Sojan Joseph: Mental health nurse from Kerala and now UK's new MP
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.
Being a local councillor and a BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) Officer would have prepared the medical professional for this new parliamentary challenge. But it is his over two decades' long NHS career as a mental health nurse that he feels gives him the empathy required for his new job in Parliament.
Also, his connect with the local communities of Ashford, where he has been living with his wife and three children for over 15 years, is his additional motivation.
«I take great pride in calling Ashford, and Willesborough, my home. I have taken part in a number of fundraising activities over the years,
