Former PM backs Labour’s Sackman in Golders Green

Former prime minister Gordon Brown urged voters in Finchley and Golders Green, the seat with the largest number of Jewish voters in the UK, to back Labour’s candidate.

Brown, who served as chancellor under Tony Blair between 1997-2007 and as prime minister between 2007-2010, said that “nobody has done more to fight prejudice, discrimination and antisemitism than Sarah Sackman,” Labour’s candidate for the north London marginal.

He added that, “it has been a privilege to work with her in a number of commissions and also in the fight against antisemitism. I know she will make a wonderful Member of Parliament for Finchley and Golders Green. Please support her on July 4th.”

Sackman is a barrister and member of the New North London Synagogue.

She told the JC: “I am proud that the Labour Party of 2024 has fundamentally changed so that we can offer change to our country. The Party needed to change. I am glad that I stayed, serving as Jewish Labour Movement Vice Chair and helping to bring the formal complaint against the party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

“If elected I will be a strong Jewish voice in a Labour government. There will be no return to the past. Starmer’s overhaul and rule changes will ensure that. I am proud to have the backing of Gordon Brown whom I have worked closely with. He helped us along this journey as a staunch ally of our community.”

Brown is the second former prime minister to make an intervention in the race for Finchley and Golders Green. On Tuesday, Boris Johnson urged voters to back the Conservative candidate Alex Deane and warned of a “Starmergeddon supermajority”.

Justice Minister Mike Freer has held the north London seat for the Conservatives since 2010. He announced his departure from office earlier this year following death threats and an arson attack on his local office.

Polls are split on the likely outcome in Finchley and Golders Green on July 4. A MRP poll (one that looks at likely results in constituencies) by Ipsos had Labour taking the seat, but one by YouGov said the Conservatives would hold on.