At the end of a tiring campaign, Tooting’s new MP said she was pleased to be able to drop her daughter to nursery again.
In four and a half weeks, Rosena Allin-Khan went from junior doctor and councillor to Sadiq Khan’s parliamentary successor, securing a 6,000 majority, more than doubling the 2015 result for Labour.
The death of Labour MP Jo Cox cast a shadow on her victory but Dr Allin-Khan called her new job an honour.
June 17: As it happened: our coverage of the Tooting by-election as Labour hold on with Rosena Allin-Khan
She said: “It was a tiring campaign but it was energetic.
“The biggest thing was getting the message out that I was a doctor who stands up for the NHS, that I’m Tooting through and through and doing that in four and a half weeks was an amazing journey.
“I feel honoured to be representing Tooting.
“It is still sinking in, it doesn’t feel real yet. I’m still a mum at home.
“Going to parliament on Monday was very surreal.
“I just keep giggling.”
Dr Allin-Khan was elected to Wandsworth Council two years ago and was the Labour group’s deputy leader within a year.
She said: “It has always been about advocacy for me, as a doctor, as a humanitarian aid worker, as a councillor.
“I did not expect to find myself here now but I could not let the opportunity to stand pass me by.”
Dr Allin-Khan faced the constant campaigning of Dan Watkins, the Conservative candidate who had been the party’s parliamentary spokesman for Tooting for months before the election.
She said: “I had been doing all the things he had as well, I was working on our NHS frontline, I have been working on many successful campaigns, I just was not putting out leaflets about it.
“My mantra will always be that this is about what I will do with Tooting.
“I was pleased to get that majority, it shows what can be done as a Labour party.”
The first thing Dr Allin-Khan did as the MP was attend the funeral of Lewis Elwin who was murdered in Tooting in April.
She said: “I have a history of working with gangs and my public health masters thesis is in tackling knife and gun crime and I have trained in conflict resolution.
“I’ve seen it in hospitals, young people are dying.
“I will be speaking with Lewis’ family again. In a time of extreme pain the family has been exemplary in their pursuit of raising the issue of knife crime.”
Tackling knife and gun crime will be one of her top priorities as she begins her work in the constituency. She also pledged to work alongside the Mayor of London to tackle the issue, and said it was something Mr Khan “cares deeply about”.
Dr Allin-Khan remains a Wandsworth councillor and is in discussions as to whether it is better for the borough and for residents for her to continue or to step down.
For the former St George’s doctor, family has been key to her success. She is inspired by her mother’s achievements and grateful for the support of her husband as they fought this campaign together.
She said: “My three-year-old knew mummy was in a race for the red team and that I won.
“Everyone is really proud, my husband is ecstatic.”
Dr Allin-Khan said the overwhelming feeling of success was how happy she was to be representing the town she grew up in.
She added: “Tooting is home, to me it has always been brilliant.
“The demographic has changed yes but it is home.”
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