Lurline Champagnie

Lurline Champagnie OBE, (born 1935/1936 in Jamaica),[1] became the first black woman to stand as a parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom in March 1992. She was a Mayor in the London Borough of Harrow, and a councillor for the Pinner ward, being the first black person to hold these positions.[2]

Biography

Born in Jamaica, Champagnie emigrated to Britain in 1956.[2][3] She was first employed in London as a punch operator.[4] She trained as a nurse at Mount Vernon Hospital,[2][3][5] including time in the burns and plastic surgery unit.[2] After travelling to the US on a scholarship in 1964, she became aware of the possible supports available for women after mastectomies.[5] She worked for a prosthesis supplier, and then ran her own business catering for post-mastectomy patients.[5]

She began her political career at the 1982 Tory party conference declaring: "I am Conservative, black and British, and I'm proud of all three",[2][3][4][6][7] for which she received a standing ovation.[3][4][6][7] At the 1984 Tory party conference, Champagnie was caught up in the Brighton bombing, and as a trained nurse, was able to administer help to the victims.[2]

In 1986, she was elected as a councillor for the ward of Pinner, thus becoming the first black councillor in the London Borough of Harrow.[4] She represented Pinner until 2010.[2] In March 1992, when Champagnie stood for election to Parliament in Islington North, she became the first black woman to stand as a parliamentary candidate for the Conservatives.[3][8][9][10] In 2004, Champagnie became the first black Mayor of Harrow,[2] and in 2005 was runner-up in Britain's "Mayor of the Year Award".[11]

In 2008, Champagnie became part of the Government Equalities Office cross-party task force in aid of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women.[11][1]

In December 2009, Champagnie was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2010 New Year Honours list.[2][1]

Personal life

Champagnie and her husband Clive have three sons.[3][4]

See also

References
  1. Rebecca Lowe (3 January 2010). "'Singing mayor' celebrates OBE in style". Harrow Times. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  2. Tristin Kirk (31 December 2009). "Cllr Lurline Champagnie given OBE in New Year Honours". Harrow Times. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. Young, Robin (23 October 1990). "First black woman to fight for Tories". The Times (63844). London, England. p. 3.
  4. Clancy, Ray (24 October 1990). "Tory aiming for a place in history". The Times (63845). London, England. p. 3.
  5. Nowicka, Pamela (6 May 1987). "Bringing back a smile". The Guardian. London, England. p. 10. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  6. Back, Les; Solomos, John (2002). Race, Politics and Social Change. Routledge. p. 159. ISBN 9781134885268. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  7. Hardman, Robert (12 October 1995). "Favourite supplies usual fizz". The Daily Telegraph (43641). London, England. p. 6.
  8. "Chronology for Afro-Caribbeans in the United Kingdom". UNHCR. 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2019. Mar 19, 1992: Lurline Champagnie becomes the first black female Conservative candidate for parliament.
  9. Teeman, Tim (26 February 1995). "A woman's place is round the table". The Independent. London. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  10. Vita, Matthew C. (21 September 1991). "Political Potpourri. Minorities in Conservative Party reflect changing face of Britain". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia, US. p. 16. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  11. Andrew Rosindell (30 January 2009). "Search for 100 Peers: Lurline Champagnie (Nomination by Andrew Rosindell MP)". Conservative Party. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.