David Lammy - politician

David Lammy was born in in Archway, North London, to Guyanese parents David and Rosalind Lammy He and his four siblings were raised solely by his mother, after his father left the family when he was twelve years old. Lammy never saw him again, but has often spoken about the impact that this event had on his life. Lammy advocates positive parenting, often speaking publicly about the importance of fathers and the need to support them in seeking to be active in the lives of their children. He chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood and has written on the issue.

Lammy grew up in Tottenham. Having attended a local primary school, at the age of ten, he was awarded an Inner London Education Authority choral scholarship to sing at Peterborough Cathedral and attend The King's School, Peterborough – an event he has described as his "X Factor moment".He later worked at KFC and as a security guard. He studied at the School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, obtaining an upper second class degree. Lammy went on to become one of the first Black Britons to study at Harvard University when he won a place to study for an LL.M. at Harvard Law School after Sir Damon Buffini completed an MBA at Harvard Business School a decade earlier. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1994 at Lincoln's Inn and practiced as a barrister.

Political career

In 2000 he was elected for Labour on the London-wide list to the London Assembly. During the London election campaign the sitting member for his home constituency of Tottenham, Bernie Grant, died and Lammy was selected as the Labour candidate. He was elected to the seat in a by- election held on 22 June 2000.

In 2002, he became Parliamentary under-Secretary in the Department of Health. In 2003, Lammy was appointed as a Minister in the Department for Constitutional Affairs. As a member of the Government, he voted in favour of authorisation for Britain to invade Iraq in 2003. After the 2005 general election, Lammy was appointed Minister for Culture at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

In June 2007, Lammy was appointed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. In October 2008, he was promoted to Minister of State and was appointed to the Privy Council. In June 2009 until June 2010 when Labour lost the election, he became Minister for Higher Education in the new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

After Labour lost the 2010 general election, a Labour Party leadership contest was announced. After the election of Ed Miliband, Lammy pledged his full support but turned down a post in the Shadow Cabinet. He explained this decision by asserting a need to speak on a wide range of issues that would arise in his constituency due to the "large cuts in the public services" that his constituents rely on. Deciding instead to become a back-bench opposition MP. Lammy opposed the Coalition Government's comprehensive spending review. Following the party's defeat in the 2015 general election, Lammy was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015.

Lammy has been outspoken in the recent Windrush scandal.