Sam Tarry
Sam Tarry (born 27 August 1982) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South since 2019. He is a member of the Labour Party.
Early life
Sam Tarry was born in August 1982 in Westminster. The eldest son of The Revd. Canon Gordon Tarry, a Church of England clergyman. His family later moved to Seven Kings, and Tarry completed his secondary education at St Edward's Church of England School in Romford. He got his first job at 15 as a cleaner at Redbridge College and later worked at Sainsbury's to pay for university.
Political career
From 2009 to 2011, Tarry was the Chairman of Young Labour, the youth wing of the Labour Party. Tarry went on to be active in "anti-fascism", including working as a Community Organiser for Hope not Hate.
Tarry served as a Labour Party councillor for Chadwell Heath ward, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, from 2010 to 2018.
In 2016, Tarry worked as a director under Jon Lansman's supervision of Jeremy Corbyn's successful Labour Party leadership campaign.
Tarry subsequently worked as the national political officer for the TSSA trade union, and served as the president of the think tank Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS).
In 2017, Tarry stood for selection to be the Labour parliamentary candidate for the Labour seat of Hull West and Hessle. He was the favourite to be selected, on account of his close relationship with party leader Jeremy Corbyn. However, the party instead selected Emma Hardy, a local teacher and trade union organiser.
In 2019, Tarry stood for selection to be the Labour parliamentary candidate for the seat of Ilford South, previously held by Mike Gapes. His campaign was jointly run by GMB and Momentum UK. On 4 October 2019, the evening before members were due to vote, rival candidate, local Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal was suspended from the party over an allegation of sexual harassment. On 22 October 2019, after a postponement of the vote, and with Athwal ineligible due to his suspension, Tarry was selected. Athwal was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing Parliamentary career
Parliament
After being elected to Parliament, Tarry was appointed to the Transport Select Committee, on which he has been credited as being a "passionate advocate for public ownership". In this role, he called for the introduction of a death in service payment scheme for London transport workers.
During the 2020 Labour leadership election campaign, Tarry said that Keir Starmer would have to show how he would appeal to northern seats that had abandoned Labour, given that he was a "north London lawyer" and had opposed Brexit. Tarry subsequently supported Rebecca Long-Bailey in the leadership contest.
From April 2020 until January 2021, Tarry served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ed Miliband in the Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy team, and as part of the parliamentary team of Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, when he was appointed to the role of Shadow Minister for Buses and Local Transport.
Socialist Campaign Group
In 2021 Sam Tarry was member of the Socialist Campaign Group in the House of Parliament.
Sacking
Labour went into meltdown July 28, 2022 as union leaders and MPs blasted Keir Starmer for sacking Sam Tarry from his front-bench team.
The fallout came as former shadow chancellor John McDonnell backed calls for a general strike.
Sir Keir faced an open revolt in the party after sacking Mr Tarry as his shadow transport minister for joining a rail strike picket line on Wednesday and for giving a round of media interviews without permission.
The Labour leader’s move has been met with fury by union leaders and the left of the party.
Manuel Cortes, general secretary of TSSA, where Mr Tarry was a political officer before his election to Parliament in 2019, said: “Whatever excuses the Labour Party makes about the reasons for Sam being sacked, the reality is he has shown solidarity with his class and we applaud him for that.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, the party’s largest funder, also blasted Mr Tarry’s sacking.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef and chair of Labour Unions, the body that brings together unions affiliated to the party, said: “Sam Tarry speaks for rail workers and workers everywhere — hold your head up high, mate.”
On a visit to Birmingham, Sir Keir said he had sacked Mr Tarry for making up policy “on the hoof.”
He said: “I think any trade union leader would understand the need for collective responsibility in a political party.
“It’s very important that we have that responsibility because we want to win an election.”
In a statement, Mr Tarry said: “I remain committed to supporting the striking rail workers, and campaigning for a Labour victory at the next general election, which I will fight for relentlessly from the back benches.”
Mr Tarry received messages of solidarity from many of his parliamentary Labour colleagues.
Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said supporting picket lines was “socialism 101 for MPs.”
Labour MP Grahame Morris said: “Where should a Labour shadow transport minister be, other than on the picket line, supporting transport key workers seeking to defend their jobs, terms and conditions.”
Former Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery called the sacking “shameful.”
On Wednesday, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch called for a general strike in retaliation to the government’s threat to curb industrial action, warning of “the biggest resistance mounted by the entire trade union movement.”
