View source for Mo Mowlam

{{short description|British politician (1949–2005)}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
|name = Mo Mowlam
|image = Mo Mowlam official portrait.jpg
|caption = Official portrait, 1999
|office = [[Minister for the Cabinet Office]]<br />[[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
|primeminister = [[Tony Blair]]
|term_start = 11 October 1999
|term_end = 11 June 2001
|predecessor = [[Jack Cunningham]]
|successor = [[Gus Macdonald|The Lord MacDonald of Tradeston]]
|office1 = [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]
|primeminister1 = Tony Blair
|term_start1 = 3 May 1997
|term_end1 = 11 October 1999
|predecessor1 = [[Patrick Mayhew]]
|successor1 = [[Peter Mandelson]]
|office2 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Redcar (UK Parliament constituency)|Redcar]]
|term_start2 = 11 June 1987
|term_end2 = 14 May 2001
|predecessor2 = [[James Tinn]]
|successor2 = [[Vera Baird]]
|title3 = [[Shadow cabinet]] portfolios
|suboffice3 = [[Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
|subterm3 = 1992
|suboffice4 = [[Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities]]
|subterm4 = 1992–1993
|suboffice5 = [[Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage]]
|subterm5 = 1992–1994
|suboffice6 = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]
|subterm6 = 1994–1997
|birth_name = Marjorie Mowlam
|birth_date = {{birth date|1949|9|18|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Watford]], England
|death_date = {{death date and age|2005|8|19|1949|9|18|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Canterbury]], England
|party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|spouse = {{marriage|Jon Norton|1995}}
|alma_mater = {{plainlist|
*[[Trevelyan College, Durham]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
*[[University of Iowa]] ([[PhD]])
}}
|signature = Mo Mowlam signature.svg
}}

'''Marjorie''' "'''Mo'''" '''Mowlam''' (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] politician. She was the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Redcar (UK Parliament constituency)|Redcar]] from 1987 to 2001 and served in the [[First Blair ministry|Cabinet of Tony Blair]] as [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]], [[Minister for the Cabinet Office]] and [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]].

Mowlam's time as Northern Ireland Secretary saw the signing of the historic [[Good Friday Agreement]] in 1998. Her personal charisma and reputation for plain speaking led her to be perceived by many as one of the most popular "[[New Labour]]" politicians in the UK. When [[Tony Blair]] mentioned her in his speech at the [[Labour Party Conference|1998 Labour Party Conference]], she received a [[standing ovation]].

==Early life==
Mowlam was born in [[Watford]], [[Hertfordshire]], England, the middle of three children of Tina and Frank,<ref name="Guardian obituary">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/aug/20/guardianobituaries.politics |title=Mo Mowlam |work=The Guardian |date=20 August 2005 |access-date=31 January 2010 |location=London}}</ref> but grew up in [[Coventry]], where her father progressed to become Coventry's assistant [[postmaster]]. She would later be awarded the [[Freedom of the City]] in 1999.<ref name="Remembered">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/coventry_warwickshire/4165334.stm |title=City remembers schoolgirl Mowlam |date=19 August 2005 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |publisher=BBC |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref> She was the only one of the family's three children to pass the [[11-plus]] exam. She started at [[Chiswick]] Girls' grammar school in West London, then moved to [[Coundon Court School]] in Coventry,<ref name="Remembered" /> one of the first [[Comprehensive school (England and Wales)|comprehensive school]]s in the country.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/> She then studied at [[Trevelyan College]], [[Durham University]], reading [[sociology]] and [[anthropology]]. She joined the Labour Party in her first year.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/> She became the Secretary of the [[Durham Union Society]] in 1969 and later went on to become the vice-president of the [[Durham Students' Union]]. She worked for then-MP (Labour) [[Tony Benn]] in London and American writer [[Alvin Toffler]] in New York, moving to the [[United States]] with her then-boyfriend and studying for a [[PhD]] in [[political science]] at the [[University of Iowa]]<ref name="Guardian obituary"/> on the effects of the [[Voting in Switzerland|Swiss system of referendums]].<ref name="Loewenberg">{{cite journal |last=Loewenberg |first=Gerhard |year=2006 |title=Marjorie Mowlam|journal=PS: Political Science & Politics |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=167–168 |doi=10.1017/S1049096506240319|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Mowlam |first=Marjorie |year=1979 |title=Popular access to the decision-making process in Switzerland: The role of direct democracy |journal=Government and Opposition |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=180–197 |doi=10.1111/j.1477-7053.1979.tb00671.x|s2cid=143315565 }}</ref>

