Nesil Caliskan

Nesil Caliskan
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Devolution, Local Growth and Communities
In office
12 May 2026 – 22 July 2026
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byMiatta Fahnbulleh
Succeeded byJim McMahon (Devolution and Regional Growth)
Florence Eshalomi (Communities)
Comptroller of the Household
In office
7 September 2025 – 12 May 2026
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byChris Elmore
Succeeded byGen Kitchen
Member of Parliament
for Barking
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byMargaret Hodge
Majority11,054 (30.3%)
Leader of Enfield Council
In office
23 May 2018 – 9 August 2024
DeputyErgin Erbil
Preceded byDoug Taylor
Succeeded byErgin Erbil
Member of Enfield Council
for Jubilee ward
In office
7 May 2015 – October 2024
Preceded byRohini Simbodyal
Succeeded byIan Barnes
Personal details
BornNesil Cazimoglu
(1988-10-27) 27 October 1988
Enfield, London, England
PartyLabour
SpouseEmre Caliskan
Children1
ParentAlev Cazimoglu (mother)
EducationUniversity of Reading (BA)
London School of Economics (MSc)
Websitehttps://www.nesilcaliskan.com/

Nesil Caliskan (née Cazimoglu; born 1988) is a Labour politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barking since 2024.[1] She also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Devolution, Local Growth and Communities in 2026.

Early life

Caliskan was born in a family of Turkish Cypriot descent and raised in Enfield, London. She was privately educated and attended Palmers Green High School. In 2010, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Politics and Communication from the London School of Economics in 2012.[2] During her time at Reading University, Caliskan was vice president responsible for Democracy and Campaigns between 2010 and 2011, during which she participated in the 2010 United Kingdom student protests against increased tuition fees and spending cuts by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.[3]

Career outside Parliament

Caliskan joined the Labour Party aged 15 years old and has campaigned for Labour in every election since 2004.[4] From 2013 to 2015, Caliskan was Cabinet Support Officer in Haringey Council and from June to December 2015 a Parliamentary Researcher in the House of Commons and also had roles in the NHS from 2016 to 2018.[2] In a by-election in May 2015, Caliskan was elected as a member of Enfield Council for the Jubilee ward.[5] In May 2018, aged 29, Caliskan was elected Leader of Enfield Council after unexpectedly defeating incumbent Doug Taylor, who had led the council for eight years, becoming the first female and Turkish-Cypriot council leader in Enfield and the youngest female council leader in the country at the time.[4][5] Caliskan is currently a board member of ReLondon and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, Chair of the Safer and Stronger Communities Board, and an Executive Member of London Councils.[2] In May 2023, she was elected as Labour's chief of the Local Government Association (LGA) and has sat on Labour's governing National Executive Committee (NEC) since September 2023.[6][7][8] From January to February 2024, deputy leader Ergin Erbil was temporarily made council leader after Caliskan took maternity leave.[9]

Parliamentary career

In June 2024, Caliskan was formally selected as the candidate for Barking for the 2024 general election to succeed veteran MP Margaret Hodge after the original candidate, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council Darren Rodwell, withdrew his candidacy due to sexual harassment allegations against him, which Rodwell was nevertheless cleared of days afterwards.[10][11][12][13] Caliskan is the first Turkish-Cypriot heritage Member of Parliament.[14] On 4 July, Caliskan was elected Member of Parliament for Barking with an 11,054 majority, succeeding veteran MP Margaret Hodge who stood down.[15][16] Shortly after being elected MP, Caliskan announced that she would stand down as Enfield Council leader as soon as a new leader is elected.[17] On 9 August 2024, Caliskan resigned as leader of Enfield Council with Ergin Erbil made interim leader, but remained a councillor of Enfield Council.[18][19] On 18 September, Ergin Erbil was formally elected leader of Enfield Council.[20] Caliskan has following her election as MP effectively resigned as a National Executive Committee (NEC) member.[21] On 28 November 2024, following her resignation as a councillor for Jubilee ward, Ian Barnes was elected to replace Caliskan.[22][23]

Government experience

On 7 September 2025, Caliskan was given a new job as Comptroller of the Household, which means she was the third most senior UK Government Whip in the House of Commons; she is also the first Turkish-Cypriot heritage MP to be appointed a Government Whip.

On 12 May 2026, following multiple government resignations, Caliskan was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.[24] She left government in July 2026.

Personal life

Caliskan is married to Turkish international relations academic and author Emre Caliskan.[25] In 2024, she gave birth to her first child.[25] Her mother, Alev Cazimoglu, is also a member of Enfield Council.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Election latest: Tories to collapse in worst result ever, exit poll projects; Farage forecast to become an MP". Sky News. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Nesil Caliskan". LinkedIn. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "The student leaders that could be about to enter Parliament". Wonkhe. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Nesil Caliskan breaks new ground after being elected Leader of Enfield Council". T-Vine. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Councillor's pride at being elected Enfield's first female leader". Enfield Independent. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  6. ↑ Weakley, Kirsty (22 May 2023). "New Labour group leader elected unopposed". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  7. ↑ Shehadi, Lemma (6 June 2024). "How Muslim councillor Nesil Caliskan is leading the Starmerite candidate charge". The National. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  8. ↑ Neame, Katie (23 September 2022). "Councillors elect Caliskan and Evans as NEC local government representatives". LabourList. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  9. ↑ "Deputy to step in as council leader takes maternity leave". Enfield Independent. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "Darren Rodwell withdraws Labour candidacy after allegations". Inside Housing. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "Council leader is general election candidate in east London". Enfield Independent. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  13. ↑ "Barking and Dagenham Council leader cleared of misconduct allegation". BBC News. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "Nesil Çalışkan, Labour candidate for UK general election". TCE. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "Barking | General Election 2024". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  16. ↑ "Barking remains Labour safe seat as Nesil Caliskan elected as MP". Barking and Dagenham Post. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Nesil Caliskan set to stand down as Enfield Council leader". Enfield Dispatch. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  18. ↑ Dispatch, Enfield (9 August 2024). "Nesil Caliskan resigns as leader of Enfield Council". Enfield Dispatch. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  19. ↑ Dispatch, Enfield (12 August 2024). "Caliskan continues as councillor despite leadership resignation". Enfield Dispatch. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  20. ↑ "New Enfield Council leader faces 'serious challenges'". Tottenham Independent. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  21. ↑ Neame, Katie (16 July 2024). "NEC elections: Starmerites lead left on CLP nominations despite reps withdrawing to become MPs". LabourList. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Results of the Jubilee ward by-election". Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  23. ↑ "Labour wins Jubilee by-election". Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  24. ↑ "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  25. 1 2 3 "General Election 2024: Could Labour's trailblazing Nesil Caliskan become the first female Turkish Cypriot MP?". T-Vine. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nesil Caliskan.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.