Martha Otito Osamor, Baroness Osamor (; born 24 September 1940) is a British-Nigerian Labour Party politician,

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

, community activist and civil rights campaigner. She is the mother of

Kate Osamor Ofunne Kate Osamor (; born 15 August 1968) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton since 2015. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was Shadow Secretary of State for International Developm ...

, the Labour MP for

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

since 2015.

Early life and career

Born Martha Otito Osantor in Delta State, Nigeria, Osamor moved to the UK in 1963 to join her husband who was then studying in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Osamor and her husband settled in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

, where they had four children. Her husband died unexpectedly in 1975.

Politics

Osamor was a co-founder of the United Black Women's Action Group (UBWAG). From 1977 to 1997 Osamor worked at the Tottenham Law Centre (now called the Haringey Law Centre) and during this time became part of the Broadwater Farm Youth Association Mothers' Project on the nearby

Broadwater Farm Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle (London), River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Housing estate, Estate ("BWFE") ...

housing estate. From 1986 to 1990 she served as a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

councillor representing the

Bruce Grove Bruce Grove is a ward in Tottenham, enclosed by Lordship Recreation Ground, Lordship Lane, Philip Lane, and the High Road. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 14,483. Nearby Bruce Castle was named after Robert the Bruce. When Rob ...

Ward in the

London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of t ...

, eventually becoming deputy leader of

Haringey London Borough Council Haringey London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Haringey in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. As of 2022, Haringey is divided into 21 wards, ...

. Following the

Broadwater Farm riot The Broadwater Farm riot occurred on the Broadwater council estate in Tottenham, North London, on 6 October 1985. The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an Afro-Caribbean woman who died the ...

, Osamor and Dolly Kiffin organised a civil rights demonstration on 3 October 1987 and produced a ''Manifesto of the movement for civil rights and justice''. She became a founding member of the Broadwater Farm Defence Campaign. A left-winger and

Labour Party Black Sections Labour Party Black Sections (LPBS), commonly known as Black Sections, was a caucus in the United Kingdom, made up of African, Caribbean, and Asian Labour Party members from 1983 to 1993. Formation Since the 1960s, the Labour Party has relied f ...

national vice-chair, Osamor was nominated by most of the branches within the

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

Constituency Labour Party as the party's candidate for the by-election in 1989. However, her candidacy was blocked by the party's National Executive Committee on the advice of

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...

Kate Hoey Catharine Letitia Hoey, Baroness Hoey (born 21 June 1946), better known as Kate Hoey, is a Northern Irish politician and life peer who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Home Affairs from 1998 to 1999 and Minister for Sport from 1999 ...

was instead selected by the national party as the constituency's Labour candidate. Osamor was nominated for a life peerage by

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

in May 2018 and on 26 November 2018 the Queen conferred upon her the title of Baroness Osamor, of

in the

and of

Asaba Asaba is the capital city of Delta State, Nigeria. It is located at the western bank of the Niger River, in the Oshimili South Local Government Area. Asaba had a population of 149,603 as at the 2006 census, and a metropolitan population of o ...

in the Republic of Nigeria.

Personal life

Baroness Osamor is the mother of Labour

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osamor, Martha 1940 births Living people Black British women politicians Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Nigerian recipients of British titles Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Labour Party (UK) councillors Councillors in the London Borough of Haringey Politicians from London Women councillors in England