Oona Tamsyn King (born October 22, 1967, in Sheffield) is a British politician. She was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Bethnal Green & Bow from 1997 until the 2005 election, when she was defeated by Respect candidate George Galloway. Bethnal Green and Bow is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Galloway, (born 16 August 1954 in Dundee), is a Scottish politician and author noted for his left-wing views, confrontational style, and rhetorical skill. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Labour Party is an Anti-English political party in the United Kingdom. ... The University of York is a campus university in York, England. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... The Labour Party is an Anti-English political party in the United Kingdom. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Bethnal Green and Bow is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... It has been suggested that Marginal constituencies in the United Kingdom be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... George Galloway, (born 16 August 1954 in Dundee), is a Scottish politician and author noted for his left-wing views, confrontational style, and rhetorical skill. ...

Early life

King, who is Black and Jewish, was born in 1967 to a Jewish mother (Murreil Hazel Stern), and the U.S.-born civil rights activist Preston King; she was educated in Chalk Farm, London. She is the niece of the medical doctor Miriam Stoppard and playwright Tom Stoppard. [1] This article is about the color. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Chalk Farm is the name of a place in the London Borough of Camden. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Miriam Stoppard (nee Miriam Moore-Robinson) is a British physician, author, television presenter and agony aunt. ... Sir Tom Stoppard, OM, CBE (born as Tomáš Straussler on July 3, 1937)[1] is an Academy Award winning British playwright of more than 24 plays. ...

King received a joint degree in Politics from the University of York and the University of California, Berkeley. The University of York is a campus university in York, England. ... Sather tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ...

Political life

King joined the Labour Party at the age of 14. The Labour Party is an Anti-English political party in the United Kingdom. ...

Before becoming an MP, King was on the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, and worked as a political assistant to Glyn Ford MEP, the Labour Party Leader in the European Parliament, and later Glenys Kinnock MEP. Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (EPP) Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) Gérard Onesta (Greens – EFA) Edward McMillan-Scott (ED) Mario Mauro (EPP) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (PES) Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) Mechtild... Glyn Ford (born 1950) is a member of the European Parliament for South West England for the Labour Party. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP)[1] is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (EPP) Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) Gérard Onesta (Greens – EFA) Edward McMillan-Scott (ED) Mario Mauro (EPP) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (PES) Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) Mechtild... Image:GlenysKinnock. ...

She was selected to represent the seat of Bethnal Green & Bow early in 1997. Peter Shore had announced his retirement early but faction fighting in the Constituency Labour Party led to party headquarters delaying the selection and imposing its own shortlist; some leading competitors from the local Bangladeshi community were not included. Bethnal Green and Bow is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC (May 20, 1924 - September 24, 2001) was a British Labour politician noted for his opposition to the European Communities. ... A Constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. ...

1997 election to Parliament

By winning the seat in 1997, King became only the second black woman to be elected as member of Parliament, the first being Diane Abbott. She has been selected as one of 100 Great Black Britons for this achievement. Diane Julie Abbott (born September 27, 1953 in Paddington, London) is a British Labour Party Member of Parliament, representing the Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency. ... The 100 Great Black Britons list was compiled as a response to the BBCs 100 Greatest Britons debate that took place the previous year (November 2002). ...

In her maiden speech of July 5, 1997, King highlighted the influence that her and her parents' ethnic background had: is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ...

For me, racism is not an academic point. My father is black and my mother is Jewish. As a child in Newcastle, my mother was lined up against a wall and stoned because, as her schoolmates put it, she, as a Jew, was responsible for the death of their Lord... I have also been called names such as yid, nigger, wog, half-caste and mongrel. Those are unparliamentary terms, but I hope that my background can be a bridge between two cultures. [2] This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Lord (disambiguation). ... Yid or Yids may refer to: Yid, a Jewish ethnonym Yid, a nickname for a fan of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. the real name of daniel kid tovey. ... // Nigger is a racial slur used to refer to dark-skinned people, especially those of African ancestry. ... Look up Wog in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Half-caste. ... Mixed breed dog, from Atlantic Canada Mongrel refers to mixed ancestry: Among pets, one whose parentage is of unknown or mixed breeds as opposed to purebred Among dogs, this is also called a mutt or a mixed-breed dog. ...

Iraq

King supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was controversial for the constituency's large Muslim population. The subject of this article is the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ...

This led to the RESPECT Coalition's George Galloway, a leader of the Stop the War Coalition, standing against her at the 2005 general election. This challenge was one of the media highlights of the election [3]. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... George Galloway, (born 16 August 1954 in Dundee), is a Scottish politician and author noted for his left-wing views, confrontational style, and rhetorical skill. ... The Stop the War Coalition (StWC) (informally just Stop the War) is a UK anti-war group set up on 21 September 2001. ... It has been suggested that Marginal constituencies in the United Kingdom be merged into this article or section. ...

