Labour’s seismic victory in Finchley and Golders Green overnight proves trust has been regained amongst Jewish voters, the party has claimed.
Labour’s Sarah Sackman, who is Jewish herself, won the most Jewish constituency in the country, securing 21,857 and a four and a half thousand vote majority.
Sackman talked proudly about her heritage and Labour’s effort to change since the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.
She said: “Labour has changed and won this constituency’s trust.
“To Jewish voters, I promise as your MP that I will be keeping up our traditions and never miss a friday night dinner.”
Sackman’s closest opponent was the Conservatives Alex Deane, who stood in place of outgoing Conservative MP Mike Freer.
Freer held on in a hard-fought three-way battle in the seat in 2019, which saw Jewish former Labour MP Luciana Berger stand in the constituency following her defection to the Liberal Democrats and split the vote.
To the very last, working for his party and constituency.
— Alex Deane (@ajcdeane) July 4, 2024
Thank you, Mike. pic.twitter.com/XxyBgaQLl5
Freer was a vocal supporter of the Jewish community and had held onto his seat since 2010 but was harassed and a victim of a suspected arson attack, which led to him not running in this election.
The trend of longtime Conservatives stepping down has dictated much of what was an expected Labour landslide.
In Chipping Barnet, which borders Finchley and Golders Green, Dan Tomlinson became Labour’s first ever MP and spoke in support of the Jewish community.
He said: “We will always stand with our Jewish community against anti-semitism and have no place for it in our party.”
This comes in the wake of Labour losing several seats to independent candidates who have been outspoken towards the war in Gaza.
Sackman on the other hand admitted she was disappointed to see Corbyn had won as an independent candidate in Islington North.
Following, David Pinto-Duchinsky’s narrow Labour victory in Hendon, the new MP said Keir Starmer had ripped antisemitism out of the party by its roots.
He said: “For too long in the past Labour let the Jewish community down.
“I am committed to proving that Labour has changed fundamentally for good, for every community in this constituency.”
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