Alex Sobel becomes UK’s newest Jewish MP
Jewish Labour Movement member wins Leeds seat, on a night that saw the organisation’s chair and vice-chair narrowly defeated.
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
Alex Sobel has become Britain’s newest Jewish MP after being elected in Leeds North West.
The Jewish Labour Movement member took the seat from the Liberal Democrats with a majority of 4,226 on a night that saw the organisation’s chair and vice-chair narrowly defeated.
Sobel took to Twitter to say: “Massive thanks to all the people of Leeds North West. I won’t let you down.”
But there was disappointment for two other Jewish candidates hoping for a first term. Tory Hannah David missed out for the second consecutive election in Harrow West, while Rhea Wolfson, a member of Labour’s national executive committee, reduced a majority of 17,000 to 4,000.
She said the party has shown that “with a radical, transformative manifesto and a leader who can inspire people up and down this country we can build something unbelievable. I’ve stood side by side with Jeremy Corbyn since day one and now might watch him become prime minister.”
Former shadow cabinet minister Luciana Berger, the parliamentary chair of JLM, extended her majority to a staggering 29,000 in Liverpool Wavertree. In Bassetlaw, John Mann, chair of the parliamentary committee against anti-Semitism, won a new majority of nearly 5,000.
Among the constituencies with the largest Jewish communities, Conservative Bob Blackman held off a Labour surge to retain his Harrow East seat.
Despite early predictions of gloom for Labour in Ilford North and Hampstead and Kilburn, Wes Streeting and Tulip Siddiq both won increased majorities, with the latter extending her margin from 1,000 to 15,000.
One of the community’s closest allies, Labour’s Ian Austin, narrowly got over the mark in Dudley north with 18,090 votes, just 22 ahead of his Tory rival’s 18,068.
Labour Friends of Israel chair Joan Ryan also had a successful election, increasing her her majority in Enfield North, with 28,177 votes, an increase of over 14% from 2015.
George Galloway, meanwhile, was third in Manchester Gorton with 2,615 votes. Labour’s Afzal Khan, who previously apologised for tweeting an article comparing Israel to the Nazis, took the seat.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
