At the
2019 general election, Ribeiro-Addy was elected to Parliament as MP for
Streatham with 54.8% of the vote and a majority of 17,690 votes. Ribeiro-Addy in her
maiden speech called for some form of
reparations to former
colonial subjects, and spoke of the injustices faced by black people in Britain. In one of her first news interviews as an MP, she called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ghana, stating that it is her duty to make sure all people are free, and not discriminated against. In January 2020, Ribeiro-Addy was appointed as
Shadow Minister for Immigration, just weeks after her election as a member of parliament. She was not retained in the role following the election of Sir
Keir Starmer as Labour leader. In February 2020, she challenged the role of the media in devaluing black female MPs, particularly regarding errors by
BBC Parliament and other outlets involving the mislabelling of photos of black female Labour MPs
Marsha de Cordova and
Dawn Butler. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Ribeiro-Addy called on the government to release people held in immigration detention centres. Ribeiro-Addy supported adopting a
Zero-COVID strategy to combat the
COVID-19 pandemic and wrote an article in June 2021 in support of delaying the lifting of lockdown, criticised a "vaccine only" approach and called for the continuation of restrictions until case numbers reach zero. In December 2021, she voted against the introduction of
vaccine passports and mandatory vaccination of
NHS staff. Ribeiro-Addy – whose first UK-born black relative was
Thomas Birch Freeman, born in
Twyford, Hampshire, in 1809 – has called for better black history education in schools, saying in October 2021: "Our civil rights struggle here in the UK is not one that we learn about as much." On 24 February 2022, following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ribeiro-Addy was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the
Stop the War Coalition, which questioned the legitimacy of
NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures. In the 2019–2024 Parliament, In August 2023, Ribeiro-Addy argued for revision of the
British Museum Act 1963, which currently prevents exhibits such as the
Benin Bronzes and the
Elgin Marbles from being returned to their countries of origin. Due to the
2023 review of Westminster constituencies, Ribeiro-Addy's constituency of Streatham was abolished, and replaced with
Clapham and Brixton Hill. At the
2024 general election, Ribeiro-Addy was elected to Parliament as MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill with 56.5% of the vote and a majority of 18,005. On 12 December 2024, the
Conduct Committee of the House of Lords recommended suspending
Baroness Meyer for three weeks for harassment "related to race". This followed a complaint by Ribeiro-Addy (in conjunction with a separate complaint by
Lord Dholakia) that she had touched her hair without asking her permission. On 8 September 2025, she announced her intention to stand in the
2025 Labour Party deputy leadership election, the first MP to do so. However, she obtained 24 nominations failing to meet the number of nominations to qualify. ==Personal life==