Diane Abbott
Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010
BBC
4.4 • 804 Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2008
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the MP Diane Abbott. She was the first black woman to become a Member of Parliament and, after her election in 1987, she said she would find herself sitting on the green benches of the House of Commons wondering whether she was really entitled to be there.
It was not the first British institution she'd cracked - she had already propelled herself through Cambridge and then into the Civil Service. But she has not always sat comfortably inside these great bastions of the establishment; she says Gordon Brown booted her off an influential committee because she asked too many questions; she was a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq and she attracted a good deal of controversy when she decided to send her son to private school.
After more than 20 years in the House of Commons, she is, she says, happy for people to judge her on what she has done and what she has stood up for.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Nkosi Sikelel 'Iafrika by Ladysmith Black Mambazo Book: Volumes of architectural and historical surveys of London Luxury: A nice bed with comfortable mattress, sheets & mosquito net.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.7 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.4 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping |
| 0:22.7 | you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together |
| 0:28.7 | by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:34.9 | check out BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Krista Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. |
| 0:41.8 | For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:44.9 | The program was originally broadcast in 2008. |
| 1:06.8 | Music My castaway this week is the MP Diane Abbott. |
| 1:09.5 | The first black woman to be elected to Westminster, |
| 1:12.8 | she's been the Labour MP for Hackney for more than 20 years. |
| 1:18.4 | From an ordinary working class background, she's consciously propelled herself into the heart of the establishment. |
| 1:22.4 | Cambridge, the civil service and parliament have been her surroundings. |
| 1:24.7 | Yet she hasn't always been comfortable there. |
| 1:32.6 | She says Gordon Brown booted her off an influential committee for asking too many questions, and she was an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. |
| 1:40.2 | My life has been a search for power, she says, and every time I get to where it's supposed to be, I've been told it's just gone. |
| 1:45.5 | Interesting that you are as up front using the word power. A lot of politicians don't use the word power. They say things like, I want to make a difference. It's always been about power, |
| 1:50.1 | has it? It's never been about personal power, but it's always been about change. And in order |
| 1:56.1 | to really change society, you have to, you know, be where the levers of power are. |
| 2:04.0 | In the introduction, and this will be common to you, I'm sure, every time you are either |
| 2:07.9 | interviewed or a profile is written about you in the newspapers, people say the first black |
... |
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