Sarah Teather, MP for Brent Central, has been in Parliament since 2003. Prior to her election, she was working as a health and social policy analyst for Macmillan Cancer Relief.
After entering Parliament, Sarah entered the shadow cabinet in 2005, speaking for the party on policy areas including Education, Universities and Skills, and Housing.
Following the formation of the coalition government Sarah was appointed Minister of State for Children and Families with responsibility for early learning and development, child care and children’s centres, special educational needs, disabled children, young carers and child poverty.
Sarah is now the chair of the APPG on Refugees, and a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Sarah has been an active advocate for her constituents. She works closely with local campaign groups, and has a constituency office open to the public every day. She has helped many thousands of local people with their problems, and finds this part of an MP’s work particularly rewarding. In parliament Sarah is a passionate campaigner, particularly on the issues of immigration and welfare.
Sarah’s proudest moments in parliament include campaigning successfully for an end to the routine detention of children in the immigration system; her campaign to get one of her constituents released from Guantanamo Bay; delivering the pupil premium to schools; and extending free early education to two year olds.
In her spare time, Sarah enjoys music. She was previously a member of the parliament choir and continues to sing soprano with a small group of friends known as the North London Ensemble.