Mowlam was a lecturer in the Political Science Department at the [[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee]] in 1977 and at [[Florida State University]] in [[Tallahassee]] from 1977 to 1979. During her time in Tallahassee, her apartment was broken into by someone; she suspected that it was [[Ted Bundy]], a serial killer and rapist who is thought to have murdered at least thirty-five young women and attacked several others.<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>
[[File:No 1 Summerhill Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne. Plaque to commemorate Mo Mowlam's occupancy 1979 -1983. (2262549070).jpg|thumb|Her house in Summerhill Terrace, [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], with plaque]]
Mowlam returned to England in 1979 to take up an appointment at the [[University of Newcastle upon Tyne]].<ref name="Guardian obituary"/> She also worked in adult education at Northern College, Barnsley, with students who had fewer opportunities than traditional university students. In 1981, she organised a series of alternative lectures to the [[Reith lecture]]s being given that year by [[Laurence Martin]], the university's [[vice chancellor]]. These were published as ''Debate on Disarmament'', with their proceeds going to the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]].<ref name="Guardian obituary"/>

== Personal life ==
Mowlam married Jonathan Norton, a [[City of London]] banker, in [[County Durham]] on 24 June 1995;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp |title=Marriages England and Wales 1984–2006 |publisher=Findmypast.com |access-date=13 April 2010 |archive-date=4 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104084417/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp |url-status=dead }}</ref> Norton died on 3 February 2009. Mowlam had two step-children from Norton's first marriage to [[Geraldine Bedell]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/12/good-friday-agreement-mo-mowlam|title=Why deny Mo Mowlam, my stepmum, credit for the Good Friday agreement?|date=28 April 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=11 October 2018}}</ref>

==Member of Parliament==
Having failed to win selection for the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]], Mowlam was selected as Labour candidate for the safe seat of [[Redcar (UK Parliament constituency)|Redcar]] after [[James Tinn]] stood down. She took the seat in the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]], becoming the Labour spokesperson on [[Northern Ireland]] later that year. Together with Shadow Chancellor [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]], Mowlam was one of the architects of Labour's "[[Prawn Cocktail Offensive]]" dedicated to reassuring the UK's financial sector about Labour's financial rectitude.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=1258422002 |title=The Scotsman |publisher=Thescotsman.scotsman.com |access-date=13 April 2010}}</ref>

Mowlam joined the [[Shadow cabinet]] when [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]] became leader of the Labour Party in 1992, holding the title of [[Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage]]. During this time, she antagonised both monarchists and republicans by calling for [[Buckingham Palace]] to be demolished and replaced by a "modern" palace built at public expense. Later, her willingness to speak her mind, often without regard to the consequences, was seen as her greatest strength by her supporters.

Following Smith's death in 1994, Mowlam, alongside [[Peter Kilfoyle]], became a principal organiser of [[Tony Blair]]'s campaign for the Labour leadership. After his victory, Blair made her [[Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]. She initially resisted being appointed to the position, preferring an economic portfolio, but, after accepting it, she threw her weight into the job.

===In government===
[[File:Mo Mowlam official portrait 2.jpg|thumb|right|Mowlam in her official portrait as Northern Ireland Secretary]]
In 1997, Mowlam was once again re-elected as MP for Redcar with an increased majority of 21,667.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/472.stm|title=Results & Constituencies|website=BBC News|access-date=17 June 2014}}</ref> With the Labour Party election win in May 1997, she was made [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]], the first woman to have held the post. A reflection of her personal approach was the organisation of a walk about in Belfast city centre.

