Growing up, I cherished reading the Ham&High, soaking in the community stories at my parents’ kitchen table.
Local newspapers like this one are the lifeblood of democracy, providing a platform for local triumphs and concerns and holding local leaders to account.
Therefore, it is particularly exciting for me to be penning my first column for this esteemed paper as the new MP for Finchley and Golders Green.
I am writing to you now, laptop balanced on my knees, sitting in a vaulted corridor in the Houses of Parliament. The so-called Westminster bubble is one that desperately needs popping.
Our politics should be open and transparent, which is why I am so pleased to be writing a regular column to stay connected with you all.
In my first article, I want to share some other ‘firsts’ I’ve experienced during this whirlwind first month in office.
The most significant, of course, was winning my first general election. As the results were announced under the iconic Spitfires of the RAF Museum in Hendon - a sight familiar to every local schoolchild - I delivered my first speech as an MP.
Immediately after, I was thrust into my first day in Parliament. Walking through Westminster Hall for the first time, I crossed the very spot where Charles I was tried before his execution. This moment served as a powerful reminder of the gravity of politics and the principle that no one is above the law.
I attended my first King’s Speech and cast my first votes as an MP. Voting involves filing through the lobby past the whips and tapping the Parliamentary equivalent of an Oyster card.
In my initial weeks, I’ve supported plans to bring our railways back into public control and to establish GB Energy, a publicly owned clean energy company.
In my maiden speech, my first address to the Chamber, I expressed my pride in representing the area where I was born and raised.
I spoke about our unique corner of North London and the remarkable communities that sent me here - the Jewish, Cypriot, Kosovan, Hindu, Somali Bravanese, and Irish communities.
While some may use 'North London' as a term of derision, readers of this paper wear it as a badge of pride. We celebrate our diversity, knowing it is our greatest strength.
I owe my place in Parliament to all of you and, in the coming years, I promise never to forget who sent me here.
- Sarah Sackman is Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green.
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