Sarah Sackman, the new MP for Finchley and Golders Green – the constituency with the largest number of Jewish voters in the country – paid tribute to her predecessor, the Conservative former justice minister Mike Freer, in her maiden speech to Parliament.
The new Labour MP said she admired “his commitment to public service and, in particular, his role in securing equal marriage legislation for same sex couples — a legacy that he can take enormous pride in”.
Sackman also lamented “the circumstances under which Mike decided not to stand for re-election” – Freer stood down after 14 years following death threats and an arson attack on his local office.
She told MPs on Monday: “We should have been able to face each other on the basis of our ideas … but Mike’s life and office were threatened by those who believe in the bullet, not the ballot box. It is a stark reminder of the fragility of our democracy both at home and abroad.”
Sackman also praised the diversity in her north London seat. She said: “I may be the first female, Jewish, Gibraltarian MP from this constituency, but I would not be here without the support of my neighbours and my community: the Cypriot community, the Somali Bravanese, the Kosovan, the Japanese, the Irish and Hindu communities, the lawyers and the Uber drivers, the charity workers and the campaigners, the Spurs fans and the fans of some other north London team.”
Also on Monday, Georgia Gould, former leader of Camden council, who was recently elected as the MP for the newly created seat of Queen’s Park and Maida Vale, shared the story of her family’s links to north-west London in first speech in the Commons.
Georgia Gould[Missing Credit]
She told MPs: “My great-grandfather came over to the UK when he was a teenager, fleeing the poverty and pogroms of Lithuania, and worked his way up to open a shop on Kilburn High Road. My family have lived and worked in the area ever since.”
Sackman and Gould were – in a rare move by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – among a group of new MPs appointed directly to ministerial office shortly after the election.
Sackman was made Solicitor General and Gould a Cabinet Office Minister.
Yesterday, Ben Coleman, who defeated former Minister Greg Hands to win Chelsea and Fulham, and is Jewish, also made his maiden speech.
He told MPs he was “incredibly proud to be standing here as the first ever Labour Member of Parliament” for his constituency and thanked “all those voters who put their trust in me”.
Labour MP Ben Coleman. Credit: Twitter/X[Missing Credit]
The MP, whose seat contains the King’s Road and Chelsea Football Club, also made reference to the narrow margin of his victory – a mere 152 votes.
“Many people there will have voted Labour for the first time and I promise to be on the side of all my constituents,” he said.
