Bell Ribeiro-Addy | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Shadow Minister for Immigration | |
| In office 24 January 2020 – 9 April 2020 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Afzal Khan |
| Succeeded by | Holly Lynch |
| Member of Parliament forClapham and Brixton Hill Streatham (2019–2024) | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Chuka Umunna |
| Majority | 18,005 (42.1%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy (1985-03-01)1 March 1985 (age 40) Streatham, London, England |
| Party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Campaign Group (2019–present) |
| Education | Streatham and Clapham High School |
| Alma mater | University of Bradford(BSc) Queen Mary University of London(MA) BPP Law School(GDL) |
| Website | Official website |
Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy (born 1 March 1985)[1] is a BritishLabour Party politician who has served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forClapham and Brixton Hill, previouslyStreatham, since2019.[2][3] In 2020, she was brieflyShadow Minister for Immigration. She chairs theAll-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations.[4] On the political left, she is a member of theSocialist Campaign Group.
Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy was born on 1 March 1985 inStreatham, south London, growing up on a council estate onBrixton Hill.[5] She is of Ghanaian descent.[6][7]
She attended theprivateStreatham and Clapham High School. Ribeiro-Addy then graduated with aBachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science with Ethics & Philosophy of Science from theUniversity of Bradford in 2006. She then completed aMaster of Arts degree in Medical Law & Ethics atQueen Mary University of London, awarded in 2007, and aGraduate Diploma in Law atBPP Law School, awarded in 2015.[8]
She was the National Black Students' Officer for theNational 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 andLGBT+ officer Daf Adley pushed theDurham Union Society to cancel a debate on multiculturalism, threatening to bus coaches of students to Durham for a "colossal demonstration" ifBritish National Party MEPAndrew Brons were to speak on campus.[10]
She has described herself as a "life-long socialist".[11] Ribeiro-Addy was chief of staff to former Labour frontbencherDiane Abbott from 2016 to 2019.[12][13]
At the2019 general election, Ribeiro-Addy was elected to Parliament as MP forStreatham with 54.8% of the vote and a majority of 17,690 votes.[14][15]Ribeiro-Addy in hermaiden speech called for some form ofreparations to formercolonial subjects,[16] and spoke of the injustices faced by black people in Britain.[17] 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.[18]
In January 2020, Ribeiro-Addy was appointed asShadow Minister for Immigration, just weeks after her election as a member of parliament. She was not retained in the role following the election of SirKeir Starmer as Labour leader.[19]
In February 2020, she challenged the role of the media in devaluing black female MPs, particularly regarding errors byBBC Parliament and other outlets involving the mislabelling of photos of black female Labour MPsMarsha de Cordova andDawn Butler.[20][21]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Ribeiro-Addy called on the government to release people held in immigration detention centres.[22]
Ribeiro-Addy supported adopting aZero-COVID strategy to combat theCOVID-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.[23] In December 2021, she voted against the introduction ofvaccine passports and mandatory vaccination ofNHS staff.[24][25]
Ribeiro-Addy – whose first UK-born black relative wasThomas Birch Freeman, born inTwyford, Hampshire, in 1809[26] – has called for better black history education in schools, saying in October 2021: "Our civil rights struggle here in the UK is not one that we learn about as much."[27]
On 24 February 2022, following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ribeiro-Addy was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by theStop the War Coalition, which questioned the legitimacy ofNATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures.[28]
In the 2019–2024 Parliament,[29] she chaired theAll-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations.[4][30] In August 2023, Ribeiro-Addy argued for revision of theBritish Museum Act 1963, which currently prevents exhibits such as theBenin Bronzes and theElgin Marbles from being returned to their countries of origin.[29]
Due to the2023 review of Westminster constituencies, Ribeiro-Addy's constituency of Streatham was abolished, and replaced withClapham and Brixton Hill. At the2024 general election, Ribeiro-Addy was elected to Parliament as MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill with 56.5% of the vote and a majority of 18,005.[31]
On 12 December 2024, theConduct Committee of the House of Lords recommended suspendingBaroness Meyer for 3 weeks for harassment "related to race". This followed a complaint by Ribeiro-Addy (in conjunction with a separate complaint byLord Dholakia) that she had touched her hair without asking her permission.
On 8 September 2025, she announced her intention to stand in the2025 Labour Party deputy leadership election, the first MP to do so.[32] However, she obtained 24 nominations failing to meet the number of nominations to qualify.[33]
Ribeiro-Addy served as aschool governor atSaint Gabriel's College, Camberwell, from 2018 to 2022.[34]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forStreatham 2019–present | Incumbent |