===Good Friday Agreement===
{{main|Good Friday Agreement}}
{{blockquote|[Mo Mowlam] was the catalyst that allowed politics to move forward which led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998. She cut through conventions and made difficult decisions that gave momentum to political progress.|[[Peter Hain]], 2005<ref name="BBC_Hain_2005"/>}}

Mowlam "oversaw the negotiations which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement".<ref name="BBC_Hain_2005">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4165230.stm |title=Political tributes to Mo Mowlam: As Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam oversaw the negotiations which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement |quote=Leading political figures have been giving their reaction to her death |website=BBC News|date=19 August 2005}}</ref> On 6 August 1997 she met with the Sinn Féin leader [[Gerry Adams]] to have "their first face to face discussions since the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire in February 1996".<ref>{{cite web |title=Gerry Adams Meets Mo Mowlam |url=https://www.rte.ie//archives/2017/0724/892649-gerry-adams-meets-mo-mowlam/ |access-date=26 December 2022 |website=RTÉ Archives }}</ref> She was successful in helping to restore the second [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] ceasefire which eventually led to [[Sinn Féin]] being included in the multi-party peace talks. The talks led to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement achieved on 10 April 1998, bringing an end to conflict in Northern Ireland known as [[The Troubles]].

On 4 January the [[Ulster Loyalist]] UDA/UFF prisoners in the [[Maze prison]] voted not to continue supporting the peace process. Led by [[Gary McMichael]] of the [[Ulster Democratic Party]], their political representatives quickly flew to London requesting the Secretary of State meet with the prisoners. After consulting with her advisers and the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair <ref>{{cite book |last=Mowlam |first=Mo |title=Momentum – The Struggle for Peace, Politics and the People |publisher=Coronet Books |year=2002 |isbn=0340793953 |location=UK |pages=182–183 |language=}}</ref> on Friday 9 January 1998 she visited the [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA) and [[Ulster Freedom Fighters]] (UFF) prisoners represented politically by Gary McMichael. The visit was unprecedented for a Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. "The Maze was a focal point of a troubled peace process today as Mo Mowlam arrived for a visit that had been variously described as mad or brave."<ref name="maze">{{cite web |title=Mo Mowlam in Maze Prison 1998 |work=RTÉ Archives |publisher=[[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]] |url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/2018/0108/931726-mo-mowlam-visits-maze/ |accessdate=27 February 2023 }}</ref> The same day she also visited the [[Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) and [[Ulster Volunteer Force]] (UVF) [[HM Prison Maze|H-block]] wings of the prison.
{{blockquote|The message that I brought was very clear and simple. The only way that we're going to make progress towards a permanent peace in Northern Ireland is by taking a proactive stance and talking to reach the broadest possible agreement.|Mo Mowlam<ref name="maze"/>}}
The visit was unprecedented and a political gamble,<ref>{{cite news |last=Moriarty |first=Gerry |date=10 January 1998 |title=Mowlam clears the first loyalist hurdle as the prisoners tell her to keep going |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/mowlam-clears-the-first-loyalist-hurdle-as-the-prisoners-tell-her-to-keep-going-1.122861 |access-date=}}</ref> and was potentially dangerous when she met with prisoners, some of whom had been convicted of murder, face-to-face.

She went on to oversee the [[Good Friday Agreement]] signing in 1998,<ref name="BBC_Hain_2005" /> which led to the temporary establishment of a devolved power-sharing [[Northern Ireland Assembly]]. However, an increasingly difficult relationship with [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionist]] parties meant her role in the talks was ultimately taken over by [[Tony Blair]] and his staff, prompting Mowlam to remark to then-US President [[Bill Clinton]]: "Didn't you know? I'm the new tea lady around here".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/918365.stm |title=Mowlam 'sidelined by Blair' |date=10 September 2000 |work=BBC News Online |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 February 2010}}</ref> In 1999, Mowlam referred to [[paramilitary punishment attacks in Northern Ireland]] as "internal housekeeping" and maintained that the violence did not count as breaking the ceasefire.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gallaher |first=Carolyn |title=After the Peace: Loyalist Paramilitaries in Post-Accord Northern Ireland |date=2011 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca |isbn=978-0-8014-6158-3 |page=9}}</ref>

