Black History Month

Gordon McKee Excerpts

Thursday 22nd October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Satvir Kaur]

The Lord Mayor of Bristol.

We pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott), who has been mentioned several times in the debate, as the first black woman elected to Parliament. I remember sitting next to her when she became Mother of the House and feeling incredibly emotional. We pay tribute to John Okungbaiye, about whom my hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Ms Oppong-Asare) spoke passionately, as she did about others who have contributed in her constituency. As there is an ongoing love-in for my hon. Friend, I just want to add to it. There is a real sisterhood in Parliament, and I have felt that so strongly with my hon. Friend; I thank her for her friendship, support and encouragement. I feel as though the resilience she oozes is slowly seeping into my veins, so I thank her personally for that.

We pay tribute to Eric Huntley and the others who were spoken about passionately by my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan); Harvey De Pass, from Reading, who was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey); and my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler), for being the first female black Minister in this country and for everything she has done to champion this cause. I pay tribute to the Government’s Race Equality Engagement Group members, who as we speak are all in Liverpool with the Minister for Women and Equalities discussing how we go further in making more meaningful change. I thank Baroness Doreen Lawrence for generally being an inspiration to us all, but also for chairing the group and bringing it together.

[Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

Could I add to that illustrious list Andrew Watson, who was the first black international football player when he captained Scotland to a 6-1 victory over England in the late 19th century?

[Satvir Kaur]

I pay particular tribute to Andrew Watson.

I join others in thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra) for her tireless work as the former Minister for Equalities and for her personal support to me in my new role.

I pay tribute to the likes of my great-grandad, Gyani Sundar Singh Sagar, who worked closely with local black leaders 50 years ago to help change the law so that bus drivers and those riding motorbikes could do so while wearing turbans and not compromise their faith. In fact, the family home is now owned by a Jamaican family whose dad was a Rasta and only got his job as a bus conductor wearing his locs and hat because of my great-grandad’s campaign. In my home city of Southampton, where our diversity is celebrated and which gave me a sense of belonging growing up, I pay tribute to the likes of Don John, Jayanti Shah, Suki Sitaram and Lou Taylor for their tireless work on race equality.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Tyne (Adam Jogee) and the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith), for mentioning our Commonwealth soldiers who too often get forgotten when we talk about the contribution made in our world wars. They helped beat fascism and stood by us throughout it all. We celebrate the likes of Estlyn McFarquhar, a retired midwife whom I met in Bath. She told me that she has delivered thousands of babies, and she was instrumental in setting up a place for ethnic minorities to meet and get support in her neighbourhood.