Voters living in the suburban towns and villages of Reading have elected their first MP, a former journalist for an international newspaper and campaigner.
Yuan Yang, the Labour candidate has been elected as the first MP for the new Earley and Woodley constituency.
Living in Earley, she is 33 years-old and prior to being selected was a journalist for the Financial Times, serving as a Europe-China correspondent and deputy Beijing bureau chief for the newspaper.
Coming from mainland China, her parents brought her to England aged four.
As well as her journalistic work, Ms Yang was the co-founder of the Rethinking Economics campaign, which has the stated aim of "building a student movement to challenge, interrogate and renew the discipline of economics and related fields, for social and climate justice."
She is now the first Chinese-born MP in the history of Parliament.
Ms Yang was elected with a narrow majority of 848 votes over Pauline Jorgensen, the Conservative candidate and leader of the opposition on Wokingham Borough Council.
She received 18,209 votes over councillor Pauline Jorgensen's 17,361 votes.
Following her victory, Ms Yang said: "Thank you to everyone in our new constituency of Earley, Woodley, Shinfield and Whitley – I'm so honoured to be your voice in Parliament.
"For most of the households in our area, I am your first ever Labour MP in history, and I will work hard to continuously earn your trust."
Earley and Woodley was created after the political map of England was redrawn last summer.
While voters in Whitley and Woodley have previously been represented by Labour MPs in the previous Reading West and Reading East constituencies, voters in Earley have for years been represented by Sir John Redwood, the Conservative MP for Wokingham from 1987 to 2024.
After the election, she featured in an X/Twitter thread by the Hansard Society for Parliamentary Democracy describing what happens once an MP is elected.
Yuan Yang, after being elected the first Labour MP for Earley and Woodley. (Image: @YuanfenYang X/Twitter)
The letter from the Clerk of the House of Commons welcoming them to Westminster, giving them crucial information to help them navigate their first few days, setting out where they should go and what they need to do once they arrive at Parliament.
The thread also states that the letter also contains information from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority containing pay, pension and expenses details for MPs.
Ms Yang visited Parliament with her mum on Monday, July 8.
She was selected as the Labour candidate in a contest with cllr Rachel Eden (Labour, Whitley), Hanif Khan, a former Hounslow councillor and Annie Gallop, a Lambeth councillor who grew up in Woodley.
Mr Khan went on to become the Labour candidate for Sleaford and North Hykeham in Lincolnshire, where he came in second place to Caroline Johnson, the Conservative candidate.
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