===Cabinet Office Minister===
{{main|Minister for the Cabinet Office}}
Whilst her deteriorating relationship with Unionists was the key reason Mowlam was replaced by [[Peter Mandelson]] as Northern Ireland Secretary in October 1999, her move to the relatively lowly position of [[Cabinet Office Minister]] may have involved other factors, notably her health and her popularity.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,2763,204986,00.html Trimble calls for Mowlam's head], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 23 June 1999.</ref> Mowlam resented being appointed to the post, having previously disparaged it as "Minister for the [[Today (BBC Radio 4)|''Today'' programme]]".<ref name="Times obituary">{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article556973.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604164825/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article556973.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 June 2011 |title=Mo Mowlam |date=20 August 2005 |work=The Times |access-date=31 January 2010 |location=London |first=Anushka |last=Asthana}}</ref> As Cabinet Office Minister, she was reportedly intended to be Tony Blair's "enforcer".<ref name="Mo Mowlam condition 'unchanged'">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4739329.stm |title=Mo Mowlam condition 'unchanged' |date=5 August 2005 |work=BBC News Online |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 February 2010}}</ref>

As head of the Government's anti-drugs campaign, in 2002, she called for international legalisation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wintour |first=Patrick |title=Legalise all drugs worldwide, says Mowlam |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/sep/19/drugsandalcohol.foreignpolicy |access-date=7 September 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 September 2002}}</ref> She caused some controversy when she admitted in 2000 to having used [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] as a student: "I tried dope. I didn't particularly like it. But unlike President Clinton, I did inhale".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/605565.stm |title=I smoked cannabis, admits Mowlam |date=16 January 2000 |work=BBC News Online |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 February 2010}}</ref>

===Retirement===
On 4 September 2000, Mowlam announced her intention to retire from [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] and relinquished her seat at the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/909831.stm |title=Mowlam to stand down |date=4 September 2000 |work=BBC News Online |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 February 2010}}</ref>

Following retirement from the House of Commons, she became a critic of government policy on various issues, especially the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. She took part in the [[15 February 2003 Iraq War protests|anti-Iraq War protests]] alongside [[Vanessa Redgrave]], [[Tony Benn]], [[Tariq Ali]], [[Ken Livingstone]] and [[Bianca Jagger]].<ref>{{cite news|title='Million' march against Iraq war|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2765041.stm|access-date=29 December 2015|work=[[BBC News Online]]|date=16 February 2003}}</ref>

Following her retirement, Mowlam became [[agony aunt]] for the men's magazine ''[[Zoo (magazine)|Zoo]]''. She said she missed her constituency work as an MP. She also set up a charity, [[MoMo Helps]], to help drug users who are successfully completing their rehabilitation and provide support for the parents or carers of disabled children.

Her political memoirs, entitled ''Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics and the People'', were published in 2002.<ref name="Momentum">{{cite book |last=Mowlam |first=Mo |title=Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics and the People |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |year=2002 |isbn=0-340-79394-5}}</ref>

She was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in January 2003 when she was surprised by [[Michael Aspel]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

==Illness and death==
Five months before the 1997 general election which took Labour to office, Mowlam was diagnosed with a [[brain tumour]], which she tried to keep private until the [[tabloid press]] started to print jibes about her appearance. Although she claimed to have made a full recovery, the various treatments caused her to lose most of her hair. She often wore a wig, which she would sometimes casually remove in public stating that it was "such a bother".<ref>[http://www.myhackney.co.uk/hackney/celebs&gossip-mo_mowlam.htm Mo Mowlam's vote is number one] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304123517/http://www.myhackney.co.uk/hackney/celebs%26gossip-mo_mowlam.htm |date=4 March 2007 }}, MyVillage, 22 November 2002.</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Life in pictures: Mo Mowlam | date = 19 August 2005 | website = [[BBC News]] | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4742349.stm | access-date =27 November 2011 | quote = <nowiki>[Mowlam]</nowiki> wore a wig after her illness caused her hair to fall out. … <nowiki>[She]</nowiki> famously removed her wig in discussions leading to the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. }}</ref>

On 3 August 2005, the BBC reported that she was critically ill at [[King's College Hospital]] in London.<ref name="Mo Mowlam condition 'unchanged'"/> She appeared to have suffered from balance problems as a result of her [[radiotherapy]]. According to her husband, she had fallen over on 30 July 2005, receiving head injuries and never regaining consciousness. Her [[living will]], in which she had asked [[Do not resuscitate|not to be resuscitated]], was honoured.

