Simon Opher
Simon Opher | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Stroud | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Siobhan Baillie |
| Majority | 11,411 (20.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oxfordshire |
| Political party | Labour |
| Education | St Mary's Hospital Medical School |
| Occupation | General practitioner |
Simon Opher MBE MP is a British Labour Party politician and general practitioner originally from Oxfordshire.
Background[edit]
Opher, originally from Oxfordshire, attended to a comprehensive school before studying medicine at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London. He has worked and lived in Dursley as a full-time GP for "almost exactly 29 years," with his wife Rachel; their three children attended the local Rednock School. He was awarded an MBE in 2016 for introducing and advocating social prescribing (now part of NHS policy nationwide) and was instrumental in the building of the Vale Community Hospital. Chairman of the Stroud Locality NHS, Opher headed the Covid-19 vaccination program locally and pledged to keep a day a week for patients in his practice after his election, a promise he renewed after his election.[1]
He is chair of the charity that runs Prema Arts Centre, and President of Uley Cricket Club.[2]
Political career[edit]
In November 2022, he replaced former Labour MP David Drew as the Labour Prospective parliamentary candidate for Stroud. Since 2024, he has served as the Member of Parliament for Stroud, having unseated Tory incumbent Siobhan Baillie.[3][4] Opher polled 25,630 votes to Baillie's 14,219, ahead of Reform UK's Chris Lester (6,329), Green Pete Kennedy (5,729), Liberal Democrat George James (2,913), and 261 votes for independent Saskia Whitefield,[5] who had been accused by local activists of homophobic, pro-Hitler and pro-Nazi social media posts, as well as claims that one of her grandfathers was in the Luftwaffe.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ Loveridge, Ashley (5 July 2024). "Carry on doctor: Simon Opher to remain a GP". Stroud Times. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ Loveridge, Ashley (16 November 2022). "All you need to know about Stroud's Labour Party candidate | Stroud Times". Stroud Times. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Stroud | General Election 2024". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Stroud - General election results 2024". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Norris, Phil (5 July 2024). "Stroud General Election 2024 results in full: who is the new MP?". Gloucestershire Live. reachplc.com. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ Community Solidarity Stroud District (26 June 2024). "Our letter to the people backing Nazi-sympathising candidate for MP". Community Solidarity Stroud District. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
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