Mr McDonnell said he would support a general strike by unions.
The veteran MP said he had “never seen this level of anger, but also this level of solidarity — wave after wave of trade unions.”
Mr McDonnell added: “We can’t go on like this — we have got to protect people … and if that means co-ordinated action to make it more effective and to resolve disputes much more quickly, well, so be it.”[1]
"Has First Past the Post worked for workers"
Politics for the many.
Labour Party conference fringe 2021, "Has First Past the Post worked for workers"
- Sam Tarry MP
- Julie Ward former MEP
- Gail Cartmail TUC
- James Beckles UNISON
- Julia Vaughn ASLEF
- Pauline McCarthy Labour NEC
- Caroline Osborne Labour for a New Democracy.
Citizenship Amendment Act protest
London, Jan 25 2020 Thousands of students, activists and representatives from several Indian diaspora and human rights organisations gathered opposite Downing Street in London to protest against India’s new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The rally, organised by student groups and Indian outfits in the UK, marched around a mile down the streets to gather outside the Indian High Commission in London.
The protesters carried placards reading “Protect the Constitution”, “Stop Dividing India”, “United Against Racism in India” and “No Citizenship on the Basis of Religion”.
The CAA came into force in India last December amid protests in India and around the world.
They also called for the abolition of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), which they said “in conjunction with the CAA, open the way for selective mass disenfranchisement of Indias Muslim population.
UK Opposition Labour Party MP Sam Tarry addressed the demonstrators with the message that human rights in any country is an international issue.
“We are not here as any anti-India demonstration, we are here as a pro-India demonstration. It is incredibly important that our voices are heard against laws that are not good for the future of the country,” said the east London MP.
Messages of support from Labour MPs Stephen Timms, Clive Lewis and newly-elected Indian-origin parliamentarian Nadia Whittome were also read out, calling on the UK government to take up the issue with Indian counterparts.
“On the eve of Republic Day, we are reminded of our core values of freedom, equality and diversity. We stand in solidarity with all the people in India and around the world in their fight against injustice and racism,” said Harsev Bains, of the Indian Workers Association (GB).
Some of the other groups backing Saturday’s march included CasteWatch UK, Tamil People in the UK, Indian Muslim Federation(UK), Federation of Redbridge Muslim Organisations (FORMO), Kashmir Solidarity Movement, South Asian Students Against Fascism among others.[2]
Cuba Covid letter
April 15 2020, fifty one British members of parliament have written to Dominic Raab, the UK Foreign Secretary and acting Prime Minister to call for the US blockade of Cuba to be temporarily suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grahame Morris MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cuba, coordinated the letter which asks the British government to make a public statement and to raise the issue directly with its counterparts in the United States’ government.
The letter from the British parliamentarians cites examples from around the world where governments and international organisations have demanded that humanitarian aid be allowed in to Cuba to help the country fight COVID-19. It quotes Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Arancha Gonzalez, Spanish Foreign Minister, and Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, who have all publicly called for sanctions to be suspended to Cuba and other sanctioned countries to allow for the delivery of essential supplies and medicine to stop the spread of the virus.
Yours sincerely,
Grahame Morris MP, Chair, APPG Cuba.
Dan Carden MP, Vice Chair, Kate Osborne MP, Vice Chair, Kim Johnson MP, Vice Chair, Paula Barker MP, Vice Chair, Alison Thewliss MP Allan Dorans MP, Amy Callaghan MP, Andy McDonald MP, Apsana Begum MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Beth Winter MP, Carol Monaghan MP, Chris Law MP, Chris Stephens MP, Claudia Webbe MP, Clive Lewis MP, Dave Doogan MP, Diane Abbott MP, Geraint Davies MP, Ian Byrne MP, Ian Mearns MP, Ian Lavery MP, Imran Hussain MP, Joanna Cherry MP, John McDonnell MP, Jon Trickett MP, Kate Osamor MP, Kenny MacAskill MP, Kirsten Oswald MP, Kirsty Blackman MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP, Margaret Ferrier MP, Marion Fellowes MP, Martyn Day MP, Mary Kelly Foy MP, Mick Whitley MP, Mike Amesbury MP, Mike Hill MP, Navendu Mishra MP, Olivia Blake MP, Owen Thompson MP, Rachel Hopkins MP, Richard Burgon MP, Ronnie Cowan MP, Sam Tarry MP, Sarah Champion MP, Stephen Bonnar MP, Stephen Flynn MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Zarah Sultana MP[3]