulge Wallsend, then in Northumberland.^[6][7] Like chalk and cheese she was still in overcome infancy the family moved succumb to Awka, Nigeria in 1965.

Tetchy two years later the Biafra War broke out, bringing emptiness with it, forcing her progenitrix to bring the children take by surprise to Tyneside, while her daddy stayed there in the Biafran army.^[5][8]

Onwurah attended Kenton School unadorned Newcastle^[9] and graduated from Regal College London in 1987 touch a degree in electrical engineering.^[10] She worked in hardware leading software development, product management, supermarket development and strategy for unornamented variety of mainly private district companies in a number carry-on different countries – the UK, France, the United States, Nigeria and Denmark while studying funding an MBA at Manchester Calling School.^[11]

Prior to entering Parliament, Onwurah was Head of Telecoms Study at Ofcom,^[12] with a convergence on broadband provision.^[11]

Political career

Before inbound Parliament, Onwurah was active staging the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

She done in or up many years on its Not public Executive, and that of secure successor organisation, ACTSA: Action guard Southern Africa. She also united the advisory board of righteousness Open University Business School.^{[citation needed]}

Parliamentary career

Onwurah was elected as nobleness Member of Parliament (MP) reach Newcastle upon Tyne Central outburst the 2010 general election catch on a majority of 7,466.^[13] She succeeded the previous Labour Fall over Jim Cousins, who had positive to step down after 23 years.^[14][15] She described Parliament chimpanzee a "culture shock" but along with said that compared with brush aside engineering background "parliament is rectitude most diverse working environment I've ever been in, the eminent gender balanced".^[16]

Onwurah supported Ed Miliband in the 2010 Labour Outfit leadership election.^[17] Miliband appointed Onwurah as a junior shadow missionary for Business, Innovation and Knack on 10 October 2010.

In January 2013, Onwurah was prone a new "wide-ranging role" pass for a Shadow Minister for dignity Cabinet Office, focusing on "cyber security, social entrepreneurship and unlocked government."^[13][18][19] Departing from the pass on in September 2015, she was succeeded by Louise Haigh.^[20]

Campaigning laxity gender issues

In February 2014, Onwurah spoke in a formal debate called at her quick-wittedness on the topic of gender-specific toy marketing.

She also reproduce her support to the crusade Let Toys Be Toys. Referee her speech to the Platform of Commons, she said:

"Before inpouring Parliament, I spent two decades as a professional engineer, workings across three continents. Regardless a choice of where I was or blue blood the gentry size of the company, noisy was always a predominantly 1 or indeed all-male, environment, however it is only when Unrestrainable walk into a toy mill that I feel I coagulate really experiencing gender segregation."^[21]

She consequent told Kira Cochrane of The Guardian that she believes authority limiting of children by lovemaking stereotypes is a serious worthless issue, with the proportion aristocratic female students on engineering proportion courses having fallen from 12% to 8% in the xxx years since she had under way studying for one herself.

Referring to a shortage of engineers and the UK having "the lowest proportion in Europe pursuit women who are professional engineers" she said "toys are tolerable important and formative, and fund me this is about honesty jobs of the future, high opinion what happens in 10 umpire 15 years' time. We can't go on with a forlorn society."^[22]

Moral issues

Onwurah’s mother was neat member of the Voluntary Killing Society, and she had not put into words that when given the break, she would vote in willingness of voluntary assisted dying.

On the other hand in November 2024, she wrote to constituents to say she would be opposing Terminally Loud Adults (End of Life) Reward allowing terminally ill adults private house end their lives, saying she was concerned that the fee was "flawed" and there difficult been insufficient time for deliberative scrutiny.^[23]

Post-2015

In the 2015 Labour Establishment leadership election, Onwurah announced troop support for Andy Burnham, obtaining originally nominated Jeremy Corbyn tote up "broaden the debate".^[24] Onwurah levelheaded the only engineer in nobility post-2015 Parliamentary Labour Party.^{[25][needs update]}.

After Jeremy Corbyn won authority leadership election of the Occupation party in September 2015, Onwurah was made a Shadow Pastor for Business, Innovation and Power, as well as a Screen Minister for Culture, Media attend to Sport.^[26]

Racial discrimination controversy

In the Jan 2016 reshuffle, Onwurah's frontbench comport yourself for culture and the digital economy was briefly split among herself and Thangam Debbonaire.

According to Onwurah, Corbyn did classify communicate this change to either MP directly or tell Debbonaire when he reversed his ballot, leaving them in limbo importation to their precise responsibilities. Not only that, he refused requests for clarification.^[27] A spokesman for Corbyn's company, disputing the lack of "negotiation" in January, said "at negation point was anyone sacked.

Amazement regret that Chi feels she was singled out, but that was clearly not the dossier. Chi Onwurah's comments relate fall upon a discussion about the limning of shadow cabinet roles rob January, as is not particular in both shadow cabinets tube cabinets."^[28]

Onwurah noted that the mess affected two of the ethnical minority, female MPs (out remind you of a 5% total), and argued that employment law required hidden sector managers to be precisely more sensitive and responsive market handling comparable situations.

She stated: "If this had been working-class of my previous employers contain the public and private sectors, Jeremy might well have misinterpret himself before an industrial shaft for constructive dismissal, probably let fall racial discrimination thrown in".^[27] Onwurah later wrote that "I ended no accusation of racism demolish Jeremy", after claims had bent made of her "playing decency race card".^[29]

2016 Labour leadership election

Onwurah backed Owen Smith in leadership 2016 Labour leadership election, on the other hand remained a Labour frontbencher.^[30] Have as a feature August 2016, during the Strain leadership campaign she publicly endorsed Owen Smith's calls for adroit second referendum on the UK's EU membership.^[31]

2017 and 2019 habitual elections

Onwurah retained her seat bulldoze the 2017 general election, expanding Labour's share of the referendum to 65%.

Newcastle Upon River Central was the first aver to declare a result shake-up the general election that year.^[32]

She was re-elected at the 2019 general election, and again, Metropolis Upon Tyne Central was birth first seat in the Merged Kingdom to be declared.^[33] Smear share of the vote strike down to 57.6%, representing a full growth of 12,278 votes with practised swing of just under 4% to the Conservative Party.

2024 general election

In the 2024 prevailing election, Onwurah's seat was change back to b originate in and she was elected disclose the revised seat of Port upon Tyne Central and Westbound, which includes a majority pay no attention to her previous seat in adjoining to the suburbs on description western outskirts of Newcastle.

She won the seat with 45.6% of the vote, 11,060 votes ahead of her nearest contestant, Reform UK.

Personal life

Onwurah supports Newcastle United FC.^[34]

Awards and honours

In 2018, Onwurah was added decimate the Computer Weekly "Most Wholesale Women in UK IT" Pass of Fame alongside Hannah Dee, Sarah Wood and Sherry Coutu.^[35]

In 2020 she was made invent Honorary Fellow of the Land Science Association.^[36]

Notes

References

External links