Feryal Clark

Feryal Demirci Clark (/ˈfɛriəl/;[1] née Demirci; born 6 January 1979)[2] is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield North since 2019.

Feryal Clark
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Shadow Minister for Health
Assumed office
6 September 2023
Serving with Karin Smyth
LeaderKeir Starmer
Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Patient Safety
In office
4 December 2021 – 5 September 2023
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byJustin Madders
Alex Norris
Succeeded byPreet Gill
Opposition Whip
In office
14 May 2021 – 4 December 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Member of Parliament
for Enfield North
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJoan Ryan
Majority6,492 (14.4%)
Personal details
Born
Feryal Demirci

(1979-01-06) 6 January 1979
Malatya, Turkey
Political partyLabour
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Clark was born in Turkey to Alevi Kurdish parents with roots in Kürecik, Malatya Province.[3] She studied Bioinformatics at the University of Exeter.

Political career

Clark was elected as a councillor for Brownswood ward in the London Borough of Hackney in 2006, representing it until 2014 when she was elected for Hoxton East & Shoreditch ward.[4][5] She rose to become the Deputy Mayor of Hackney and Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care, Leisure and Parks.[6] As a councillor she has promoted cycling in the Hackney borough.[7]

Clark endorsed Yvette Cooper during the 2015 leadership election.[3]

She was seventh on Labour's London-wide list for the 2016 London Assembly election, but was not elected.

In October 2019, Clark was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Enfield North, replacing Joan Ryan who had defected to Change UK earlier that year. Clark was elected during the 2019 general election, becoming Labour's first ever Kurdish MP.[7][8] She made her maiden speech in a Commons debate on Health and Social Care.[9]

Clark endorsed Lisa Nandy for Leader of the Labour Party during the 2020 leadership election.[10][11] She is a supporter of Labour Friends of Israel.[12]

In the November 2021 opposition front bench reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Patient Safety.[13][14]

In January 2022, Clark called on UK Government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. She has said "I was born in south-east Turkey and grew up hearing stories about the horrors faced by the Armenian people in that region. Almost 100 years ago, a whole culture and a whole people were systematically destroyed and had their identity erased in an act of appalling violence. Families were torn apart, with children never seeing their parents again. Some 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were killed. Vibrant, centuries-old communities were simply wiped off the face of the map."[15]

In the September 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Health.[16]

References
  1. "Feryal Clark MP praises our new campaign". YouTube. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  2. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. Özerim, İpek (2 November 2019). "Hackney councillor Feryal Demirci is Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Enfield North". T-VINE. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  4. Bartholomew, Emma (23 May 2014). "Local elections: Hoxton East and Shoreditch ward result". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  5. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2010 - Hackney". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  6. "Councillor Feryal Clark". Hackney Council. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. Grossman, Sam (7 November 2019). "Feryal Clark selected as Labour Candidate for Enfield North". Hackney Post. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. "Enfield North parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News.
  9. "Health and Social Care - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk.
  10. "Labour Party Leader". The Labour Party. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  11. "Here are the 23 MPs backing Wigan's Lisa Nandy in the Labour Party leadership contest". www.wigantoday.net. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  12. "LFI Supporters In Parliament". Labour Friends of Israel. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  13. Rodgers, Sienna. "Keir Starmer unveils new frontbench team after wider reshuffle". LabourList. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  14. Clark, Feryal [@feryalclark] (4 December 2021). "Delighted to have been asked to join @wesstreeting's team as Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Patient Safety" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  15. Ghazanchyan, Siranush (27 January 2022). "Feryal Clark MP calls on UK Government to recognize the Armenian Genocide". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  16. Belger, Tom (5 September 2023). "Labour reshuffle: Starmer unveils six new shadow ministers of state". LabourList. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
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