Labour select Holocaust survivor’s son for second bid to win Hendon seat
David Pinto-Duschinsky - beaten by Tory MP Matthew Offord in 2019 - praises Keir Starmer's 'progress' in fighting antisemitism in the party but admits 'there is still more to do'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hendon has admitted “there is still more to do” to root out antisemitism from the party after his selection was confirmed on Sunday.
David Pinto-Duschinsky, the son of a Holocaust survivor who came to the UK alone as a child refugee, will attempt to win the north London seat for Keir Starmer’s party at the next election, following a ballot of local members.
A management consultant, and a former adviser to Labour chancellor Alistair Darling, Pinto-Duschinsky stood against current Tory MP Matthew Offord at the 2019 election, losing to him by 4230 votes.
After his selection in a seat believed to have the highest proportion of Jewish voters, was announced, Pinto-Duschinsky said: “It’s an honour to have been selected to stand as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hendon.
“I want to say thank you to the local Labour members for their support and for choosing me as the Labour candidate for Hendon at the next General Election.
“I’m completely focused on building a better future for Hendon and working tirelessly for local people on their priorities like providing real help with the cost of living crisis, rebuilding our NHS, tackling Hendon’s housing crisis and cutting crime.
“And I’m committed to rooting antisemitism out of the Labour Party.
“For too long, Labour let the Jewish community down and allowed the poison of antisemitism to spread.
“Under Keir Starmer, we have made great progress but there is still more to do.
“I am totally dedicated to building a Labour Party that all can be proud to support. ”
His father Michael was born in Hungary in 1943, the son of a rabbi, who went on to become an expert in human rights and a senior consultant on constitutional affairs for the think-tank Policy Exchange.
Offord has been the MP for Hendon since 2010, and ahead of the last election said:”I’m proud of my record of standing up for the Jewish community here in the Hendon constituency and I will always do so.”
Pinto-Duschinsky said Labour would be fighting the next election on economic growth to end the cost of living crisis.
“This will include our plan to buy, make and sell more in Britain, invest £28 billion a year to tackle the climate crisis and create the next generation of jobs,” he added.
“This is an exciting challenge and I’ll be fighting for every vote until the General Election.”
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