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Reflections of Resilience: A Conversation with Paulette Hamilton, MP for Birmingham Erdington
Last week, on October 20th 2025, YMCA – Heart of England was pleased to welcome Paulette Hamilton, Member of Parliament for Birmingham Erdington, in our Reservoir Road Head office, for an informal conversation and interview in honour of Black History Month 2025. YMCA Heart of England CEO Pauline Tomlinson wanted to delve deeper and gain a better understanding of who this wonderful woman was and to capture her views and opinions on Black History Month itself , her personal experiences that have shaped her to be the woman she is today, her journey into becoming a politician, and her advice for future generations.
We are extremely grateful to MP Paulette for the time she took to share with us her personal journey and to reflect on how her story can impact many others from all walks of life and diverse cultures.
PT: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule as MP for Erdington, Paulette, it is a privilege to have a conversation with you.
PH: Thank you for inviting me, it’s important that the community can get to know more about me in an informal setting.
PT: Can you tell us a little bit about your journey, how you became an MP, any challenges and celebrations.
PH: When I started my career, I really didn’t anticipate becoming an MP.
I had a hard time during my school years, as I was considered outspoken and too talkative. Then, I was lucky enough to find a teacher, Mr Potter, that thought a lot of me and told me: “I see something in you that you don’t see in yourself.”
I had previously been told that I would never amount to anything, and I carried that with me, so his words were truly impactful in breaking self-doubt.
After I left school, I started studying nursing, until I got pregnant at 18, when I found myself single and without a job. I took the decision to go back home to my parents.
After having the baby, I got a council flat and started thinking “what do I do now?”.
It takes a village to raise a child, and I was lucky to have that support in my family.
I eventually ended up marrying my husband, and working for Birmingham City Council, then went back to nursing, finished my education, had 3 more kids but kept working and got my degree.
However, I felt like God was telling me I wasn’t where I needed to be. After my 5th child, I understood that kids don’t stop you, you stop yourself. So, I started working for the Royal College of Nursing for a secondment that was supposed to last 18 months but ended up taking the following 7 years of my life.
It was at the college that someone asked me for the first time if I was thinking of going into politics and becoming a councillor. I was still a vocal person, championing for people, and at the time I didn’t know what to do with that energy.
I applied to become a labour councillor, and I managed to achieve it in the ward I grew up with, where I was known and knew the people living there. I wanted to be a councillor representing the area I was part of, where my parents still lived. This was important to me.
For a while, I was doing both things at the same time – nursing and a councillor, which was quite overwhelming. I decided to leave the nursing college, taking the plunge and effectively slashing my income.
Sometimes before you can go forward, you have to go backwards.
I asked my husband if we’d manage, and he said, “you just do what you have to do”.
I fully understood there and then how necessary positive encouragement is. Young people, listen to those that tell you what you CAN DO, not cannot do. Politics is a tough gig. There are lots of challenges, it’s not easy, power can be something that changes people, but we need to try and ensure that the change is for the better!
I was selected, the community kicked off, I got reselected. During covid I developed a reputation, won a national award, got Covid, was particularly ill, was off work for 6 weeks, until someone called me and asked me if I would think about becoming the MP for Erdington, a place I had lived in my whole life.
I applied to become the MP, got selected by the constituency party after a shortlist, and then got elected on the 4th of March and sworn in on the 7th of March, going to Parliament for the second time in my life.
I remember that I cried the whole day.
You see, my dad had died and two days after his death I was selected, and so I had to go through an election campaign while grieving. As soon as I made it, I let go and cried.
As an MP, I am very focused on health. Certain groups are more disadvantaged on certain issues, and I want to make a difference for those groups as well as communities generally. That is the message I would like to give to my constituency: “I am here to champion you” and I have tried to stand for the community ever since that first 7th of March.
PT: You talked about a particular individual at school that stood out. Similarly in my story, a teacher in school supported me and believed in me, gave me an opportunity. It is those people that help you realise you are not just an individual put in a box, you can excel if you believe in yourself and opportunities are created that give you a chance.
PH: I was lucky enough to have more than one. There was Mr Potter, then Anne Lyden Smith. Also, another woman, a pastor I knew. I asked her to pray for me while I walked a road I didn’t totally understand. We found each other, and even if we haven’t seen each other in a while, I know she is praying for me. You cannot do it alone, and I appreciate anyone keeping me in their prayers. I believe in the power of prayer. That’s why I don’t lose my temper often. I have to trust God that whatever I am doing, there are good people out there.
PT: You are a woman whose story speaks of resilience. You talked about having children at a young age, like many of the young people we serve here. People experiencing all sorts of different issues.
PH: Your starting point is not your end point. If you aim for the sun, you might walk through the stars. You don’t always need to go at 100%, sometimes you need to rest and recognise the times when you need to do this. Sometimes you will be helped, sometimes you will help. And all of this will help you grow.
