Bell Ribeiro-Addy

MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill

Labour

Bell Ribeiro-Addy is the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, having first been elected to parliament for the seat of Streatham at the 2019 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Ribeiro-Addy won 24,166 votes, representing 56.5% of the vote. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Ben Curtis, received 6,161 votes (14.4%), while the Green Party candidate, Shâo-Lan Yuen, secured 5,768 votes (13.5%). Ribeiro-Addy was duly elected with a majority of 18,005 votes.

The Clapham and Brixton Hill constituency was newly created for the 2024 election, formed from parts of the abolished Streatham and Vauxhall seats in South London. It is considered a safe Labour seat.

Political Career

Ribeiro-Addy is a member of the House of Commons home affairs select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for scrutinising the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies. It examines government policy, spending and the law in areas including immigration, security and policing.

Ribeiro-Addy stood as a candidate in the 2025 Labour deputy leadership election. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government. Ribeiro-Addy was seen as the candidate on the left of the party. She secured only 24 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party – far short of the 80 required under rules introduced in 2021.

Ribeiro-Addy served as shadow minister for immigration from January to April 2020 under Jeremy Corbyn’s interim/caretaker shadow frontbench constructed after the 2019 general election.

During the campaign, Ribeiro-Addy called for a “radical change of course” for the Labour Party and a return to its “roots”.

In an article for the Guardian, published on 9 September, she wrote: “If we do not listen, we will not learn. And if we do not learn, we cannot win back trust. We cannot out-Reform Reform, but we can become more Labour: unapologetically standing for justice, equality and the people who need us most.”

On 11 September, Ribeiro-Addy conceded that she had fallen short of “the high number of nominations required to proceed in the deputy leadership contest.”

In a statement, the Labour MP said: “I am disappointed that the full range of Labour members’ views will not be represented on the ballot paper.

“This less than democratic process is not just a problem for candidates of the Left. If the leadership of any party has an iron grip on MP candidate selection and those MPs are also the gatekeepers to leadership elections, the dangers of this should be clear.

“One upside of the last 72 hours is that we have heard other candidates starting to discuss issues those of us on the Left of the party have been raising for a long time: Gaza, welfare, lifting the two-child benefit cap. I hope these will stay at the forefront of the contest going forwards.

“In government, we are doing some good things: boosting workers’ rights, renationalising rail, launching breakfast clubs. But these have been drowned out by failures on Gaza, welfare cuts and winter fuel – to name a few.

“Polling reflects this. We are haemorrhaging votes in all directions to the Greens, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats – not just Reform. We have to be bolder.”

Ribeiro-Addy was one of three Labour MPs stripped of their government trade envoy roles in July 2025 after voting against the government on its flagship welfare bill. The group, which also included Rosena Allin-Khan and Mohammad Yasin, lost their positions following the rebellion over the government’s flagship welfare bill.

Ribeiro-Addy served as the trade envoy to Ghana. Appointed by the trade secretary, envoys are tasked with boosting British exports and attracting foreign investment. An envoy’s duties typically involve leading trade delegations, lobbying host governments on market access issues, and building relationships with overseas businesses.

In a statement at the time, Ribeiro-Addy said: “Trade envoys have historically been chosen as the person best suited to boost relations and trade with a given country. In some instances, this is regardless of party affiliation.

“However, it is the prime minister’s prerogative to choose his representatives on the international stage and I wish my successor all the best.”

The Labour MP stated that she was “concerned” about the removal of the whip from her colleagues, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff, Rachael Maskell, who had also rebelled over the welfare bill.

Ribeiro-Addy added: “No Labour MP votes against the whip lightly, especially in government, but when our constituents speak clearly, we must listen.

“As someone of Ghanaian heritage, I remain deeply committed to UK-Ghana relations and will continue this work as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Ghana. I particularly want to thank the UK-Ghanaian diaspora for all their support in the role, which, like their jollof, is unmatched.”

In December 2020, Ribeiro-Addy was the only Labour MP to vote against the EU (Future Relationship) Bill – which enabled the government to implement and ratify its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. Keir Starmer, the newly elected Labour leader, argued that while the trade deal negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government was “thin” and flawed, the only alternative at that late stage was a “no-deal” exit. To enforce the leadership’s position, which involved backing the bill, a three-line whip was imposed.

Ribeiro-Addy aside, 37 Labour MPs abstained.

Ribeiro-Addy was a member of the human rights (joint committee) (2022-2024), and the House of Commons women and equalities committee (2020-2024).

Ribeiro-Addy is a member of the Parliamentary Black Caucus. The cross-party group, inspired by the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), was established in 2025 to advance racial equality and representation for Black and minority ethnic people within parliament and across the UK.

