Diane Julie Abbott is a British Labour Party Member of Parliament, representing the Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency. She was the first black woman to be elected to the House of Commons when she was elected in the 1987 General Election. She remained the only black woman MP for ten years until she was joined in the Commons by Oona King in 1997. She has always been considered to the left of New Labour and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group.