The new Member of Parliament for the East London constituency of Barking has used her maiden speech in the House of Commons to highlight her family’s difficult passage, leaving their native Cyprus for a new life as immigrants in the United Kingdom.
Nesil Caliskan, who made history at the General Election last month when she became the first British female MP of Turkish Cypriot origin, spoke of her newly born mother Alev being “cared for in a United Nations tent” in Cyprus in 1967, and that her grandparents and mother arriving “penniless” in Britain in the early 70s.
The family, who are originally from Çayırova (Pano Lefkara) and Köfünye villages in southern Cyprus, were among the tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots who were caught up in the brutal Cyprus conflict that broke out in December 1963. Over a quarter of the Turkish Cypriot population were forcibly displaced, their villages and neighbourhoods destroyed, with hundreds killed or missing, and many fearing for their lives after nationalist Greek Cypriots attacked them and sought to take over the entire island.
Caliskan’s mother Alev was born during the 1967 crisis, which saw Köfünye torched. The word “alev” in Turkish means flame.
Addressing her fellow MPs and the Deputy Speaker, Caliskan, 35, started by commenting on how 2024 had been “quite the year” for her and her husband as they not only welcomed a new baby girl, now 7 months old, but also fought a General Election.
She then went on to pay tribute to her predecessor Dame Margaret Hodge, 79, who had held the Barking seat for Labour since 1994, using words such as “diligent”, “tenacious”, “brave” and “warmth” to describe Dame Margaret’s three decades of service as an MP.
Caliskan spoke about the “parallels” between Dame Margaret’s life and her own. The former Barking MP is Jewish and also an immigrant. Her family had fled Nazi-occupied Europe, Caliskan explained, with Dame Margaret herself arriving in Britain from Egypt in 1948 to escape persecution.
Similarly, Caliskan pointed to her own immigrant family, with her mother and grandparents seeking safety in Britain due to the violence in their home country of Cyprus, as she recounted in Parliament in her maiden speech on 23 July:
“They spoke no English, they had no qualifications and no money, but they were safe”
“My grandparents, Osman and Neriman Tango, are of Turkish Cypriot Muslim background. [They] escaped violence in Cyprus, arriving in London on Christmas Eve in 1972. And my mum Alev was born in Cyprus in 1967 and was cared for in a United Nations tent.
“And the three of them sought safety in the melting pot that is London’s East End. They spoke no English, they had no qualifications and no money, but they were, Mr Deputy Speaker, safe.
“And as I stand in this Chamber and address the honourable members, I cannot help but think of my grandfather, my great grandmother and my mum, and I don’t think they could have envisaged that in one generation their granddaughter would be a member of the mother of all parliaments.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, it shows what is possible in this country and I feel so deeply honoured to be here,” the Barking MP added.
Caliskan thanks mum for her core values
Caliskan, who until recently was also the Leader of Enfield Council, thanked her mum during her eight minute long speech for the values she had instilled in her and her two sisters, Neriman and Eda:
“And I thank my mum, who taught me and my two sister, Neri and Eda, that we must always try our best, we must work hard, look after and care for others when they need our help, be grateful for an education, and when we can, when we can, to find a way to give back.”
The Barking MP said her values and family story were shared by many people in her constituency, who have “heritage from different parts of the world”, whilst also highlighting those communities who have lived in Barking and Dagenham “for generations” and who are “deeply proud” of their roots.
Earlier today I delivered my maiden speech in the House of Commons.
I told the story of my family, which is like so many of my constituents. I welcomed the new Labour government’s commitment to economic stability and growth so that we can invest in public services and create… pic.twitter.com/Q0QT96wYXK
— Nesil Caliskan (@Nesil_Caliskan) July 23, 2024
She briefly outlined the “rich history” of her constituency, where its young and diverse population added to the area’s vibrancy. She also raised some of the major challenges Barking faces, including the highest levels of unemployment in London, lower than average earnings, and that where “shamefully, 23 percent of children are living in poverty.”
Economic growth “critical for the whole country”
The Labour MP talked about the importance of economic growth to society, calling it “critical for the whole country and my constituency”, as it would enable much needed improvements to public services in areas such as education, the NHS, the welfare system, and “tackling crime and violence in our communities”.
Caliskan also highlighted the significance of economic growth to helping people out of poverty:
“But economic growth does even more than just pay for decent public services. It can deliver good well-paid jobs that secures a roof over their head, food on the table, and hope for a future.
“It’s the only route out of poverty. Indeed, it’s how my grandparents broke away from the cycle of poverty,” the Barking MP added as she reconnected her family history with many others in Britain today.
Caliskan said it was for these reasons that “I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s commitment to economic stability and growth.”
She also supported her government’s approach to tackling the housing crisis, which Caliskan said was one of the “drivers of poverty”, noting key measures such as bringing in new legislation to protect renters and stop no fault evictions, speeding up “planning and infrastructure to get more homes built.”
“Politics the greatest vehicle for change”
Caliskan returned to a theme which featured heavily in her maiden speech – “Hope for the future” through “deliverable plans to improve lives”. She said it was why she and “Members on both sides of the House entered politics.”
Reminding the Chamber that she had served as a council leader before becoming an MP, Caliskan said she had “decided to run to be Member of Parliament for Barking” because “politics is perhaps the greatest vehicle for change”.
She said it’s why Parliament “matters” before reiterating her Labour Government’s core plans of “Building more homes, giving children a better start in life with free breakfast clubs and more qualified teachers, cutting NHS waiting times, lowering bills with Great British Energy—these things matter, and they will improve the lives of people in my constituency. They are all possible, and only possible, with economic growth.”
General Election results
Nesil Caliskan was elected as the new MP for the safe Labour seat of Barking at the General Election held on 4 July 2004.
The Labour politician was one of eight candidates on the ballot and won with a healthy majority, beating her nearest rival by more than 11,000 votes. Caliskan received 16,227 votes, equating to 44.5% of the total – 16.4% lower than the Labour share of vote in 2019.
Reform’s Clive Peacock came second with 5,173 votes (14.2%). The Green candidate Simon Anthony came third with 4,988 votes, up by 11.9% from 2019. The Conservatives came fourth with 4,294 votes.
Turnout was less than half of the electorate, at just 46% — down 11% form 2019.
On Friday, 9 August, a little over a month after the General Election, Caliskan resigned as Leader of Enfield Council, a position she had held since 2018. Her first position as an elected politician was when she won a local council by-election for Jubilee Ward in Enfield in 2015.
Politics runs in the family. Caliskan’s mother Alev Cazimoglu, is also a local politician, representing Jubilee Ward in Enfield and she is serves as the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care at Enfield Council.
Caliskan’s grandfather, Osman Tango, initially worked in a timber yard when he came to the UK and went on to become a trade union official advocating for migrant rights. He later ran a printing business in North London and also headed the UK branch of the left-leaning Turkish Cypriot political party Toplumcu Kurtuluş Partisi (Communal Liberation Party).
