Diana Johnson: Yorkshire MP to focus on violence against women and policing in new parliamentary role

The Labour MP for Hull North thanked others for their support after being elected chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee last week.Dame Diana also tweeted her thanks to outgoing committee chair Yvette Cooper who now holds the shadow home secretary brief on the Labour frontbench.

The Home Affairs Select Committee is made up of 11 MPs from the three largest parties in the House of Commons.

It is tasked with scrutinising Home Office business, including spending, administration and policy.

The Committee can also chose topics for inquiries and produces reports based on their findings which include recommendations the government has to respond to.

Dame Diana received 15 nominations for the position from Labour MPs, including veteran Derby South member Margaret Beckett.

She was also nominated by Conservatives Peter Bottomley, Peter Bone and Richard Fuller and SNP MPs Diedre Brock and Owen Thompson.

The Hull North MP said in her nomination statement: “I believe that I have the experience, the commitment and the temperament needed to ensure that this Select Committee does its work diligently, effectively and consensually.”

She added her experience included 16 years as an MP, five years as Shadow Home Office Minister and serving as an Education Minister in the last Labour government.

Dame Diana said areas she wanted to focus on as Committee chair included post-Brexit immigration policy, violence against women and girls and frontline policing.

She also plans to look at antisocial behaviour, drugs and alcohol policy, online harms and modern slavery and exploitation.

The Hull North MP said she had a track record of building consensus across Westminster’s political parties.

She said: “Select committee work can show Parliament at its very best.

“By scrutinising the work of government, by delving deeper into subjects than is possible in other forums, by creating a body of expertise in a particular subject, and by developing long-lasting solutions to complex or technical problems, select committees provide an invaluable service to the rest of the House and to policy-makers across the political spectrum.

“A good chair who knows how to enable every member to contribute, and who knows how to keep the Committee to time, is invaluable.

“Working cross-party is not just my promise, it is my record.

“It was because I worked cross-party that I secured the Public Inquiry in 2017 into the NHS Infected Blood scandal and I am currently working with MPs from other parties on campaigns to end commercial sexual exploitation and to champion a Community Wealth Fund for left behind neighbourhoods.

“Previously I have campaigned cross-party on improving flood insurance, on introducing relationships education into schools and on the establishment of women bishops in the Church of England.”

Dame Diana is set to serve in the role until the end of the current parliament.

MPs voted by ranking candidates based on preference, with ballots counted using the Alternative Vote System.