Ayesha Hazarika, Baroness Hazarika
The Right Honourable The Baroness Hazarika | |
---|---|
Hazarika in 2022 | |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 14 March 2024 Life peerage | |
Personal details | |
Born | Ayesha Yousef Hazarika (1975-12-15) 15 December 1975 (age 48) Bellshill Maternity Hospital, North Lanarkshire, Scotland |
Political party | Labour |
Education | Laurel Bank School |
Alma mater | University of Hull |
Occupation | Broadcaster, journalist, former political adviser |
Ayesha Yousef Hazarika, Baroness Hazarika,[1] MBE (born 15 December 1975) is a Scottish broadcaster, journalist and political commentator, and former political adviser to senior Labour Party politicians.[2]
Early life
Hazarika was born in Bellshill Maternity Hospital, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, to Indian Muslim parents who immigrated from Assam, and was raised in Coatbridge.[3] She was educated at Laurel Bank, an all-girls school in Glasgow,[4] and studied law at the University of Hull. Hazarika had planned to become a solicitor before deciding instead to train as a journalist.[3]
Comedy
While working as a press officer at the Department of Trade and Industry, Hazarika was persuaded by a friend to take a comedy course run by comedian Logan Murray.[5] She began to perform paid comedy gigs alongside her day job at the DTI. In 2003, Hazarika was a semi-finalist in the Channel 4 stand-up comedy competition So You Think You're Funny,[6] but chose to focus on her work as a political adviser.[5]
After leaving politics, Hazarika performed a stand-up show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2016, inspired by her time in politics.[7] The following show, she tried again with a new show, State of the Nation, in Edinburgh.[8] In December 2018, Hazarika appeared on series 56 episode 10 of Have I Got News for You as Ian Hislop's teammate,[9] a role she reprised in May 2020 during the "Lockdown" series.[10]
Political adviser and commentator
From 2007 to 2015, Hazarika served as a political adviser to senior Labour Party figures, including Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband, including during the 2010 and 2015 general elections.[8] After leaving her role working for Harman in the aftermath of the 2015 general election, Hazarika was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for political service.[11] It was reported at the time that Harman had proposed Hazarika for a life peerage, but Miliband instead elevated another former adviser (Spencer Livermore) to the House of Lords.[12]
Describing herself as a "moderate" within the Labour Party,[13] Hazarika urged Jeremy Corbyn to resign after the Copeland by-election in early 2017. Following the 2017 general election, in which Labour gained seats, she acknowledged that she had "got it wrong on Corbyn", and urged her "fellow Labour colleagues to acknowledge Corbyn's success and to try to find peace with him".[14]
After departing Westminster, Hazarika tried standup and provides commentary in the media. She has written columns for The Scotsman[15] and the Evening Standard.[16] In 2017, commentator Iain Dale put her at 75 on his list of the "100 Most Influential People on the Left".[17] In 2018, she co-authored a book Punch and Judy Politics: An Insiders' Guide to Prime Minister’s Questions with fellow Labour speechwriter and special adviser Tom Hamilton.
In June 2020, she was one of the launch presenters of the Times Radio digital radio station, presenting Saturday and Sunday drivetime shows.[18]
Hazarika was nominated for a life peerage by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer[19][20] and was created Baroness Hazarika, of Coatbridge in the County of Lanarkshire, on 14 March 2024.[21]
References
- ^ "Parliamentary career for Baroness Hazarika". MPs and Lords. UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Curle, Michael (12 April 2017). "Former Labour Party special adviser Ayesha Hazarika on swapping politics for stand-up comedy". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ a b Rifkind, Hugo (5 June 2005). "A comedian daughter is just no joke". The Times. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Life lines Asian comedian Ayesha Hazarika knows what life's like at the sharp end: on stage and in government". The Herald. Glasgow. 23 July 2005. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ a b Hattenstone, Simon (6 July 2016). "Ayesha Hazarika: 'Labour's best drinker? They're so good at it, I couldn't say'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "comedy cv – the UK's largest collection of comedians biogs and photos". comedycv.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Ayesha Hazarika: Why standing up as a feminist can be a funny business". London Evening Standard. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Comedy review: Ayesha Hazarika: State of the Nation". The Scotsman. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "BBC One – Have I Got News for You, Series 56, Episode 10". BBC. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (3 April 2020). "Have I Got News For You lockdown return 'like a more elaborate video-conference'". inews.co.uk.
- ^ "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2015. p. N20.
- ^ McSmith, Andy (30 December 2015). "Almost 30 Tory Party members or supporters have received New Year's Honours". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Hazarika, Ayesha (27 September 2017). "Ayesha Hazarika: Everything in moderation – except in the party of victorious Corbynites". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Hazarika, Ayesha (9 June 2017). "I admit it: I was wrong about Jeremy Corbyn". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Author – Ayesha Hazarika". The Scotsman. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Ayesha Hazarika". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Dale, Iain (25 September 2017). "The 100 Most Influential People on the Left: Iain Dale's 2017 List". LBC. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ Lerone, Toby (2 June 2020). "Launch date and schedule revealed for Times Radio". RadioToday. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Walker, Peter (9 February 2024). "Major Tory donor among 13 new peers named in honours list". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "Political Peerages 2024". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "No. 64348". The London Gazette. 19 March 2024. p. 5510.
