Lurline Champagnie
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Lurline Champagnie OBE, (born 1935/1936 in Jamaica), became the first black woman to stand as a parliamentary candidate for the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
in the United Kingdom in March 1992. She was a Mayor in the
London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...
, and a councillor for the
Pinner Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011. Originally a med ...
ward, being the first black person to hold these positions.


Biography

Born in
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, Champagnie emigrated to Britain in 1956. She was first employed in London as a
punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...
operator. She trained as a nurse at
Mount Vernon Hospital Mount Vernon Hospital is located in Northwood, an area of north-west Greater London. It is one of two hospitals run by The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was founded as The North London Hospital for Co ...
, including time in the burns and plastic surgery unit. After travelling to the US on a scholarship in 1964, she became aware of the possible supports available for women after
mastectomies Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...
. She worked for a prosthesis supplier, and then ran her own business catering for post-mastectomy patients. 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", for which she received a standing ovation. 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. In 1986, she was elected as a councillor for the ward of
Pinner Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011. Originally a med ...
, thus becoming the first black councillor in the
London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...
. She represented Pinner until 2010. In March 1992, when Champagnie stood for election to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in
Islington North Islington North () is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Jeremy Corbyn. He served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from 2015 to 2020. Cor ...
, she became the first black woman to stand as a parliamentary candidate for the Conservatives. In 2004, Champagnie became the first black Mayor of Harrow, and in 2005 was runner-up in Britain's "Mayor of the Year Award". In 2008, Champagnie became part of the Government Equalities Office cross-party task force in aid of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women. In December 2009, Champagnie was appointed an OBE in the Queen's
2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...
list.


Personal life

Champagnie and her husband Clive have three sons.


See also

*
British African-Caribbean people British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-C ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Champagnie, Lurline Living people Women councillors in England Black British women politicians Black British people in health professions Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Year of birth missing (living people) Conservative Party (UK) councillors Councillors in the London Borough of Harrow English people of Jamaican descent British women nurses