Lurline Champagnie

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Lurline Champagnie OBE, (born 1935/1936 in Jamaica), [1] is a British politician who became the first black woman to stand as a parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in the 1992 general election, losing to future Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn. 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]

Contents

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 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 appointed 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

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Rebecca Lowe (3 January 2010). "'Singing mayor' celebrates OBE in style". Harrow Times . Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tristin Kirk (31 December 2009). "Cllr Lurline Champagnie given OBE in New Year Honours". Harrow Times . Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Young, Robin (23 October 1990). "First black woman to fight for Tories". The Times. No. 63844. London, England. p. 3.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Clancy, Ray (24 October 1990). "Tory aiming for a place in history". The Times. No. 63845. London, England. p. 3.
  5. 1 2 3 Nowicka, Pamela (6 May 1987). "Bringing back a smile". The Guardian. London, England. p. 10. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  6. 1 2 Back, Les; Solomos, John (2002). Race, Politics and Social Change. Routledge. p. 159. ISBN   9781134885268 . Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  7. 1 2 Hardman, Robert (12 October 1995). "Favourite supplies usual fizz". The Daily Telegraph. No. 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. 1 2 Andrew Rosindell (30 January 2009). "Search for 100 Peers: Lurline Champagnie (Nomination by Andrew Rosindell MP)". Conservative Party. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
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