Loss of 2005 election

The campaign was beset by tensions and scuffles.

King said the fact that her mother was Jewish had come up repeatedly, "in a quite disturbing way. As a kid it was always 'oi, you nigger,' 'you wog' and all the rest of it, and now it was 'yids,' 'you Jewish bitch, get out of here,' all of that sort of stuff." [4]

Both she and Galloway requested police protection. Together with Galloway, she made a plea for calm and restraint amongst local people, though she said: "I have to say it has not been helped by some of the language used by Respect. Extremism breeds extremism."

King said of Galloway, "What makes me sick is that when I come across someone who is guilty of genocide, I do not get on a plane and go to Baghdad and grovel at his feet." Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

Galloway had responded to claims of racism by noting his concern about "the deaths of many people in Iraq with blacker faces than hers." [5].

King lost the seat to Galloway by a narrow margin of 823 votes. A request for a recount by King and her agent was denied by the returning officer.

After the 2005 election

King had said that she would remain in Bethnal Green & Bow with her constituency office funded from the GMB trade union, attempting to act as an unofficial MP. GMB may stand for : GMB Union Glass microballoon GMB,Gattamaneni Mahesh Babu, A Popular indian film actor who works in [[Tollywood] Category: ... A trade union or labor union is an organization of individuals associated through employment, or labour. ...

However, she is now pursuing a career in the media, and has said: "I wanted to be an MP all my life, and when it didn't work, I thought, well then, I'll just have to go down a different path." [6] [7]

Subsequent views on voting for the invasion of Iraq

King's view on the invasion of Iraq has changed since the poor handling of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath by the United States in 2005: This article is about the Atlantic hurricane of 2005. ...

it shows that America has no grasp whatever on the activity needed to rebuild a destroyed city. And if they can't do that in their own country, then it's obvious why they can't do it in Iraq. So ... I regret that we went to war with a country that has shown itself to be incapable of the very basic actions required to deal with post-conflict reconstruction. [8]

She has however always maintained that she does not regret voting for the war in Iraq, despite the consequences: "I could never have voted against getting rid of Saddam Hussein." The Five Minute Interview, Oona King Independent June 5, 2007

Quotations

• More 4 segment on her ethnicity, "People say your mother is Jewish and your father African-American is interesting. Also my grand-mother is from Glasgow."[9]

• April 2006, essay for the BBC programme This Week:

  Multiculturalism hasn't failed; it's a statement of fact. We live together, side by side in this country very well, and far better than most. But to neglect any community is a recipe for disaster. To ensure that disaster doesn't come in the shape of the BNP, then politicians must wake up to the concerns of the white working class. Fast. [10] More4 is a digital television channel produced by United Kingdom broadcaster Channel 4. ... Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... This Week is a current affairs and politics TV programme on the BBC, screened on Thursday evenings, hosted by Andrew Neil alongside former Conservative MP Michael Portillo, and Labour MP Diane Abbott. ... The British National Party (BNP) is a white nationalist political party in the United Kingdom. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ...

• She has also been on This Week, The Daily Politics and The All Star Talent Show on five, and was a successful guest on Have I Got News For You..

This Week is a current affairs and politics TV programme on the BBC, screened on Thursday evenings, hosted by Andrew Neil alongside former Conservative MP Michael Portillo, and Labour MP Diane Abbott. ... The Daily Politics is a British Television show launched by the BBC in 2003. ... The All Star Talent Show is a 2006, television programme which aires on Five. ... Five (often referred as five, as per the logo), formerly, and more commonly known as Channel 5, is the British fifth and final national analogue terrestrial TV channel. ... Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show; produced by Hat Trick Productions and a flagship programme for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been running since 1990. ...

Miscellaneous

• King's husband, Tiberio Santomarco, is from Italy and they have an adopted son named Elia.
• King also speaks Italian and French.
• King is referenced in the rapper TY's track "Haha" which features on his album "Upwards"

See also

• List of British Jews

‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ...

External links

• Oona King official site
• Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - Oona King
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Oona King MP
• - Essay for BBC1's This Week
• 100 Great Black Britons - Oona King MP
• Israel can halt this now, Oona King, The Guardian, June 12, 2003
• Shock win for Galloway in London, BBC, 6 May, 2005
• Post election Oona King interview, audio, Today programme, BBC Radio 4, May 11 2005
• The Exile And His Daughter - Preston King, scholar, author, draft evader, 40 years in waiting for a pardon, Essence Magazine, February 2001
• Q: Did anti-semitism cost you the election? A: Definitely. There was Iraq, of course, but it was particularly being Jewish, Emma Brockes talks to former Labour MP Oona King, The Guardian, September 12, 2005