The Right Honourable Dame Diana Johnson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of State for Employment | |
| Assumed office 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Alison McGovern |
| Minister of State for Policing and Crime Prevention | |
| In office 8 July 2024 – 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Chris Philp |
| Succeeded by | Sarah Jones |
| Chair of theHome Affairs Select Committee | |
| In office 15 December 2021 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Tim Loughton (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Karen Bradley |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools | |
| In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Sarah McCarthy-Fry |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Hill of Oareford |
| Assistant Government Whip | |
| In office 28 June 2007 – 9 June 2009 | |
| Leader | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Ian Cawsey |
| Succeeded by | Mary Creagh |
| Member of Parliament forKingston upon Hull North and Cottingham Kingston upon Hull North (2005–2024) | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin McNamara |
| Majority | 10,679 (27.9%) |
| Member of theLondon Assembly for theLabour Party | |
| In office 1 March 2003 – 10 June 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Trevor Phillips |
| Succeeded by | Murad Qureshi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Diana Ruth Johnson (1966-07-25)25 July 1966 (age 59) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Kevin Morton[1] |
| Alma mater | Queen Mary University of London |
| Occupation | Barrister |
| Website | Official website |
Dame Diana Ruth JohnsonDBE (born 25 July 1966) is a British politician who has served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forKingston upon Hull North since the2005 general election. A member of theLabour Party, she has served asMinister of State in theDepartment for Work and Pensions since 2025.[2]
During theBrown ministry, she served asParliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools in theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families, as well as being anAssistant Government Whip.
Johnson was born inNorthwich,Cheshire. After returning from wartime service in the Navy her father, Eric Johnson, founded the Eric Johnsonelectrical engineering company inLittle Leigh near Northwich, Cheshire (now continued by his son). She passed the Eleven plus and attended the Northwich County Grammar School for Girls (later theCounty High School Leftwich). At sixth form level she studied atSir John Deane's College from 1982 to 1984 where she studied History, English and Economics.[3]
She gained anLLB in Law fromQueen Mary University of London.[4] She became abarrister in 1991. From 1999 to 2005, she was a Barrister in Law at Paddington Law Centre.
Johnson was a councillor in theLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets from 1994 to 2002, serving as Chair ofSocial services. She became a member of the London Assembly on 1 March 2003 after the resignation ofTrevor Phillips who became chair of theCommission for Racial Equality, having been next on the list of London-wide members at the2000 election. She did not stand for re-election in 2004.
She stood unsuccessfully inBrentwood and Ongar at the2001 general election.[5]
At the2005 general election, she was elected Labour Member of Parliament for theKingston upon Hull North constituency, succeeding veteran Labour MPKevin McNamara. She is Hull's first female MP.
In November 2005 Johnson was appointed as aParliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Pensions Reform,Stephen Timms. In 2007 she left this role to become an assistant Government Whip. She took on the additional role of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools in the reshuffle of June 2009.
During theUnited Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal it was revealed that Johnson had claimed £987 in architects' fees for her second home, which she voluntarily repaid, and had a £563 claim for crockery rejected as "excessive".[6]
In the 2010 general election Johnson polled 39.2% of the vote and held onto the Hull North constituency for Labour with her majority reduced to 641 votes.[7]
In 2014, Johnson proposed a Bill under theTen Minute Rule that would require sex and relationships education, including discussions around issues such as consent, to be made a compulsory part of theNational Curriculum.[8]
Johnson was appointed in September 2015 byJeremy Corbyn, shortly after he became Labour party leader, as a shadow minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth team.[9] In late June 2016, along with colleagues, she resigned as a shadow minister, unhappy at Corbyn's leadership following the 'leave' vote in theEuropean membership referendum.[10] She supportedOwen Smith in the2016 Labour leadership election.[11]
She is co-chair of theAPPG onHaemophilia andContaminated Blood,[12] campaigned on the Contaminated Blood Scandal and, in November 2018, received thePolitical Studies Association's 'Backbencher of the Year' award in recognition of her efforts.[13]
In September 2019, Johnson became the first Labour MP to face a full reselection process by her local party after members voted that she should face a challenge.[14] On 25 October 2019, Johnson's local party voted by 292 votes to 101 to reselect her as the candidate for the next election.[15] She was re-elected in the 2019 general election.[16]
In the2025 British cabinet reshuffle, Johnson was moved out of theHome Office along withAngela Eagle.[17]
On 9 December 2020, Johnson introduced aTen Minute Rule bill that would introduce theNordic model approach to prostitution, which would criminalise those paying for sex and criminalise websites which advertise prostitution. The bill was strongly criticised and opposed by sex workers including theEnglish Collective of Prostitutes group, women's rights organisations,trade unions,Amnesty International and thousands of individuals, who argued that this legislation would push the industry underground and put sex workers in danger.[18][19]
In September 2020, Johnson was appointed a vice-chair ofLabour Friends of Israel.[20]
In November 2021, Johnson in theJewish News wrote an article supporting a speech byKeir Starmer that opposed theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel. She said "Rejectinganti-Zionistantisemitism means opposing the BDS movement which demonises and delegitimisesIsrael, singling it out for boycotts and sanctions."[21]
In July 2021, Diana Johnson proposed an amendment that would liberaliseabortion in England and Wales.[22] Proponents of the amendment suggested this would bring English and Welsh law in line with recent legislative changes inNorthern Ireland. However, Johnson was strongly criticised for not clarifying whether this would allow for abortion up until birth. It has also been suggested bypro-life organisations that this would have removed the requirement for a doctor to be involved, allow forsex selective abortion and removed conscience protections for those medical professionals who object to abortion.[23]
Johnson was also criticised by 800 medical professionals in a letter that suggested such an amendment would remove legal safeguards for both the mother and child and pointed out that extensions to the 24 week limit were only supported by 1% of the UK population according to a recentSavanta ComRespoll. Johnson received little support in Parliament for the amendment and was also criticised by somepro-choice politicians[citation needed]. Johnson declined to take the amendment to a vote.[24]
In 2024, Johnson's amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which would decriminalise women themselves in relation to their own pregnancies but would leave the rest of abortion law and regulation unchanged, has been backed by theRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, theBritish Medical Association, Mumsnet, and many groups who work with survivors of gender based violence such as Women's Aid and Karma Nirvana.[25] Conservative ChancellorJeremy Hunt, who has previously backed a reduction in abortion time limits, has indicated he may support her amendment.[26] The Health SecretaryVictoria Atkins has also suggested she may vote for the amendment.[27]
Johnson supported theindicative Parliamentary votes on Brexit and her local paperHull Live reported that she had been threatened along with fellow Hull MPEmma Hardy on social media with being "shot and hanged" for this position.[28]
In 2017, Johnson co-sponsored a Bill in Parliament that would have granted 16-year-olds the right to vote in Parliamentary elections.[29]
Johnson was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the2020 New Year Honours for charitable and political service,[30] in part for her campaigning on contaminated blood transfusions.[31] She was appointed to the Privy Council on 10 March 2021.[32]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forKingston upon Hull North 2005–2024 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forKingston upon Hull North and Cottingham 2024–present | Incumbent |