I grew up in a one-bedroom house, without much, not even central heating, and a baby with me. I cherished every little thing I have ever had. My parents never gave up on me, even when people told me I couldn’t do it. What God was showing me through my parents’ support was to just keep pushing. I went back to high school to get my qualifications, and once I got it, I accessed a degree course, and I could only do it with the support I got from my “village”.
I still remember the lead nurse at my first job telling me: “remember you are a black woman, the markers on you will always be higher than other people, you need discipline.”
PT: Your challenges resonate with me, as a black woman. And I am sure many other women, whether they are black or white, who have experienced many challenges getting to where they think they need to be. You have a humbleness about you, like servant leadership. There is a desire to make a pathway for the less fortunate. I also believe in the power of prayer, we should never believe we have arrived, we are always learning and learning builds resilience – Servant Leadership is underrated by so many.
PH: You are a custodian. If you don’t serve, one day you will look around and be alone. The higher you go, the more of a servant you should become. If they ask for advice, give it. Mentor if you can. My office is a teaching office. And also, a multicultural office to reflect the area I serve as an MP. I also believe to let my yes be yes, and no be no. I do not make promises I cannot keep. At the end of the day, I believe that some people think they will be in their position forever, but God might have granted this today, but not tomorrow. Make the best of it.
PT: Focusing on the area of Erdington itself in the heart of the West Midlands and all the things we see and experience within this area. As MP for the area, what are your priorities going forward, how will you address some of the multiple challenges?
PH: Growth, jobs and skills, bringing in investments. For over 14 years, this constituency didn’t have a penny, didn’t have any funding, any support, and yet residents still have significant needs. We got over 40 schools, and so many young people in need of support.
I like to think of my constituency with the words of the Jamaican motto”
“out of many, we are one”
We are a melting pot of many communities.
And we need to bring in resources, improve the skill base of young people, focus on health and wellbeing. You can live 8 years longer by simply crossing one street in some areas, and that’s not acceptable.
PT: One thing our staff have fed back to us is that the visible increase in Union Jacks flags have left them feeling that they do not belong as the flag has become a cymbal of hatred and rejection and instils fear and concern in particular areas. Staff feels like they don’t belong. The recent displays of patriotism are instilling the concept of fear. How do we respond to this?
PH: At first, I didn’t have any issues with it. But lately, I think it has been going too far, and I’d like to see the flags removed. It has brought forward a culture of fear. As I said, out of many we are one. This constituency is made of so many different communities that work well together. I don’t want the action of a few to scare and frighten my community. I have been working with the council to tackle the issue. Nobody should feel fear or anxiety where they live. Especially after getting out of covid together. I have had people say to me that black people should not be MPs because this is a white country. But more white people than we think are upset about it too.
I am not speaking on behalf of the party here, just as myself.
We have to ensure that we preserve health and safety. For everyone, both the people who put up the flags and those who feel scared by it. If people need to put a flag on a pole to feel they represent something, let them do it. But what has followed is getting out of order.
PT: Final comment. Obviously, we are having this discussion during Black History Month, what are your thoughts around celebrating Black History during the month of October? Using one month in the year to promote black history.
PH: I was born black; I am black every day of my life. We don’t need to just celebrate it for one month; my community deserves more. I celebrate it, though, and I use my platform to advocate for my community. I attend events, do interviews, and do the best I can. And I don’t celebrate the fact I am black just one month of the year. But at least it is a start. I am a legacy. My parents came from the Caribbean with a plan, started in Birmingham, where they couldn’t even get a room to rent.
They laid the foundations.
When they bought their house, it was the biggest day of their lives.
The struggles they had to endure gave me strength. That is their legacy, and it lives on through their children and my children.
When you see what your parents had to endure to bring you up, give you chances they didn’t have, you celebrate.
PT: There is so much history that cannot be captured in a month, but it’s an opportunity to speak to people about where our beginnings were, and by God’s grace where we can get to.
PH: I would like to conclude this by reading a quote from a poem by Benjamin Zephaniah, which I believe reflects the theme of “standing in pride and power”.
We raise from rhythm
From roots
From resistance
We are not statistics
We are stories.
Ancestors, whispers
Breathing through our bones
Drumbeats echoing across generations.
We come from laughter,
Loud and unbroken,
From hands that build,
From hearts that yield
From songs sung on the sun and sorrow
We turn pain into poetry.
We turn struggle into stride.
Our skin holds galaxies.
Our names carry history.
Our presence is protest.
Our joy, revolutionary.
We do not beg for space, we make it.
We do not wait for power, we are it.
Every step, every word, every breath
Is legacy in motion.
So we rise
from rhythm, from roots, from resistance.
We rise in pride.
We rise in power.
We rise together.
We would like to once again thank Paulette Hamilton for taking the time to sit with us for this interview. You will be able to watch the video version of this on our YouTube channel next week.
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