Hertford and Stortford’s first Labour MP Josh Dean affirms allegiance to the Crown

Hertford and Stortford’s new Labour MP Josh Dean has been sworn in at the House of Commons.

On Wednesday (July 10) the 24-year-old made a solemn affirmation – just ahead of his friend and party colleague, Harlow’s new MP Chris Vince.

Mr Vince’s constituency includes the Hallingburys, Hatfield Heath, Hatfield Broad Oak, Matching and Sheering. He succeeded Tory Robert Halfon, who did not seek re-election.

Just ahead of them in the queue was former Bishop’s Stortford High School student Andrew Lewin, who won the Welwyn Hatfield seat for Labour formerly held by previous Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.

Both Mr Vince and Mr Lewin have previously contested the Hertford and Stortford seat: Mr Lewin for the Liberal Democrats in 2010, when he was second to Conservative Mark Prisk, and Mr Vince, a former Dunmow maths teacher, in 2019 when he was second to Tory Julie Marson.

However, Mr Dean went one better last Thursday (July 4) and defeated Mrs Marson to become the constituency’s first Labour MP since it was founded in 1983. He overturned her majority of 19,620 as he beat her by 20,808 votes to 16,060, giving him a majority of 4,748. The swing was 20.44%.

Mr Vince could be heard saying how proud he was of his friend after Mr Dean, a former student at Hertford’s Richard Hale School, pledged his allegiance before formally taking his seat.

All three men – and Labour colleague Chris Hinchliff, who won the North East Herts seat (which includes the East Herts A120 villages of Little Hadham, Braughing, Standon and Puckeridge) previously held by Tory Sir Oliver Heald – were among a record 335 new MPs inducted at Westminster this week.

The total surpassed the previous modern high of 327 in 1945, when the vote after the Second World War was the first in a decade.

As well as the 335 fresh faces, a further 15 politicians are returning to Parliament, bringing the newly-elected total to 350 of 650 seats.

Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords may not take their seats, speak in debates, vote or receive a salary until taking the oath or affirmation, pledging allegiance to the Crown.

According to parliamentary rules, they could be fined £500 and have their seat declared vacant “as if they were dead” if they attempted to do so.

Mr Dean chose to make an affirmation instead of an oath and said: “I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors according to law.”

He then signed the Test Roll, a parchment book kept by the Clerk of the House of Commons.

The final part of the induction was an introduction to the newly-re-elected Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

After a General Election, the Speaker is the first to take the oath, followed by the Father (or Mother) of the House, then members of the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet, other privy counsellors and other ministers. Other members are then called by length of service.

Mr Dean said: “It was an honour to be sworn in among friends as the new Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford. I’m humbled by the trust our residents have placed in me and I will work every day to repay it.”

While the past week since the General Election has been a whirlwind for Mr Dean, his Hertford and Stortford opponents have had a chance to reflect. The Indie invited all of them to look to the future. Only the Green Party’s Nick Cox has responded so far.

The East Herts Council member for Ware Trinity, who was fourth, said: “I’m delighted the Conservative Government has been ousted at last and that we have a new Government after more than 14 years of austerity, mismanagement, nepotism and corruption that brought Britain to its knees.

“I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Josh Dean on becoming our new MP and deposing the Conservative incumbent. I wish him well and look forward to working with him.

“I’m so proud of the progress the Green Party made nationally, winning four seats and doubling our 2019 vote share to nearly 7%. This shows that our vision of a fairer, greener future resonated with many.

“Our new Green MPs will push the Labour Government to be bolder, braver and more ambitious, ensuring there’s urgent action on the environment, tighter regulation of housing and real funding increases to save our NHS and public services. I will continue to fight for real hope and real change in the years to come.”