On 12 August 2005, she was moved to Pilgrims Hospice in [[Canterbury]], [[Kent]], where she died at 8:10&nbsp;am on 19 August, aged 55.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/aug/19/labour.uk|title=Mo Mowlam dies |date=19 August 2005|work=The Guardian|access-date=22 September 2020}}</ref> She was survived by her husband Jon Norton and two stepchildren. Her death came just 13 days after that of [[Robin Cook]], another cabinet minister of the 1997 government.

In January 2010, it was revealed by her ex-doctor that her tumour had been malignant and was the cause of her death. Despite recommendations, she had withheld the true nature of her condition from Tony Blair and the electorate.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mo-mowlam-lied-to-blair-about-her-brain-tumour-1870413.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mo-mowlam-lied-to-blair-about-her-brain-tumour-1870413.html |archive-date=15 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mo Mowlam lied to Blair about her brain tumour |work=The Independent|date=17 January 2010 |access-date=13 April 2010 |location=London |first=Jane |last=Merrick}}</ref>

Mowlam was an [[atheist]]<ref>{{cite web | title = Times obituary: Dr Marjorie Mowlam |url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1740484,00.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051229122457/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1740484,00.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 29 December 2005| newspaper = The Times | date = 19 August 2005 | access-date = 10 June 2019}}</ref> and was cremated in [[Sittingbourne]] on 1 September 2005 at a non-religious service conducted by [[Richard Coles]], formerly of the 1980s band [[The Communards]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Colourful Goodbye to Our Mo|work=Mirror|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/colourful-goodbye-to-our-mo-562439|access-date=22 September 2020}}</ref> Half of her ashes were scattered at [[Hillsborough Castle]] (the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's official residence) and the other half in her former parliamentary constituency of Redcar.<ref name="Celebration">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4489516.stm |title=Celebration of Mo Mowlam's life |date=1 December 2005 |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |access-date=31 January 2010}}</ref>

== Memorials and tributes==
[[File:No 1 Summerhill Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne. Plaque to commemorate Mo Mowlam's occupancy 1979 -1983. (2261756885).jpg|thumb|The plaque on her home]]
A memorial service was held for Mowlam at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]], on 20 November 2005, another at Hillsborough Castle on 1 December 2005 and another in Redcar on 3 December 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.momowlam.co.uk/ |title=An Evening For Mo and Friends |publisher=Momowlam.co.uk |access-date=13 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019061049/http://momowlam.co.uk/ |archive-date=19 October 2009 }}</ref>

To honour Mowlam, [[Redcar and Cleveland|Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Authority]] commissioned an official memorial [[mosaic]] which was unveiled at Redcar's newly refurbished boating lake on 23 October 2009. An intricate 800-tile mosaic, set in a three-metre raised circle, was created by local artist John Todd to illustrate her life and interests. The mosaic has her portrait as the centrepiece, surrounded by images including the beach where she loved to walk, racehorses at [[Redcar Racecourse]] (where she celebrated her wedding), the Redcar steelworks, the [[Zetland Lifeboat]], clasped hands and doves (to symbolise the [[Northern Ireland peace process]]) and the [[Houses of Parliament]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tees/8321773.stm |title=Mowlam memorial mosaic unveiled |date=23 October 2009 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |access-date=24 October 2009}}</ref>

Her archive of personal papers, which was donated in 2006, is held by [[Teesside Archives]].

The postgraduate common room of [[Trevelyan College, Durham]] (Mowlam's alma mater) was renamed "The Mowlam Room" in her honour. The room houses a small bust of Mowlam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/trevelyan.mcr/wordpress/?page_id=1920|title=The Mowlam Room {{!}} Trevelyan College Middle Common Room|access-date=25 January 2019}}</ref>

A children's play park named after her is on the [[Stormont Estate]] in Belfast.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mo-mowlam-play-park-reopens-in-belfast-after-800-000-investment-1.3937388 | title=Mo Mowlam play park reopens in Belfast after £800,000 investment | newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref>

