Hello, 

Stay tuned for a new web site soon!

Thank you for visiting this website. It is designed to help you find out more about my current work, and what I did during the eight years that I was the Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green & Bow in East London.

Today I Chair an organisation that I founded called THANCS - - Tower Hamlets Advocacy Network & Community Support. It aims to get ordinary people’s voices heard by government, and to connect people with politics. It is non-party political. THANCS reaches out to anyone who thinks politics should be done in a more positive way. We think parliament should take people’s views into account not just every five years at an election, but every day. If you are interested in joining THANCS please see the section for more information (although we’re based in Tower Hamlets, we have a national remit and welcome members from around the country).



The issue I am most passionate about is poverty reduction, both in the UK and abroad. I continue to work with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Genocide Prevention and the Great Lakes Region ¯ I founded this group in 1998, and I am proud that today over 100 MPs are members. We have had notable successes in our work on conflict resolution, and have been commended by the UN Security Council’s Expert Panel for our recommendations on UN peace-keeping.



I also work with the media, and am part of the team that makes the Sky News 7 o Clock show, combining politics and culture. I write for various newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian and the New Statesman. I am very excited about another project I have Chaired for five years, called the Rich Mix Foundation. This is an arts and cultural centre that aims to connect communities and cultures through world-class art in the heart of the East End.



I have recently written a pamphlet for the IPPR (Institute of Public Policy & Research) called ‘The Battle to Engage’, which looks at what we must do to reduce poverty and inequality, and how this should be linked to a progressive consensus that breaths life into our democracy. That brings me back to THANCS. Politics shouldn’t just be for politicians. If it is, our democracy will wither. So I hope you might be interested in this and other work.



Finally, on a personal note, I live with my Italian husband, Tiberio, in Mile End. I was born in Sheffield, and brought up in Camden, London. My father is African-American from Georgia. My mother is Jewish from Newcastle - and her grandparents were Scottish, Irish, and Hungarian. I was proud to represent London's East End, so diverse, and so often a gateway to the world. And I am excited now to carry on living and working in London’s East End, soon to host the Olympic Games.



Thank you for visiting this site, and I hope you find it of use. - Oona