This article's subject is
standing for re-election to the
British House of Commons on 4 July, and has not been an MP since the
dissolution of Parliament on 30 May. This article may be out of date during this period. |
Janet Daby | |||||||||||
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Member of Parliament for Lewisham East | |||||||||||
In office 14 June 2018 – 30 May 2024 | |||||||||||
Preceded by | Heidi Alexander | ||||||||||
Majority | 17,008 (38.0%) | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Member of
Lewisham Council for Whitefoot | |||||||||||
In office 6 May 2010 – 21 March 2019 | |||||||||||
Succeeded by | Kim Powell | ||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||
Born | Janet Jessica Sarju 15 December 1970 | ||||||||||
Political party | Labour | ||||||||||
Education |
Brunel University (
BSc) London School of Economics ( MSc) | ||||||||||
Website |
www | ||||||||||
Janet Jessica Daby ( née Sarju; born 15 December 1970) [1] is a British Labour politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham East since 2018. She has served as Shadow Minister for Youth Justice since 2023. [2]
Janet Sarju was born on 15 December 1970 to parents who were Windrush migrants from Guyana and Jamaica. [3] [1] [4] She attended Blackheath Bluecoat School in Greenwich. [3] Daby then studied at Brunel University, graduating with a BSc, before graduating with a MSc at London School of Economics.
Daby worked in volunteer management and children's social care, acting as a registered fostering manager. [5] She founded the Whitefoot and Downham Community Food + Project in 2013, for which she became a director. [1]
Daby was elected as a Lewisham borough councillor at the 2010 local elections, when she gained the Whitefoot ward from the Liberal Democrats and received the most votes of the three elected candidates. [6] [7] She was re-elected in 2014 and 2018, also topping the poll on these occasions. In addition, Daby served as deputy mayor of the London Borough of Lewisham during this period. [5] [8] She resigned from the Council in March 2019. [9]
Daby was selected in May 2018 as Labour's candidate in the 2018 Lewisham East by-election, after hustings with an all-women shortlist. [10] At the election, Daby was elected to Parliament as MP for Lewisham East with 50.2% of the vote and a majority of 5,629. [11] [12] In response to ongoing uncertainty over Brexit, Daby pledged to fight for the UK to remain in the European Union customs union and the single market. [13]
Daby announced her resignation as a Lewisham councillor on 20 March 2019, to concentrate on her role as an MP, noting that she would continue to represent Whitefoot residents in the Houses of Parliament. [14]
At the 2019 general election, Daby was re-elected as MP for Lewisham East with an increased vote share of 59.5% and an increased majority of 17,008. [15] [16]
On 9 April 2020, Daby was given her first shadow ministerial post by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer as Shadow Minister for Faiths. She also became a Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities in July 2020. [17]
She resigned from the front bench on 7 December 2020, after she suggested that registrars who have a religious objection to same-sex marriage should be protected from losing their jobs if they refuse to certify the partnership, an action which would be viewed as unlawful discrimination. She later apologised for her remarks. [18] [19]
Daby is a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East. [20]
Daby married Donald Daby in 2003; the couple have a son and a daughter. [1]