Kate Osamor is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill, having first been elected to parliament for the predecessor seat of Edmonton at the 2015 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Osamor received 20,520 votes, representing 50.0% of the vote share. The Conservative candidate, Zoe Huggins, received 7,888 votes (19.2%), while the Green Party candidate, Luke Balnave, secured 3,681 votes (9.0%). Osamor was duly re-elected with a majority of 12,632 votes.

The Edmonton and Winchmore Hill constituency is located in North London, within the London Borough of Enfield. It includes areas such as Edmonton Green, Bush Hill Park, Haselbury, Winchmore Hill and Grange Park.

It is a new constituency created for the 2024 general election, formed from the majority of the abolished Edmonton seat and parts of the former Enfield Southgate constituency. The predecessor Edmonton seat was held by Labour since 1997, though it was represented by the Conservatives (Ian Twinn) between 1983 and 1997.

Political Career

Osamor serves as a trade envoy to East Africa (since January 2025). 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.

Osamor served in the shadow cabinet from June 2016 to December 2018 as shadow secretary of state for international development. She faced Priti Patel, secretary of state for international development from July 2016 to November 2017 across the dispatch box.

Osamor resigned from the role following controversy surrounding her son, Ishmael Osamor, who had been employed in her parliamentary office. It emerged that her son had been handed a community sentence on 19 October after being caught with drugs worth £2,500 at Bestival in Dorset last year. The Times claimed that Osamor had previously rejected any knowledge about her son’s case but had written to the trial judge asking for leniency on commons headed notepaper.

When doorstepped by the Times on the issue, Osamor reportedly responded by throwing water, shouting profanities and stating: “Don’t knock my f****** door. I should have come down here with a f****** bat and smashed your face open.”

In her resignation statement, Osamor stated she was resigning to support her family.

Osamor said: “I am resigning my position as shadow international development secretary to concentrate on supporting my family through the difficult time we have been experiencing.”

In a statement, Jeremy Corbyn said he accepted Osamor’s resignation and thanked her for her work as shadow international development secretary. “She brought a new dimension to the role by committing Labour to tackling global inequality as well as poverty”, he said. “I know Kate will take this time to support her family, work for her constituents and support our party’s efforts to rebuild Britain from the backbenches.”

In October 2020, Osamor 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”.

Osamor had the Labour whip suspended between January and May 2024. The suspension came after she used a social media post marking Holocaust Memorial Day to accuse Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza. The whip was restored after she apologised. Osamor said she “unreservedly” apologised for her remarks which were “inappropriate”.

She added she would “continue to reach out to Jewish stakeholders”.

“I am committed to ensuring that I don’t fall short of the highest standards. I look forward to continuing to represent my constituents of Edmonton in Westminster as a Labour MP.”

Following her election in 2015, Osamor served as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the then Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, from September 2015 to January 2016. She was then appointed shadow minister for women and equalities (January – June 2016).

A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. The role is widely regarded as the first step on the ministerial ladder.

In a 2017 interview with the Huffington Post, Osmaor was described as “fiercely loyal” to Corbyn as leader.

Osamor was a member of the House of Commons international development committee (2020-2024), the public accounts committee (2021-2022), the petitions committee (2015-2016), and the education committee (2015-2016).

Osamor 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.

Osamor is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Africa, global tuberculosis, Haiti, Libya, Nigeria and women affected by the justice system.

Osamor delivered her maiden speech on 2 June 2015, during a debate on health and social care.

In it, she said: “Edmonton is a community of many contrasts. Alongside increasing prosperity, many people suffer considerable hardship and deprivation. Edmonton is a priority regeneration area. Edmonton Green and Angel Edmonton have been identified as town centres that need improvements to make them look and feel like much better places to shop.”

She added: “I have dedicated 15 years of my life to the NHS, working as a practice manager in a GP surgery – so I have seen at first hand how hard it is to get an appointment – and as an administrator in an out-of-hours GP co-operative. I will be proud to apply the same principles and values as an MP.”

Before entering parliament, Osamor narrowly lost out by 100 votes on securing a position on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee in 2012. She was elected in 2014.

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour leadership 2015: Osamor was one of 36 Labour MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Corbyn, a veteran backbencher, secured the 36 nominations required – just one over the threshold – but only after several MPs lent him their support to ensure a broader ideological debate. His anti-austerity platform gained significant momentum, and he won a landslide victory in the first round with 59.5% of the vote.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Osamor was labelled as “core group” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty. This label suggested the Corbyn leadership viewed Osamor as among its closest allies, even as an inner circle member.