Ribeiro-Addy is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Afrikan reparations, immigration detention, ethnicity transplantation and transfusion and Ghana.

Ribeiro-Addy delivered her maiden speech on 30 January 2020, during a debate on “global Britain”. In it, she called for a form of reparations for former colonial subjects.

She said: “I am someone who believes firmly that the only way to tackle an issue is at its very root, and the racism that I and many other people in this country face on a daily basis has its root in those very injustices.

“Not only will this country, my country, not apologise – by apologise I mean properly apologise; not ‘expressing deep regret’ – it has not once offered a form of reparations.

“People see reparations as handing over large sums of money, but why could we not start today with simple things like fairer trade, simple things like returning items that do not belong to us, and simple things like cancelling debts that we have paid over and over again?”

She added: “My road to parliament was not by the well-trodden route of power, privilege, connection or wealth. I was energised as a student activist to stop the fascist BNP [British National Party] and to help stop the deportation of one of my fellow students. So I am very proud to have been appointed shadow immigration minister and continue that fight today.

“My path is not the statistically trodden path of a young black girl from a council estate on Brixton Hill and that needs to change. It needs all of us to make sure it does.”

Before entering parliament, Ribeiro-Addy worked as chief of staff to Diane Abbott, the senior frontbencher under Corbyn, from 2016 to 2019.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Starmer stand down: In May 2026, Ribeiro-Addy publicly called for Keir Starmer, the prime minister, to step down/set out a timetable for his departure. The move followed the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru.

Labour leadership 2020: Ribeiro-Addy was one of 33 Labour MPs who nominated Rebecca Long-Bailey for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Long-Bailey, then the shadow business secretary, was widely regarded as the continuity candidate for the party’s left/Corbynite wing. Long-Bailey finished second with 27.6% of the vote, losing to Keir Starmer, who won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2%.

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialism26: In May 2026, Ribeiro-Addy was a signatory of Socialism26, a political initiative and pressure group launched by a coalition of Labour MPs and general secretaries from several major affiliated trade unions, including Unison, Aslef, the CWU, the TSSA and the FBU. The group described itself as advocating a “programme for change” intended to facilitate a “progressive political reset” within the Labour Party. It called for a return to traditional socialist values and greater internal party democracy.

The initiative was built upon a set of policy demands, including urging the government to “recognise the genocide in Gaza”, deliver full compensation for the “Waspi” women affected by state pension age changes, protect civil liberties and embrace intervention to lower energy bills.

Socialism26 described this programme as “the bare minimum to ensure that the public can see and feel the difference a socialist government makes to their lives.”

Socialist Campaign Group: Ribeiro-Addy has been listed as a member of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) – the standard-bearer of the left wing within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Founded in 1982 by followers of Tony Benn, the group has traditionally advocated policies such as widespread public ownership, wealth redistribution and strengthened trade union rights.

Labour ‘reset’: In March 2026, Ribeiro-Addy was among dozens of Labour parliamentarians to co-sign a statement calling for a “reset” in the party’s internal culture and political direction. The statement, supported by an alliance of MPs from both the Mainstream (“soft-left”) and Momentum (left) wings of the party, condemned what it saw as the “insular, centralising approach” of the leadership. It called on Labour to rebuild “basic democracy, pluralism and fair process within our party.”

The intervention followed a series of by-election results in Gorton and Denton, Runcorn and Helsby and Caerphilly.

The statement said: “We stand against the insular, centralising approach of the current leadership that refuses to draw on the energy, talent and ideas of our whole movement, the continued underfunding of public services and local government, and the pandering to the talking points of the far right.”

It added: “We, the undersigned members from every section of the Labour Party – parliamentarians, councillors, internal election candidates, members and trade unionists, pledge to reset the Labour Party.”

Corbyn suspension: In November 2020, Ribeiro-Addy was among the 32 SCG MPs to sign a statement declaring that they opposed the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn and calling for the disciplinary action to be “swiftly reversed”.

The statement read: “This decision and the division it causes severely undermines efforts to unite to defeat antisemitism and fully implement the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] recommendations and to challenge and defeat this disastrous Conservative government.”

Corbyn’s suspension came after he issued a response to the EHRC report, arguing “the scale of the [antisemitism] problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents”.

Green new deal champion: Ribeiro-Addy is listed as one of activist group Green New Deal Rising’s “cross-party green new deal champions”. GNDR is a progressive campaign organisation which promotes rapid decarbonisation and the transformation of the UK economy with a “Green New Deal” – a long-term plan to tackle climate change with large-scale public investment in renewable energy, green infrastructure and public services.

Momentum endorsement: Ribeiro-Addy was endorsed by the left-wing campaign group Momentum in the 2024 general election. Momentum was founded in 2015 to support the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and to campaign for socialist policies within the Labour party.

