Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan, consultant at St George’s Hospital, announces her candidacy for deputy leader of Labour Party

Doctor Rosena Allin-Khan, MP for Tooting, has announced her candidacy to be the next deputy leader of the Labour Party.

The consultant at St George’s Hospital, Tooting, said as deputy leader of the Labour Party she would “listen to the patient’s symptoms and investigate the root causes”.

Doctor Allin-Khan has been travelling to constituencies where Labour lost seats in the 2019 general election, to try to understand why voters turned away from the party and what can be done to bring them back.

Doctor Allin-Khan is also offering to hold a public meeting in London, as well as every other region and nation of the United Kingdom, to listen directly to people’s concerns.

As deputy leader of the Labour Party, she has declared her priorities will be:

• To take the time to listen with humility to the voices of those who have lost faith in the party – people from every race, region and background who have been so badly let down
• To look at how the Labour Party, the most powerful grass roots movement in Europe, can reconnect with local communities
• To ensure the Labour Party is at the heart of the continuing fight against a far-right Brexit and the threat to our public services, our rights and our environment. Whether you voted Remain or Leave, our cherished workers’ rights, our environmental standards and our precious NHS must not be up for sale.

Doctor Allin-Khan said: “The Labour Party shaped my values, while giving me the chances a person from my background otherwise would not have had.

“It gave me the ability to represent my community and provided me with the opportunity to train as a doctor to harness the skills to listen and serve people – regardless of their age, background or personal struggles.

“I want the Labour Party to be in government again to afford the current generation the hope that was offered to me.

“It is vital that we restore trust in the Labour Party across the country. It is clear that people did not trust us – we need to accept this fact, evaluate it, and learn from it in order to move forward.

“We cannot put words into people’s mouths. Our path back to power involves listening with humility to those former Labour voters who have abandoned the party.

“I believe my life experience means I can help our movement do this. As a doctor, I cannot guess or assume what is wrong with a patient – I have to listen to their symptoms and investigate the root causes – this is what we must do as a party, and is what I will do as deputy leader.”