40
Top 10
POWERLIST 2008
6
DAVID LAMMY MP
Minister for Skills
IT IS harIT IS d to believe sometimes that consequently, David could therefore fi nd it
David Lammy has been the Labour MP diffi cult to showcase his talents in a more
for Tottenham for more than eight years, high-profi le arena.
but it’s true. And during that time he However, the prognosis is not all
has, impressively, held four ministerial bad, because if Barack Obama is elected
portfolios. President of the United States in November,
David, the Minister for Skills in the suddenly David Lammy goes from being
Department for Innovation, Universities important to very important. He and
and Skills – a position he was appointed Obama are Harvard alumni and that
to shortly after Gordon Brown became common thread, as well as, you suspect,
Prime Minister – was the fi rst black Briton the fact that they are both the most senior
to graduate with a masters degree in elected black men in their respective
law at Harvard University. He is the only countries, has led to them forging a
government minister of African-Caribbean friendship. And, while it is probably true
heritage. that they do not speak to one another on
Word around Whitehall is that Lammy’s a daily basis, they certainly keep in touch.
natural habitat would be the Home Offi ce, Success in politics, probably more than
and that his skills are being underutilised any other walk of life, depends on who you
in his present post. But if he is going to get know.
there under this government he had better And if you can pick up the phone to
hope his boss shares their vision because, the most powerful man in the world, then
as everyone is aware, Labour may not chances are you are not going to go far
have all that long left in government and, wrong.
5
TREVOR PHILLIPS
Chair, Commission for Equality and Human Rights
IN THE political debate on race over the multiculturalism, which he said could
past decade there has been no-one more cause Britain to ‘sleepwalk towards
infl uential than former CRE Chair Trevor segregation’; and his opinion that Barack
Phillips, whose scope increased last Obama, if elected, could ‘postpone the
October when he was appointed Chair arrival of a post-racial America’ are two of
of the new Commission for Equality and the more controversial ideas he has put
Human Rights. forward. Both, however, led to in-depth
The new body, an almalgamation debate in the media of the issues.
of Britain’s three existing equality Trevor has been a persistent thorn
commissions – the Commission for in the side of the far-right and when the
Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Oxford Union invited BNP leader Nick
Commission and the Disability Rights Griffi n and holocaust-denier David Irving
Commission – gives him a mandate to share a platform, his advice to the
beyond just race and includes gender and students was: ‘Put your brains back into
general human rights. Born in London, your heads.’
but raised in Guyana, Trevor was the fi rst He is the director of Pepper
person of African/Caribbean origin to Productions, an independent company
become president of the National Union of that produced the Windrush television
Students in 1978 when he was at Imperial series, which won the Royal Television
College London. Society Documentary Series of the Year
The former political broadcast award in 1998. And has combined his
journalist has never been afraid to career with voluntary work. He is a
speak his mind and his views on trustee of several leading charities.
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