Sophie Cook (born 4 January 1967) is a British author, broadcaster, photographer and politician. [1] [2]
Cook was born in Bournemouth, Hampshire (now Dorset) on 4 January 1967.
Cook was a jet engine technician in the Royal Air Force from 1983 to 1991. She served on Tornado aircraft and in 1985, at the age of 18, saved the life of a colleague following an explosion on an aircraft.[ citation needed ]
After spending most of the 1990s in Saudi Arabia, she returned to the UK in 1998 where she became a photographer with a varied portfolio, including stints as club photographer at AFC Bournemouth and a long connection to Peter Doherty and The Libertines. [3]
Cook used her profile to speak out against the stigma surrounding mental health and bigotry, including an appearance at TEDx Brighton in 2018. [4]
She became a news anchor and TV chat show host for Latest TV in Brighton, becoming the first transgender newscaster in Europe. [5]
Her autobiography, Not Today: How I Chose Life, was released in 2018 as a self-help book for those struggling with mental health or identity. [6] [3]
In 2017, Cook stood as the Labour general election candidate in East Worthing and Shoreham, where she came second with 39.3% of the vote. [7] [8]
Supported by the activist group Momentum and trade union Unite the Union, she sought the Labour Party's nomination to stand again in the 2019 general election. She was removed from the shortlist over questions about the bankruptcy of a previous company she ran, but the process was stopped after the other two candidates withdrew in protest. [9] [10] The selection began again with Cook on the shortlist, but she was not selected. [11] She stood as an independent candidate instead, but withdrew from active campaigning, citing harassment that she was receiving and its effect on her mental health as the reason for doing so. [12]
In 2019, she set up the Sophie Cook Foundation in order to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health in schools, colleges and universities. [13]
Cook is a transgender woman, and began to transition in 1998. Having struggled with her gender identity from childhood and with her mental health, notably posttraumatic stress disorder, self harming and suicidal ideation both during and after her military service, Cook transitioned in July 2015 while working at AFC Bournemouth. In doing so, she became the first transgender person to work in Premier League football. [14] [15]
Cook was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bournemouth University for her work raising awareness of mental health issues in November 2019, [16] and invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2020. [17] In 2020 Cook was recognised for her campaigning on behalf of the LGBT community by the British LGBT Awards with the Outstanding Contribution to LGBT+ Life Award. [18]
Eddie Izzard, also known as Suzy Izzard, is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
East Worthing and Shoreham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Tim Loughton of the Conservative Party.
Rainbow Labour is the LGBT+ sector of the New Zealand Labour Party.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have developed significantly over time. Today, lesbian, gay, and bisexual rights are considered to be advanced by international standards.
New Zealand lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. The protection of LGBT rights is advanced, relative to other countries in Oceania, and among the most liberal in the world, with the country being the first in the region to legalise same-sex marriage.
Danish lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. In 2023, ILGA-Europe ranked Denmark as the third most LGBT-supportive country in Europe. Polls consistently show that same-sex marriage support is nearly universal amongst the Danish population.
LGBT+ Labour, the Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, is a socialist society related to the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Originally called the Gay Labour Group, the purpose of this organisation is to campaign within the Labour Party and wider Labour movement to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and to encourage members of the LGBT community to support the Labour Party.
Munokoa Poto Williams is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of Parliament. She was elected in a 2013 by-election and served as Minister of Conservation and Minister for Disability Issues in the Sixth Labour Government.
The Women's Equality Party (WEP) is a feminist political party set up in the United Kingdom in 2015. The idea was conceived by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig at the Women of the World Festival, when they concluded that there was a need for a party to campaign for gender equality to the benefit of all. The launch meeting was on 28 March 2015 under the title "The Women's Equality Party needs you. But probably not as much as you need the Women's Equality Party". The party's full policy was launched by its then-leader Sophie Walker at Conway Hall on 20 October 2015. In January 2020, Mandu Reid took over as party leader.
Maria Colette Caulfield is a British politician and nurse serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women's Health Strategy and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women since October 2022.
Jessica Rose Phillips is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding in Keir Starmer's Opposition frontbench from 2020 to 2023.
Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan is a British politician and medical doctor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, she attended shadow cabinet as Shadow Minister for Mental Health from 2020 to 2023.
Rosemary Clare Duffield is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Canterbury since 2017.
Lloyd Cameron Russell-Moyle is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in the 2017 general election. He is a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Munroe Bergdorf is an English model and activist. She has walked several catwalks for brands including Gypsy Sport at both London and NYC Fashion Weeks. Bergdorf was the first transgender model in the UK for L'Oréal, but was dropped within weeks after a racial row. In February 2018, she was appointed as an LGBT adviser to the Labour Party, but resigned the following month. Bergdorf appeared in the Channel 4 documentary What Makes a Woman, which aired in May 2018.
Zoe O'Connell is a British Liberal Democrat politician, most notable for being a prominent campaigner for transgender rights.
Melissa Ede (25 September 1960 – 11 May 2019) was an English transgender rights campaigner and social media personality. Ede knew that she was transgender from an early age. Her gender reassignment surgery was completed in 2011 and she subsequently received media attention.
...Former Shoreham Labour candidate Sophie Cook discusses being the first transgender person to work in the Premier League, transitioning and her vision for the county
...Cook will be fighting to claim the seat in East Worthing and Shoreham for Labour on 8 June.