Jeremy Corbyn has paid tribute to Diane Abbott on the 33rd anniversary of her becoming the UK's first ever black woman MP.
The MP for Hackney North was first elected in the June 1987 general election. She was one of three black MPs to be elected in what was a landslide victory for Margaret Thatcher's Conservative party.
The other two black MPs elected in that poll were Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant, both also Labour.
Ms Abbott served as the Shadow Home Secretary of the Labour party during Mr Corbyn's leadership and the pair are old friends.
Mr Corbyn tweeted: "It's 33 years since @hackneyabbott was elected to Parliament as Britain's first black woman MP.
"She is an inspiration, a great friend and brilliant advocate of the ideals of equality, justice and socialism. Solidarity to Diane!"
Keith Vaz also made history that day as the first Asian MP to be elected to the House of Commons.
In a statement today, Labour leader Keir Starmer heralded the achievement of those trailblazing politicians.
“It was a historic moment and we must recognise the achievement of these great pioneers", he said.
"In 33 years progress has been made."
However Mr Starmer added that the UK still had "a long way to go".
“But this year the anniversary comes as worldwide events have exposed the fact that racism discrimination and social injustice are all rife in our society" he said.
“The reality of anti-Black racism, the impact of Covid-19 particularly on Black and Asian communities, and society’s inbuilt racial inequalities have shown that we’ve still got a long way to go.”
