Editing Glenda Jackson (section)

=== Labour Party ===
Jackson's name was linked to several parliamentary seats over the years; she was approached by a [[Constituency Labour Party]] (CLP) in Bristol to stand at the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]], but this did not materialise.<ref name="Bryant-1999" />{{refn|Jackson "was approached by a member of the Bristol Labour Party to stand for Parliament in what was a safe Tory constituency."<ref name="Woodward-1985">{{cite book |last=Woodward |first=Ian |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11658097 |title=Glenda Jackson: a study in fire and ice |date=1985 |publisher=[[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] |isbn=0-297-78533-8 |location=London |pages=132 |oclc=11658097}}</ref> This is most likely to have been [[Bristol West]], as it was the only Conservative-held seat in Bristol prior to the 1979 general election. {{Crossreference|See also {{slink|Politics of Bristol#Westminster_representation}}.}}|group=note}} An approach was also made to her about the possibility of being a candidate for the [[Marginal seat|marginal]] Welsh seat of [[Bridgend (UK Parliament constituency)|Bridgend]] at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]], which she turned down to pursue a humanities degree at [[Thames Polytechnic]]. Though she was seen in the refectory at Thames a few times, she dropped out before starting the course.<ref name="Bryant-1999-3" /> In that election, she supported [[Paul Boateng]] and Ian Wilson, Labour's candidates for [[Hertfordshire West]] and [[Watford (UK Parliament constituency)|Watford]], respectively. She was also a member of the Arts for Labour group.<ref name="Woodward-1985"/>

In 1986, Jackson visited Ethiopia as part of Oxfam's efforts to help with [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia|the famine there]], and in 1989 she approached [[Voluntary Service Overseas]] about the chance of working in Africa for a couple of years. She got involved in the [[African National Congress]] campaign against [[apartheid in South Africa]], and in September 1988 chaired a United Nations committee on the cultural boycott.<ref name="Bryant-1999-3" /> Jackson appeared in a [[party political broadcast]] for Labour in February 1987.<ref>{{cite news |date=26 February 1987 |title=Steady with the props, Glenda! |pages=4 |work=The Fulham Chronicle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105970341/steady-with-the-props-glenda/ |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref> In June, she was present at a campaign rally with the then Labour leader [[Neil Kinnock]] for the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wainwright |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Wainwright (journalist) |date=8 June 1987 |title=When showbusiness is the name of the two-party game |pages=32 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105970700/when-showbusiness-is-the-name-of-the/ |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref>

In December 1989, it was rumoured that Jackson had been approached by two branches of [[Leeds East]] CLP to succeed their Labour MP, [[Denis Healey]]. According to her biographer [[Chris Bryant]], she turned down this opportunity. In late 1989, two members of [[Hampstead and Highgate]] CLP got in touch with Jackson about the possibility of standing there. Despite having never been to a Labour ward meeting, she won over the local party, and triumphed in the ballot, which took place on 28 March 1990. Jackson defeated three candidates who were all politically to her left: [[Kate Allen (Amnesty International)|Kate Allen]] ([[Ken Livingstone]]'s partner and a [[Camden London Borough Council|Camden]] councillor), economic history lecturer Sarah Palmer (daughter of former Labour MP [[Arthur Palmer (politician)|Arthur Palmer]]) and Maureen Robinson, a previous Mayor of Camden.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bryant |first=Christopher |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42790640 |title=Glenda Jackson: the biography |date=1999 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-00-255911-0 |location=London |pages=195–199 |oclc=42790640}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Postlewaite |first=Jeff |date=27 March 1990 |title=Anxious Glenda waits for a cue |pages=14 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105973211/anxious-glenda-waits-for-a-cue/ |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=31 March 1990 |title=And now for the part of a lifetime |pages=12 |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105998181/and-now-for-the-part-of-a-lifetime/ |access-date=21 July 2022}}</ref>

Jackson later stated that she felt Britain was being "destroyed" by the policies of the then [[prime minister of the United Kingdom]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], and the Conservative government, so that she was willing to do "anything that was legal" to oppose them.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN15Xa2gMhY&t=182s |title=Glenda Jackson Moved From Acting to Politics |date=15 May 2018 |author=Late Show with Stephen Colbert |via=YouTube |access-date=15 May 2018 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TN15Xa2gMhY |archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In November 1990, Thatcher stood down as prime minister and [[Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|leader of the Conservative Party]]. On Thatcher's death, Jackson protested Parliament's tributes to that legacy. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRqdQMlIiYc | title=Glenda Jackson: Late ex-MP delivers immense anti-Thatcher speech days after Thatcher's death | website=[[YouTube]] | date=15 June 2023 }}</ref>