Feryal Demirci Clark (/ˈfɛriəl/;[1] née Demirci; born 6 January 1979)[2] is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield North since 2019.
Feryal Clark | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Shadow Minister for Crime Reduction | |
| Assumed office 27 November 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Naz Shah |
| Shadow Minister for Health | |
| In office 6 September 2023 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Patient Safety | |
| In office 4 December 2021 – 5 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Justin Madders Alex Norris |
| Succeeded by | Preet Gill |
| Opposition Whip | |
| In office 14 May 2021 – 4 December 2021 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Member of Parliament for Enfield North | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Joan Ryan |
| Majority | 6,492 (14.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Feryal Demirci 6 January 1979 Malatya, Turkey |
| Political party | Labour |
| Website | Official website |
Early life and education
Feryal Demirci was born on 6 January 1979 in Malatya, Turkey to Alevi Kurdish parents with roots in Kürecik, Malatya Province.[3] She studied Bioinformatics at the University of Exeter.
Political career
Clark was elected as a councillor for Brownswood ward in the London Borough of Hackney in 2006, representing it until 2014 when she was elected for Hoxton East & Shoreditch ward.[4][5] She rose to become the Deputy Mayor of Hackney and Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care, Leisure and Parks.[6] As a councillor she has promoted cycling in the Hackney borough.[7]
Clark endorsed Yvette Cooper during the 2015 leadership election.[3]
She was seventh on Labour's London-wide list for the 2016 London Assembly election, but was not elected.[8][9][10]
Parliamentary career
At the 2019 general election, Clark was elected to Parliament as MP for Enfield North with 51.8% of the vote and a majority of 6,492.[11][12] She became Labour's first ever Kurdish MP.[7][13] She made her maiden speech in a Commons debate on Health and Social Care.[14]
Clark endorsed Lisa Nandy for Leader of the Labour Party during the 2020 leadership election.[15][16] She is a supporter of Labour Friends of Israel.[17]
In the November 2021 opposition front bench reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Patient Safety.[18][19]
In January 2022, Clark called on UK Government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. She has said "I was born in south-east Turkey and grew up hearing stories about the horrors faced by the Armenian people in that region. Almost 100 years ago, a whole culture and a whole people were systematically destroyed and had their identity erased in an act of appalling violence. Families were torn apart, with children never seeing their parents again. Some 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were killed. Vibrant, centuries-old communities were simply wiped off the face of the map."[20]
In the September 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Health.[21]