==Docudrama==
In 2009, [[Channel 4]] commissioned a [[docudrama]]tic film, ''[[Mo (2010 film)|Mo]]'', portraying Mo Mowlam's life from the Labour election victory of 1997 to her death in 2005.<ref name="Dowell">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/25/julie-walters-mo-mowlam-channel-4 |title=Julie Walters to play Mo Mowlam in Channel 4 drama |last=Dowell |first=Ben |date=25 March 2009 |work=The Guardian |access-date=31 January 2010 |location=London}}</ref> The film starred [[Julie Walters]] as Mowlam.<ref name="Hough">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7031098/Julie-Walters-admits-she-feared-playing-Mo-Mowlam-in-new-Channel-4-drama.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127193146/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7031098/Julie-Walters-admits-she-feared-playing-Mo-Mowlam-in-new-Channel-4-drama.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 January 2010 |title=Julie Walters nearly quit playing Mo Mowlam in new Channel 4 drama |last=Hough |first=Andrew |date=20 January 2010 |work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=31 January 2010 |location=London}}</ref> ''Mo'' was broadcast on 31 January 2010<ref name="Little">{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/face-to-face-with-mo-again-14660326.html |title=Face to face with Mo... again |last=Little |first=Ivan |date=31 January 2010 |work=Belfast Telegraph |access-date=31 January 2010}}</ref> and attracted over 3.5&nbsp;million viewers, making it Channel 4's highest-rated drama since 2001.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8491112.stm |title=Mo Mowlam biopic gets 3.5m viewers |date=1 February 2010 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 February 2010}}</ref> The film was also a critical success, with MP [[Adam Ingram (Labour politician)|Adam Ingram]] claiming that it "brought home the essence of Mo".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/television-news/2010/01/31/scots-mp-reveals-agony-over-mo-mowlam-tv-drama-86908-22008763/ |title=Scots MP reveals agony over Mo Mowlam TV drama |date=31 January 2010 |work=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]] |access-date=1 February 2010}}</ref> ''Mo'' was nominated for a [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTA award]] for Best Single Drama<ref>[http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/television-awards-nominations-in-2010,1095,BA.html#jump3 BAFTA Television Awards Winners in 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530211603/http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/television-awards-nominations-in-2010%2C1095%2CBA.html |date=30 May 2010 }} at bafta.org.</ref> with Julie Walters and [[Gary Lewis (actor)|Gary Lewis]] receiving nominations for, respectively, Best Actress<ref>[http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/television-awards-nominations-in-2010,1095,BA.html#jumpSA BAFTA Television Awards Winners in 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530211603/http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/television-awards-nominations-in-2010%2C1095%2CBA.html |date=30 May 2010 }} at bafta.org.</ref> and Best Supporting Actor. The Best Actress award was given to Walters.<ref>[http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/television-awards-nominations-in-2010,1095,BA.html#jump0.5 BAFTA Television Awards Winners in 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530211603/http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/television-awards-nominations-in-2010%2C1095%2CBA.html |date=30 May 2010 }} at bafta.org.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs |dr-mo-mowlam |Mo Mowlam}}
*{{C-SPAN|14377}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[James Tinn]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Redcar (UK Parliament constituency)|Redcar]]|years=[[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]]–[[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Vera Baird]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Paul Murphy, Baron Murphy of Torfaen|Paul Murphy]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|[[Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]}}|years=1995–1997}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Andrew MacKay (British politician)|Andrew MacKay]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Patrick Mayhew]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]|years=1997–1999}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peter Mandelson]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Jack Cunningham]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for the Cabinet Office]]|years=1999–2001}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Gus Macdonald|The Lord Macdonald of Tradeston]]}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]|years=1999–2001}}
{{s-end}}

{{Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland}}
{{Minister for the Cabinet Office}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mowlam, Mo}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Academics of Newcastle University]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trevelyan College, Durham]]
[[Category:British advice columnists]]
[[Category:Confederation of Health Service Employees-sponsored MPs]]
[[Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in England]]
[[Category:English atheists]]
[[Category:Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People from Watford]]
[[Category:Politicians from Coventry]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state for Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:20th-century British women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century British women politicians]]
[[Category:British women columnists]]
[[Category:20th-century English women]]
[[Category:21st-century English women]]
[[Category:British republicans]]
[[Category:New Labour]]