London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Sarah Champion is a British Labour Party politician. She is serving as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Rotherham since 2012. She was appointed as Shadow Minister for Preventing Abuse in September 2015 under Jeremy Corbyn. However, resigned from this position after a vote of no confidence. She then returned to the front bench one month later.
In October 2016 she got promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities. However, in August 2017 she vacated her post following the story of white girls being raped and exploited by British Pakistani men. However, fellow Labour MP Naz Shah deemed it “incendiary and irresponsible”. She remains a Backbencher in the House of Commons.
Bio & Early Life
Sarah Champion was born on 10th July 1969. Before entering Parliament, Champion ran art workshops and worked for a children’s hospice in Rotherham. She was first elected to Parliament at a by-election in 2012. Many people don’t know that Sarah belonged to a middle-class family. Her parents worked hard to make ends meet. In 1991, she graduated with a BA in psychology from the University of Sheffield. It was after completing her schooling at Prince William School in Oundle.
Political Career
In 1992, after volunteering at Sheffield’s St Luke’s Hospice and teaching art at Abbeydale Road Secondary School, Champion became a full-time employee. She was actively running Rotherham Arts Centre. Later she served Ashfield District Council as an Arts Development Officer. From 1996 to 2008, she was the Executive Director of Manchester’s Chinese Arts Centre. While from 2008 to 2012 she was the Executive Director of the Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice in Rotherham.
In November 2012, Labour selected Sarah Champion to stand as their candidate in the Rotherham by-election. The vote was triggered by Denis MacShane’s resignation from Parliament. Following a shortlist chosen by the party, Champion was elected to be Rotherham’s first female MP. On 29 November she got a convincing win with around 9,866 votes (46.25% of all votes).
Jane Collins of the UK Independence Party came second with 4,648 (21.79%), making it the party’s best result in a by-election. Labour held a majority of 5,218 (24.46%), though there was a decrease in the number of actual votes cast. The difference was quite large compared to Rotherham’s 2010 general election result.
During an interview with BBC Radio Sheffield on 30 November 2012, Champion said that she does not consider herself a career politician. She revealed: “There are some people who from the moment they were born wanted to be a politician. Whereas for me, since I started working I’ve always been working with the community and I want to carry on doing that’’. Sarah also admitted she rarely attends Prime Minister’s Questions.
Parliament
Sarah Champion was previously a part of the Transport Select Committee. She acted as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt. Therefore, assumed the chairmanship of several All-party parliamentary groups. It includes Victims and Witnesses, Choice at the End of Life, and Health Group. Since 2020 she has headed up the International Development Committee.
While in November 2021 she took on chairing the All-party Parliamentary Group on Street Children. In 2015, Champion was appointed Shadow Minister for ‘preventing abuse and domestic violence’. She resigned from this position on 28 June 2016, after criticizing Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of the EU referendum.
Child Sexual Exploitation
Children’s charity Barnardos and Sarah announced that they would lead a cross-party inquiry into the effectiveness of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It will help with tackling child sexual exploitation and trafficking. She conducted an inquiry with Barnardo in 2013 to assess the effectiveness of the law in protecting children from sexual exploitation.
Champion amended the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill in July 2014. As a result of her inquiry, a person was caught arranging to meet a child for sex. As a result, he was convicted without any delays.
In January 2016, Dare2Care was launched, a campaign instigated by Champion. It focused on the prevention of child abuse and normalizing violence-free relationships. A website is available to help people how to tackle these issues. It contained many resources and tools that are relevant to young people, parents, and professionals alike.
In March she expressed her dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister over unfulfilled pledges made to tackle child abuse. The problems were the lack of a national task force in place and a whistleblowing portal, which had no ‘task force to blow to’. Additionally, not beginning a consultation on extending willful neglect offenses toward children’s social care, education, and councils.
Shadow Minister For Preventing Abuse
In September 2015, Jeremy Corbyn appointed Champion as Shadow Minister for Preventing Abuse. She resigned as shadow Home Office minister in June after Labour MPs passed a vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn. However, the following month, she returned to the front bench in the same position. It was revealed in September 2016 that Champion had been cautioned by police in 2007 after a violent altercation with her husband.
She admitted to losing control over a situation and revealed: “I’m not proud of what happened and I accept I was in the wrong but I have nothing to hide. I lost control after being provoked for years and for that I am sorry but I felt extremely vulnerable at that moment”
Shadow Minister For Women and Equalities
As Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Champion was appointed by Jeremy Corbyn in October 2016. Dare2Care, a National Action Plan for Preventing Child Abuse and Violence in Teenage Relationships, was launched by Champion in 2016. The Champion report recommends that resilience and relationships education be compulsory for all children starting at Key Stage One.
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Personal Life & Net Worth
Sarah Champion is an influential politician. Her total net worth exceeds $8 million. In 1992 Sarah got married to Graham Hoyland, a BBC producer, and explorer. However, the couple got divorced in 2007. She likes to spend her free time traveling the UK coast and exploring different continents. To date she has visited around 62 countries.