Dr Hannah Barham-Brown
Deputy Leader, Women’s Equality Party and GP Trainee
A passionate Disability, Gender and LGBTQ+ Campaigner, Hannah became the first visibly disabled Deputy Leader of a national political party in June 2020, having been both a Council and EU Parliamentary Candidate for the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) in 2019. A determined advocate for disability representation in politics, Hannah co-founded the WEP Disability Caucus, and has given multiple talks at the Houses of Parliament on a range of topics.
She is training as a GP in Leeds, with particular interests in Paediatrics, LGBTQ+ Health and Mental Health, whilst also giving talks about disability, diversity and inclusion to organisations across the UK.
Alongside a wide range of regular media appearances, including BBC Breakfast, Hannah has a weekly slot on BBC Radio Leeds, York and Sheffield, discussing disability, health, and the challenges facing our community, particularly in the context of Coronavirus. Alongside Olivier-nominated playwright and wheelchair user, Athena Stevens, Hannah co-hosts the ‘Salty Women’ podcast, focussing on politics, gender and disability.
She is ambassador of disability charity, MyAfK and also The Eve Appeal, with whom she has campaigned for hoists in GP surgeries to improve access to cervical smears, and support for the LGBTQ+ community in accessing health services. In 2018, she started a period poverty campaign – Help In Handbags – from her living room, going on to provide hundreds of women across Leeds with menstrual products.
Hannah has been a Council member of the British Medical Association for two years, alongside a number of other committees. She was recently given the ‘Campaigner of the Year’ Award by the charity Transport for All.
Useful links
“Hannah is a formidable campaigner. Her advocacy and activism for disability rights spans the public and private sectors as well as politics and the media. I’ve seen firsthand the ambition, creativity, and challenge she brings to both grassroots and national campaigning – which, with her gift as a communicator is always a winning combination. It’s an absolute privilege to work with and learn from her.”