The UK's Most Influential Black Person Has Been Named… And It's A Woman

It's not every day that a woman tops an "influential people" list – unless, of course, it's a list of women. So let's hear it for Gina Miller, the business owner who led the successful Brexit legal challenge, who has just been named as the most influential black person in the country.

Miller was voted number one on the 2018 Powerlist, which ranks 100 British people of African and African Caribbean heritage on their "ability to change lives and alter events", reported the BBC. She led the campaign to give parliament a vote on whether prime minister Theresa May could begin the formal process of leaving the EU by triggering Article 50.

Also on the list is British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, who scraped his way into the top 10 and grime artist Stormzy, who has had quite a year, having won the Solo Artist of the Year prize at the GQ awards, been nominated for the Mercury prize and become one of Jeremy Corbyn's most vocal supporters.

The Powerlist was decided by an independent judging panel of influential figures, including former High Court judge Dame Linda Dobbs and Tim Campbell, a former winner of The Apprentice. Previous winners of the top spot include Malorie Blackman, the former children's laureate and Noughts and Crosses author, Baronesses Scotland and Amos and architect David Adjaye.

Nearly half of the 2018 list were women, which is promising considering the dominance of men in influential positions and the backlash faced by many powerful women. Miller faced a barrage of offensive, racist and hateful abuse, and even death threats, for arguing that beginning talks to leave the EU – and changing the law – without a parliamentary vote was "undemocratic".

Commenting on her new title, she said it was "amazing" to get the accolade, "when what I've done has solicited a huge amount of abuse". She added: "To have somebody acknowledge me is extraordinarily kind and counters a lot of what I still get on a daily basis."

1. Gina Miller - business owner, political activist
2. Ric Lewis - chief executive and chairman of Tristan Capital Partners
3. Ismail Ahmed - World Remit founder
4. Sharon White - Ofcom chief
5. Dr Nira Chamberlain - professional mathematician
6. Jacky Wright - chief digital and information officer, HMRC
7. Sandra Wallace - UK managing partner, DLA Piper
8. Professor Laura Serrant - Professor of Nursing, Sheffield Hallam University
9. Dr Shirley J Thompson - music composer, visionary and cultural activist
10. Edward Enninful - British Vogue editor-in-chief