In the UK general election this week, Joseph, a mental health nurse in the National Health Service (NHS) who immigrated from Kerala 22 years ago, is one of the new Labour MPs elected to the House of Commons.
With his promise to provide additional mental health services in his district, Mr. Joseph, 49, was able to win over voters at the doorstep and gain some ground in Ashford, a Tory stronghold in Kent, southeast England.
Mr. Joseph also inflicted a shock to the right-wing candidates' anti-immigration rhetoric by defeating Tory mainstay and former minister Damian Green in a seat where the far-right Reform UK finished third after the Tories.
I acknowledge the responsibility that comes with the faith you all have placed in me, and I am humbled by it. I will work hard for everyone in Ashford, Hawkinge, and the villages.
Sojan Joseph, Mental health Nurse, National Health Service (NHS)
Being a BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) officer and a local councilor would have equipped the medical professional for this new parliamentary challenge. But he believes he has the empathy needed for his new position in Parliament because of his more than 20-year NHS career as a mental health nurse.
He is further motivated by his ties to the Ashford community, where he has lived for more than 15 years with his wife and three kids.
"I'm very proud to call Willesborough and Ashford home." Mr. Joseph, who has completed multiple international marathons for charity, stated, "I have participated in several fundraising activities over the years, including running marathons for various charities and a dragon boat race for the local hospital charity."
He continues, "I firmly believe in an inclusive society that works towards achieving every individual's full potential in the community."
After attending Kottayam schools, Mr. Joseph finished his nursing education in Bengaluru's B R Ambedkar Medical College. He pursued a master's degree in healthcare leadership in the UK with an emphasis on inclusion and diversity in public health. Throughout the campaign trail, a number of voters expressed their passionate support for expanding everyone's access to mental and physical healthcare services.
Next week, he will be joined in the Commons by many other first-time Labour MPs of Indian descent, who represent the party's growing popularity across the country following the party's resounding victory in the vote to establish a new administration led by Keir Starmer.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/MSM)
