Rt Hon Baroness (Harriet) Harman KC

Harriet Harman was one of the longest-serving MPs in Parliamentary history. She spent over 40 years in the Commons, becoming a leading voice for women in politics, and campaigning for a range of reforms in areas including equality legislation, social justice, law and welfare.

After qualifying as a solicitor, Harriet worked for the Brent Law Centre, representing workers and tenants, before joining the National Council for Civil Liberties (later known as Liberty) directly tackling issues from equal pay and discrimination to prisoners’ rights. Having campaigned for greater female representation within the Labour Party, Harriet stood in the 1982 general election. When she first entered the House, she was one of only a handful of women in the Commons, was half the age of the average MP, and the only one that was pregnant. She soon joined the shadow cabinet and over the subsequent 15 years would hold briefs including health, employment, and social security. Harriet also led the campaign for women-only candidate shortlists which saw over 100 women elected to the Labour benches in 1997.

After the 1997 Labour landslide, Harriet retained the social security brief as Secretary of State. She was also appointed the first ever Minister for Women. After a decade in government, she was elected Deputy Leader, and soon after also became Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal and Minister for Women and Equality. She was a key figure in government policies including the minimum wage, winter fuel payments, and improvements to childcare and maternity leave provisions. Throughout her time in government, Harriet was consistently seen as a leader in fighting for equality in employment, rights and law.

In her role as Deputy Leader, Harriet twice served briefly as Leader of the Labour Party. First in the period between the resignation of Gordon Brown and the election of Ed Miliband, and again before the election of Jeremy Corbyn, after which she stood down as Deputy. She continued to be an active parliamentarian and was appointed to chair the Privileges Select Committee, which oversees issues around the legal status of MPs’ duties and actions. In its highest profile investigation for many years, Harriet led scrutiny into Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statements to the House related to the so-called Partygate scandal. The resultant report was damning, accusing Johnson of contempt of Parliament, and was seen as instrumental in his ultimate resignation as Prime Minister. Respected by all sides of politics, Harriet became the longest continuously serving woman MP, and the first to be known as the Mother of the House.

Now a Labour Peer, Baroness Harman of Peckham remains active in politics and is also a co-host of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast. A leader and campaigner for over 50 years, Harriet considers her career, the successes and the challenges, and explores her lessons around leadership, diversity, and the realities of politics.