Running for deputy speaker was something Nusrat Ghani, the Conservative MP for Wealden, had “always wanted to do”.
Ghani says she was inspired by the late Betty Boothroyd, the first female Commons Speaker, to run for the role. But being sanctioned by China and Russia – for condemning both states’ human rights abuses – demonstrated to her that every MP should be able to go about their business “without fear or favour”. Ensuring this, she says, would be her top priority if elected.
“When I was sanctioned by both China and Russia, there was a moment of anxiety,” she tells The House. “But I knew that I just had to double down and continue the work that I was doing. I would hope to provide that level of support for MPs, so that they did not feel that they had to conduct business in any other way because they felt afraid or intimidated.”
Ghani has been the subject of repeated hacking attempts by foreign states. Just before the election, she was hacked yet again by Russia.
“It will be a priority of mine to make sure that we can improve all of these wraparound services so when we do come under attack, first of all, it is prevented – intelligence services stop any of the hacking getting through. And the second is, if we are in any way made vulnerable, then it's resolved quite quickly.”
While Ghani does not want to “jump the gun” on specific plans for the role, she says if she is elected, her time as deputy speaker will be solely about the chair, not the person occupying it.
“I'm running on my experience, I'm running on being principled, and I'm running on being fair,” she says. “All the three deputy speakers have to work collectively to support the Speaker. And fundamentally, it's about the Commons, not about the individual”.
The original article is available here.
