Kemi has friends from across parties, and is saddened but not surprised to hear that some Labour MPs wouldn’t consider it: “They genuinely believe that we are vermin.” She goes on: “I have family members who vote Labour. If you’re in a position where all the people you know think and look like you, you have a problem.” She’s friendly with Florence Eshalomi, a Labour AM with whom she worked at the London Assembly. “We disagree on politics, but we have a laugh about things. She also has kids, and it was just nice having someone to share that with.” In parliament, she’s still making friends in her own party, let alone in other parties, but she’s keen to work with Labour’s Chi Onwurah – another female engineer – since they have a couple of things in common.