Glenda Jackson

Labour MP Hampstead and Highgate

Date of birth

9 May 1936

Political profile

A long term Labour activist, Glenda Jackson was elected to Parliament in 1992, after a distinguished career as an actress.

Many politicians are accused of being good performers, but she is the only MP to have won two Oscars.

Her political career has been one of almost puritan sobriety, and she is known for her energetic commitment to a number of causes - most notably social exclusion and transport.

On both issues she is to the left of the party's mainstream while remaining loyal to the government.

She served as a junior transport minister for the first two years of the Blair administration, before resigning in 1999 in order to seek Labour's candidature for the inaugural London mayoral elections.

She came a decent third in the party ballot, and joined in Ken Livingstone's criticisms of the Labour leadership's bias towards Frank Dobson.

She subsequently joined Mayor Livingstone's "cabinet" as an adviser on homelessness.

In parliament, she has become increasingly critical of government policy.

Contact

020 7219 4008