Rosena Allin-Khan
 Dr Rosena Allin-Khan      (medical doctor, politician) | ||||||||||
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 Dr Allin-Khan, born and bred in Tooting | ||||||||||
| Party | Labour | |||||||||
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On 14 May 2016 Dr Rosena Allin-Khan was selected to be the Labour Party candidate for the South London Tooting by-election on 16 June 2016, one week before the EU Referendum. Dr Allin-Khan was elected, increasing Labour's majority to 6,357 over the Conservatives, up from the 2,842 secured by her predecessor Sadiq Khan in the 2015 General Election.
Murder of Jo Cox MP
In a sombre statement following her victory at Wandsworth Town Hall, Dr Allin-Khan referred to the "horrific events of yesterday and the shocking death of Jo Cox". She added:
- "My thoughts and prayers are with Jo's husband and her children. She was a proud and passionate campaigner who will be desperately missed. Jo's death reminds us that our democracy is precious but fragile. We must never forget to cherish it. Thousands of people voted today and we are all here in recognition of our democratic values."[1]
Roots in Tooting
Dr Allin-Khan, who was born and brought up in the area, works as a junior A&E doctor in St George’s hospital. She is deputy leader of the Labour group on Wandsworth Council. The PPC said:
- “With local health services under threat and the Tories pushing ahead with plans to take millions of pounds from our local school budgets, my priority will be to ensure our community gets the excellent local services families need and deserve. I will also use all my energy to tackle the Tory housing crisis that is pricing out local people from our area. Tooting is a great place to live but too many people are working for long hours every day and still can’t afford to put money aside to save for a deposit. We need to make sure Tooting remains affordable for everyone who lives here.”
Support from Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn joined the candidate for an appearance shortly after her selection.
The Tooting by-election was triggered by Sadiq Khan standing down as the area’s MP after becoming Mayor of London. He welcomed Dr Allin-Khan’s candidacy, saying:
- “I could think of no better person to now represent Tooting than Rosena...Rosena has the values, vision and experience to be a brilliant champion for Tooting.”[2]