Labour leadership 2016: Osamor was one of the minority of Labour MPs who endorsed Jeremy Corbyn during his successful defence of the party leadership in September 2016. The election was triggered following a period of intense tension after the EU referendum, which saw a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs.

Corbyn, who was automatically included on the ballot as the incumbent, was challenged by Owen Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary. Corbyn won the election with an increased mandate, securing 61.8% of the vote compared to 38.2% for Smith.

Factional identity and party tradition

Socialist Campaign Group: Osamor 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.

Corbyn suspension: In November 2020, Osamor 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”.

Leader of the left letter: In May 2015, Osamor was among 10 newly elected Labour MPs who penned an open letter calling on the party to embrace a decisive break from New Labour. In the letter, the MPs called for a leader who will “challenge an agenda of cuts, take on the powerful vested interests of big business and will set out an alternative to austerity.”

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Osamor supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with a majority of constituents, 54.5% of whom voted to Remain.

Article 50: In February 2017, Osamor voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Left-wing ‘people’s vote’: In March 2019, Osamor was among 20 signatories to a cross-party letter published in the Guardian that called for a second referendum and rubbished Brexit as a “massive assault” on working-class people.

The letter read:“We are campaigning to transform society, not for the status quo. We are against Brexit because it is a massive assault on working-class people, on the environment, on migrants and on the communities that the left aims to represent.”

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, Osamor 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.”

Brexit trade deal: In December 2020, Osamor was among the 37 Labour MPs to rebel against the leadership’s position on 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, a three-line whip was imposed. Osamor abstained over the bill. One Labour MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, voted against the bill.

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Osamor 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 post to Facebook on 27 March 2025, Osamor stated: “The government’s own impact assessment estimates there will be 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, pushed into poverty as a result of the proposed cuts to disability benefits.

“As I made clear throughout the years of Tory austerity, cuts are a choice.

“I urge the government to reconsider whether it want its legacy to be rising levels of poverty and instead look at introducing a wealth tax on the richest to raise revenue.”

Welfare vote (July 2025): Osamor 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.

Welfare vote (July 2015): Alongside almost one quarter of her colleagues, Osamor voted against the Conservative government’s Welfare Reform and Work Bill at second reading – defying the party whip which instructed Labour MPs to abstain. This decision to abstain, taken by interim Labour leader Harriet Harman, caused a furious backlash within the party, particularly from its left wing. It became a defining issue in the ongoing leadership contest. Jeremy Corbyn was the only candidate to vote against the bill. Overall, 48 Labour MPs voted against the proposed legislation.

Assisted dying

Osamor 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).

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Osamor voted against a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons. Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Osamor voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Osamor 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.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Osamor voted for a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the king’s speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war. Labour had tabled a rival motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict.

Before Politics

Born Ofunne Kate Osamor in London on 15 August 1968, she is the daughter of Martha Osamor (Baroness Osamor), a Labour life peer and community activist. Her family heritage is Nigerian.

Osamor attended Creighton Comprehensive School in Muswell Hill and later completed an access course at Hackney College. She studied “third world studies” at the University of East London. She was diagnosed with dyslexia while at university.

Before entering parliament, she worked for the Big Issue magazine. She spent over a decade working in the NHS, including as an executive assistant in a GP out-of-hours service and as a GP practice manager. She was active in the trade union Unite.

Personal Life

Osamor has one adult son, Ishmael, who formerly served as a Haringey councillor.

Ishmael Osamor resigned as a councillor in October 2018.

In a statement, he said: “It is with great regret that I am offering this as formal notice of my resignation as councillor, effective immediately.

“I would like to take the opportunity to apologise to the council, as I have to my ward colleagues and residents, for the unwelcome attention my case has brought to Haringey.”

Trivia

Osamor’s mother, Martha, is a Labour activist and politician who was appointed to the House of Lords by Jeremy Corbyn in 2018 as Baroness Osamor of Tottenham.

Martha was set to be the parliamentary candidate for Vauxhall in a 1989 by-election. However, her selection was vetoed by the national party.

Kate Osamor later stated: “They removed her because of her political allegiances around black politics.

“I wasn’t interested in the party because I felt if somebody who is standing up for everybody, speaking out for those people who haven’t got a voice, is being excluded from the top table, then it can’t be a party for me.”