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Taiwo Owatemi

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Taiwo Owatemi
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
In office
21 September 2021 – 7 September 2022
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byCharlotte Nichols
Succeeded byYasmin Qureshi
Member of Parliament
for Coventry North West
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byGeoffrey Robinson
Majority11,174 (26.6%)
Personal details
Born (1992-07-22) 22 July 1992 (age 32)
Political partyLabour
Children1
Alma materUniversity of Kent
Websitetaiwoowatemi.co.uk

Taiwo Victoria Owatemi (born 22 July 1992)[1] is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry North West since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she was Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities from September 2021 to September 2022.

Early and personal life

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Owatemi grew up in Plumstead, with close links to an extended family via her aunt and cousins in Coventry. Her father died when she was six. She was brought up with her twin and her elder brother by her mother, a nurse.[2] Owatemi has a Master's degree from the University of Kent and is qualified as a pharmacist.[3][4] She worked as a pharmacist at a cancer unit in Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust before she entered Parliament.[5]

In December 2023 she announced the birth of her first child, a daughter.[6]

Political career

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Owatemi was selected for a parliamentary internship by the Social Mobility Foundation and gained experience working in the Westminster office of Conservative MP Oliver Letwin.[7] She served in a number of roles in the Young Fabians and published writing on health policy.[4] She was a governor of a local primary school from 2016.[7][8]

She was selected as Labour's candidate for Coventry North West at the 2019 general election after the incumbent Labour MP, Geoffrey Robinson, announced his intention to stand down. Owatemi narrowly held the seat for Labour with a majority of 208 votes.[9][10][11] She is one of three female MPs elected from Coventry in 2019, the others being Zarah Sultana and Colleen Fletcher.

In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election Owatemi nominated Lisa Nandy.

Owatemi served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, from April 2020 to September 2021.[12] She was appointed as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities in September 2021.[13] She resigned from this position on 7 September 2022 to focus on local constituants.[14][15]

Owatemi is a member of Labour Friends of Israel and was part of a delegation to the country in February 2023.[16][17]

After the financial collapse of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, set up to run legacy projects following Coventry's year as UK City of Culture in 2021, she raised an adjournment debate in the House of Commons.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. ^ Owatemi, Taiwo. "The Mace". The Mace. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Surprise in Coventry North West as members select Taiwo Owatemi". LabourList. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Taiwo Owatemi". neweuropeans.net. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Taiwo Owatemi: 'Like every pharmacist in the country, I've been frustrated by medicines shortages'". Pharmaceutical Journal. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ https://twitter.com/TaiwoOwatemi/status/1739983001784623460 [bare URL]
  7. ^ a b "About Taiwo". TaiwoOwatemi.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Governors". De Lucy Primary School. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Coventry North West". BBC.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  10. ^ "General Election 2019: Coventry seats retained by Labour as city bucks national trend". Coventry Live. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Coventry MPs may face votes to remain Labour candidates". BBC News. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  12. ^ "List of PPS of the Labour Party". Labour List. 14 May 2020.
  13. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (21 September 2021). "Anneliese Dodds replaces Marsha de Cordova in women and equalities role". LabourList. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  14. ^ @TaiwoOwatemi (7 September 2022). "It has been a privilege to serve in my frontbench role as Whip and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities for the past year under @Keir_Starmer's leadership. It is therefore with regret that I have decided to step back and focus on my work in Coventry North West" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Smith, Nick (8 September 2022). "Cov MP Taiwo Owatemi quits Labour role to 'focus on constituents'". Coventry Live. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  16. ^ "LFI Parliamentary Supporters". Labour Friends of Israel. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  17. ^ Bloch, Ben (10 February 2023). "'Israel can rely on Labour' declares MP on week-long trip to Jewish state". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Parliament to hold debate on Coventry City of Culture Trust". BBC News. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taiwo Owatemi.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Coventry North West
2019 – present 		Incumbent
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