Damian Green News

Sojan Joseph, a mental health nurse in the National Health Service (NHS) who migrated from Kerala 22 years ago, is among the new crop of Labour members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons in the UK general election this week. Joseph, 49, connected with the voters at the doorstep with his pledge to ensure more mental health services in his constituency and succeeded in making a dent in the Conservative stronghold of Ashford in Kent, south-eastern England. In defeating Tory stalwart and former minister Damian Green, Joseph also dealt a blow to the anti-immigration rhetoric of the right-wing candidates in a seat where the far-right Reform UK came in third place after the Tories. «I am humbled with the trust you all placed in me and fully aware of the responsibilities that come with it. I will work hard for everyone in Ashford, Hawkinge and villages,» said Joseph in his acceptance speech on Friday.