Spycops vote (2020): In October 2020, Ribeiro-Addy was one of the 34 Labour MPs to break the party whip by voting against the covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill at its commons third reading. The proposed legislation, often referred to as the “spycops bill”, was introduced by the Conservative government to authorise undercover agents and informants to commit crimes while on operations. The Labour Party had whipped its representatives to abstain on the bill on the basis that the legislation is “far from perfect” yet “necessary” due to “the need to provide a clear lawful framework for the use of human intelligence sources”.

Brexit and Europe

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, Ribeiro-Addy was one of 193 Labour candidates to sign the anti-Brexit “Remain pledge”, drawn up by the campaign group Remain Labour.

It stated: “Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU.”

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Ribeiro-Addy voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Ribeiro-Addy was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

In a Politics.co.uk article, published in April 2025, Ribeiro-Addy argued that the cuts were “likely to leave people poorer and sicker, leaving more people reliant on NHS and social care services.”

She wrote: “Continuing the Tories’ disgraceful legacy on benefits is not the change this government was elected to enact. This is increasingly borne out in dismal polling but there is still time to change course…

“These cuts would be the worst of all worlds. I remain resolutely opposed and will be voting against them if they come to pass. But it is not too late for the government to think again.”

In May 2025, Ribeiro-Addy had signed a letter warning the government that the cuts were “impossible to support” and calling for a change in direction.

The letter, signed by 42 Labour MPs, read: “The planned cuts of more than £7bn represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over 3 million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected.

“Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don’t create jobs, they just cause more hardship.”

Welfare vote (July 2025): Ribeiro-Addy went on to vote against the bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Ribeiro-Addy signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Assisted dying

Ribeiro-Addy voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

In a statement setting out her position, issued before the bill’s second reading, she said: “I have significant concerns about the current proposals in this legislation. Chief among these is the lack of sufficient safeguards to protect vulnerable individuals, particularly those from lower economic backgrounds, from the risk of coercion.

“In the context of our overstretched health and social care system, I fear the potential for undue pressure being placed on individuals who may feel they have no other choice.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Ribeiro-Addy voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Social media ban: In January 2026, Ribeiro-Addy was one of over 60 Labour MPs to sign a letter to the prime minister calling for the introduction of an Australia-style ban on social media access for children under the age of 16. Organised by Plymouth Moor View MP Fred Thomas, the initiative brought together a cross-factional coalition of backbenchers – spanning the Socialist Campaign Group, Tribune Group and Blue Labour – to demand action.

The letter called on Keir Starmer to “show leadership” by introducing a minimum age for social media access “to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms”.

It stated: “We are all strong supporters of technology, and of this Labour government’s ambition to use tech to improve lives. But successive governments have done far too little to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms.”

Foreign policy and security

Nato-scepticism: In February 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ribeiro-Addy was one of 11 Labour MPs on the left of the party threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which criticised Nato, accusing the military alliance of “eastward expansion”.

All 11 MPs, Ribeiro-Addy included, subsequently removed their signatures.

Palestine

LFPME: Ribeiro-Addy has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Ribeiro-Addy was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Palestine Action vote: Also in July 2025, Ribeiro-Addy was one of 26 MPs to vote against the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. The ban, passed by 385 votes to 26, came after the Home Office accused the group of “aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public”. However, civil liberties organisations argued proscription represented an overreach of state power and a threat to the right to protest.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Ribeiro-Addy was among 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the King’s Speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza – defying the instruction set out by the party’s frontbench. Labour had tabled its own motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict and ordered its representatives to support that stance.

Civil liberties

Covid passes vote (2021): Ribeiro-Addy was one of 126 MPs to vote against Covid passes in England in December 2021. The measure, introduced by Boris Johnson’s government, was carried by 369 votes to 126.

Covid passes campaign (2021): Ribeiro-Addy was one of over 70 MPs and peers who launched a cross-party campaign against the “divisive and discriminatory use” of Covid passes in April 2021. The campaign was triggered by government reviews into “vaccine passports”, which signatories argued would create a two-tier society and infringe upon fundamental civil liberties.

Before Politics

Born Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy in Streatham, London on 1 March 1985, she grew up on a council estate on Brixton Hill and is of Ghanaian descent.

Ribeiro-Addy attended Streatham and Clapham High School.

She studied biomedical science with ethics and philosophy of science at the University of Bradford (graduating 2006), gained a master’s degree in medical law and ethics from Queen Mary University of London (2007), and a graduate diploma in law from BPP law school (2015).

Ribeiro-Addy served as national black students’ officer for the National Union of Students (NUS) from 2008 to 2010 and was involved in NUS anti-racism campaigns.