External links
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- v
- t
- e
- Brian Abel-Smith
- Joe Haines
- John Harris
- Brian Abel-Smith
- Joe Haines
- Jack Straw
- Roger Liddle
- Tom McCaffrey
- Jack Straw
- Guy Black
- Chris Butler
- Michael Dobbs
- Andrew Dunlop
- Brian Griffiths
- Jonathan Hill
- John Hoskyns
- Bernard Ingham
- Henry James
- Tony Kerpel
- Oliver Letwin
- Peter Levene
- David Lidington
- Warwick Lightfoot
- Ferdinand Mount
- The Lord Norton
- Michael Palliser
- Jack Peel
- John Redwood
- Norman Stone
- Sir Cyril Taylor
- Anthony Teasdale
- Nicholas True
- Alan Walters
- David Willetts
- John Whittingdale
- David Wolfson
- John Bercow
- Norman Blackwell
- Jonathan Caine
- David Cameron
- Judith Chaplin
- Greg Clark
- Sir Peter de la Billière
- Daniel Finkelstein
- Jonathan Hill
- Sarah Hogg
- Tony Kerpel
- Warwick Lightfoot
- Christopher Meyer
- Gus O'Donnell
- George Osborne
- Patrick Rock
- David Ruffley
- Sir Cyril Taylor
- Anthony Teasdale
- Nicholas True
- Gerald Warner
- Peter Wyman
- Andrew Adonis
- Tim Allan
- Jonathan Ashworth
- Ed Balls
- Hilary Benn
- David Bennett
- Tom Bentley
- Andy Burnham
- Alastair Campbell
- Matt Cavanagh
- Paul Corrigan
- Patrick Diamond
- Jo Dipple
- Michael Dugher
- Stephen Hale
- The Lord Hart of Chilton
- David Hill
- Anji Hunter
- Tom Kelly
- Liz Kendall
- Peter Kyle
- Sophie Linden
- Spencer Livermore
- Liz Lloyd
- Blair McDougall
- Pat McFadden
- John McTernan
- David Miliband
- Ed Miliband
- Jo Moore
- Sally Morgan
- Geoff Mulgan
- Martin Narey
- Susan Nye
- Jonathan Powell
- Lance Price
- James Purnell
- Emma Reynolds
- Ed Richards
- Conor Ryan
- Godric Smith
- Owen Smith
- Simon Stevens
- Sir Cyril Taylor
- Matthew Taylor
- Shriti Vadera
- Charlie Whelan
- Sam White
- David Whitton
- Matthew Doyle
- Jonathan Ashworth
- Polly Billington
- Nick Butler
- Stephen Carter
- Matt Cavanagh
- Dan Corry
- Tony Danker
- Jo Dipple
- Michael Dugher
- Michael Ellam
- Ayesha Hazarika
- Jeremy Heywood
- Joe Irvin
- Simon Lewis
- Blair McDougall
- Damian McBride
- John McTernan
- David Muir
- Martin Narey
- Maajid Nawaz
- Susan Nye
- Tom Scholar
- Geoffrey Spence
- Sam White
- Stewart Wood
- Shaun Bailey
- Gabby Bertin
- Helen Bower
- Jonathan Caine
- Camilla Cavendish
- Ryan Coetzee
- Andy Coulson
- Dominic Cummings
- Oliver Dowden
- Catherine Fall
- Simone Finn
- Sam Freedman
- Julian Glover
- Julia Goldsworthy
- Jean-Christophe Gray
- Rupert Harrison
- Arminka Helic
- Nick Hillman
- Steve Hilton
- Richard Holden
- Jo Johnson
- Daniel Korski
- Edward Llewellyn
- Poppy Mitchell-Rose
- Martin Narey
- Henry Newman
- Jonny Oates
- Neil O'Brien
- James O'Shaughnessy
- Craig Oliver
- Stephen Parkinson
- Richard Reeves
- Willie Rennie
- Patrick Rock
- Elizabeth Sanderson
- Nick Seddon
- Salma Shah
- Eleanor Shawcross
- Sarah Southern
- Philippa Stroud
- Liz Sugg
- Alison Suttie
- Carrie Symonds
- Nick Timothy
- James Wild
- Graeme Wilson
- Sean Worth
- Helen Bower
- Jonathan, The Lord Caine
- Nick de Bois
- David Frost
- Robbie Gibb
- Paul Harrison
- Fiona Hill
- Richard Holden
- Paul Holmes
- Charlotte Ivers
- Stewart Jackson
- James Kent
- Danny Kruger
- Lizzie Loudon
- Anthony Mangnall
- James Marshall
- Jamie Njoku-Goodwin
- Stephen Parkinson
- Joanna Penn
- Katie Perrior
- John, The Lord Randall of Uxbridge
- Elizabeth Sanderson
- Salma Shah
- Carrie Symonds
- Will Tanner
- Nick Timothy
- Will Walden
- James Wild
- Craig Williams
- Steve Barclay
- John Bew
- Liam Booth-Smith
- Lee Cain
- David Canzini
- Peter Cardwell
- Henry Cook
- Dominic Cummings
- Nikki da Costa
- Jack Doyle
- Simone, The Baroness Finn
- Benjamin Gascoigne
- Andrew Griffith
- Guto Harri
- Andrew Hood
- Simon Jupp
- Ross Kempsell
- Katie Lam
- Oliver Lewis
- Edward Lister
- Munira Mirza
- Tim Montgomerie
- Henry Newman
- Jamie Njoku-Goodwin
- Ed Oldfield
- Charlotte Owen
- Rob Oxley
- Dan Rosenfield
- James Slack
- Allegra Stratton
- Cleo Watson
- Shelley Williams-Walker
- John Bew
- David Canzini
- Mark Fullbrook
- Ross Kempsell
- Ruth Porter
- Adam Jones
- Charlotte Owen
- Matthew Sinclair
- Reuben Solomon
- John Bew
- Liam Booth-Smith
- Nerissa Chesterfield
- Amber de Botton
- James Forsyth
- Andrew Hood
- Henry Newman
- Eleanor Shawcross-Wolfson
- Will Tanner
- Sue Gray
- Morgan McSweeney
- Stuart Ingham