Jump to content

Lisa Forbes (politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sam Blacketer (talk | contribs) at 23:58, 10 June 2019 (Full name and date of birth.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lisa Forbes
Member of Parliament
for Peterborough
Assumed office
7 June 2019
Preceded byFiona Onasanya
Majority683 (2.0%)
Personal details
Political partyLabour

Lisa Jane Forbes (born 28 July 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Peterborough since the 2019 Peterborough by-election.

Early career

Prior to being elected as the MP for Peterborough, Forbes was a trade union official in Unite the Union. She was elected as a Labour councillor for Orton Longueville ward on Peterborough City Council in 2012, standing down in 2016 to focus on her parliamentary candidacy.[1][2]

She was the Labour candidate for the Peterborough constituency at the 2015 General Election, decreasing the Conservative majority, but chose not to stand in the 2017 election at which Fiona Onasanya won the seat for Labour.[3] After Onasanya's removal by means of a recall petition, Forbes was selected to contest the seat again in the ensuing by-election.[4]

2019 by-election campaign

During her campaign for the 2019 by-election, Forbes ran on a platform of seeking to invest more into local schools, revitalise the local police force and combat illegal dumping.[5]

Antisemitism allegations

During the campaign, Forbes was revealed to have previously liked and commented favourably on Facebook posts in 2014 and earlier in 2019 that included antisemitic tropes. Forbes apologised after the allegations were published, and again after her successful by-election win, saying she had not intended to endorse antisemitic statements and pledging to deepen her understanding of antisemitism.[6][7][8]

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish Leadership Council and Community Security Trust released a statement calling Labour to "disown Lisa Forbes as a candidate" due to these actions and her previous rejection of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.[9][10] The Jewish Labour Movement said their members would not campaign for her.[10] Following her election, the Jewish Labour Movement and the campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism called on her to be suspended from the party.[11][12]

Forbes was defended by Jewish author David Rosenberg, who said "for those of us who have been confronting anti-semitism in Britain for decades, it is galling to see it being used as a factional weapon".[12] Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said after Forbes' election that she was "not a racist in any way".[13]

Election

Forbes was elected MP for Peterborough on 7 June 2019, with the Brexit Party, which according to the press and bookmakers was favourite to take the seat, in second place.[14][15]

Personal life

Forbes has lived in Peterborough for 30 years. She has four children.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Labour's Lisa Forbes not standing for Peterborough City Council re-election but targets return contest with Stewart Jackson". Peterborough Telegraph. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Results of previous elections". Peterborough City Council. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  3. ^ Lamy, Joel (14 February 2019). "Labour shortlists two candidates to stand in Peterborough election". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  4. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (21 February 2019). "Labour selects Lisa Forbes to replace Fiona Onasanya in Peterborough". Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  5. ^ Leishman, Fiona (7 June 2019). "Lisa Forbes: Who is the new Labour MP for Peterborough?". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  6. ^ Buchan, Lizzy (2 June 2019). "Labour urged to disown by-election candidate who endorsed antisemitic Facebook post". The Independent. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  7. ^ "New Labour MP Lisa Forbes sorry amid antisemitism row". Sky News. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  8. ^ Lamy, Joel (3 June 2019). "Peterborough Labour by-election candidate 'active in Israel hate group'". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Joint statement on Labour's Peterborough election candidate Lisa Forbes" (Press release). Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish Leadership Council and Community Security Trust. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  10. ^ a b Harpin, Lee (3 June 2019). "Labour's Peterborough candidate signed letter opposing IHRA antisemitism definition". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Jewish Labour Movement urges party to suspend Peterborough MP within hours of her unexpected election". The Jewish Chronicle. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Factional attacks on Lisa Forbes 'galling,' says Jewish Labour member". Morning Star. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  13. ^ Gayle, Damien (8 June 2019). "Jeremy Corbyn: new Labour MP Lisa Forbes 'not a racist in any way'". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Labour sees off Brexit Party in by-election". BBC News. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Can the Brexit Party win the Peterborough by-election?". The Week. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  16. ^ Lamy, Joel (20 February 2019). "New Peterborough Labour parliamentary candidate wants to 'challenge huge police and school cuts'". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Peterborough
2019–present
Incumbent

Template:East of England Labour Party MPs