Jared O'Mara
|
Jared O'Mara MP |
|
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam |
|
|
Assumed office 8 June 2017 |
|
| Preceded by | Nick Clegg |
| Majority | 2,125 (3.8 %) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1981 (age 35–36) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
Jared O'Mara (born 1981) is a British Labour Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Sheffield Hallam since 2017.
O'Mara was born in Sheffield and was born with cerebral palsy. He received a first class honours degree in Journalism from Staffordshire University. Before entering politics, he was a local school governor and had volunteered for Sheffield-based disability information services and charities. With friends, he ran West Street Live, a bar and music venue in Sheffield.
O'Mara had stood in the past as a local council candidate. He supported Jeremy Corbyn's election as Leader of the Labour Party in both 2015 and 2016.
For the 2017 general election, O'Mara was selected to contest the seat of Sheffield Hallam, held by Nick Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister. His campaign benefited from a national surge in the Labour vote and from university students in the constituency. It has been claimed that Clegg was too anti-Brexit by voters, although Sheffield Hallam was estimated to have voted to remain in the 2016 EU membership referendum, and O'Mara adheres to the remain stance too.
O'Mara's campaign focused on championing the disabled, protecting public services and on his personal background in Sheffield. He won the seat on a 2,125 vote majority, overturning Clegg's previous 2,353 vote majority. The result was considered one of the most important seat changes of the night. O'Mara had not expected to win the seat, although reports he rushed out to a local supermarket to buy a suit are apparently false. His acceptance speech called for politicians to do more to stand up for the disabled.
...
Wikipedia