Nesil Caliskan makes history as first Turkish Cypriot-origin MP elected in UK

In the general elections held on Thursday in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party emerged victorious. The Labour Party secured 410 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, enabling them to form the government. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party, currently in power, obtained 131 seats in parliament.

Among the successful Labour Party candidates was Nesil Caliskan, aged 35, of Turkish Cypriot descent, nominated from Barking in East London, who successfully entered the House of Commons. Caliskan thus became the first elected parliamentarian of Turkish Cypriot origin in the United Kingdom.

Her family migrated from Cyprus to the U.K. in the 1970s, settling in Enfield, a North London borough known for its dense Turkish community. In a 2018 interview with the BBC, the 35-year-old Caliskan, who contested from Enfield, remarked, “It is gratifying to become the representative of the place I have lived all my life.”

Enfield is estimated to have one in every five residents of Turkish descent, making Turkish the second most spoken language after English in this area.

Caliskan celebrated her election as a member of Parliament through a post on her X account.