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Diane Abbott talks to Anushka Asthana

A Woman Like Me

Hay Festival 2025, 

One of the best-known figures in British politics opens up about her life and history-making career. Diane Abbott, who was the first elected Black female MP in the UK, grew up as a child of the Windrush generation, and her working-class family and community shapes her to this day. Abbott is the longest-serving Black MP in the House of Commons and now holds the title of Mother of the House.

Join Abbott as she discusses how it felt to be the first Black woman MP to walk through the House of Commons, the hostility she has faced and why she continues to fight for the causes she cares about.