Sarah Sackman

Sarah Rebecca Sackman (born October 1984) is a British barrister and Labour Party politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Finchley and Golders Green, and as the Solicitor General for England and Wales since 2024. She has gained prominence for her work in environmental and public law, as well as her political activities within the Labour Party.

Early life & education
Sarah Sackman was born and raised in East Finchley. She attended South Hampstead High School, where she was head girl. Sackman went on to study history at Queens' College, Cambridge, where she graduated with a first-class BA degree in 2006. She would go on to obtain a Graduate Diploma in Law with distinction at City, University of London and an LLM from Harvard Law School specialising in cities, housing, local government and poverty law.

Legal career
Sackman took a Scholarship in 2008 as a Judicial clerkship at the Supreme Court of Israel in Jerusalem. From October 2008 Sackman worked as a Barrister and Housing expert for Francis Taylor Building, a chambers specialising in planning law. Sackman took on Human Rights training at the British Council in Yangon, Burma in 2013.

In 2017 The Markaz El Tathgheef el-Eslami group (MTE) bought Golders Green Hippodrome with the intention of converting it into an Islamic centre; there were a number of objections from residents who cited concerns, such as parking and congestion, but some opposed the move on the grounds of a Muslim centre being located in an area (Golders Green) with a large Jewish population. Sackman, acting for MTE, said it was hard to see how it had “not been treated differently to other religious groups who have previously used the building.” It is notable that in 2021 Hillsong Church purchased the venue.

Sackman contributed a chapter to Community-Led Generation - A Toolkit for Residents and Planners by Pablo Sendra and Daniel Fitzpatrick on using the law to and challenging redevelopment through courts. The book was published in 2020. Between September 2021 to 2024 Sackman worked as a barrister at Matrix Chambers along with Richard Hermer the current Attorney General for England and Wales  and worked on a number of cases mainly focused on Public and Environmental Law. In 2022 Sackman worked on the Appellant team in R (on the application of Coughlan) v Minister for the Cabinet Office against the Government trial of voter ID arguing that it was unlawful to be made under Representation of the People Act 2000. The appeal was dismissed on grounds that section 10 enabled pilot schemes under the condition that the government encouraged voting which it did where reduction in voter fraud increased voter confidence.

2015 General Election
In 2015 Sackman stood for the Labour Party in Finchley and Golders Green; she won the preliminary selection against Alon Or-Bach and Catherine Tuitt. She lost the election to the incumbent Mike Freer who won with a majority of 5,662 votes. Sackman has been Vice-Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement since 2015. In 2016 Sackman gave a speech on 80th anniversary of Battle of Cable Street.

2024 General Election
In 2024 Sackman stood again for the same constituency against Cllr Arjun Mittra and won the preliminary. Sackman stood on supporting economic growth, particularly in small businesses, cutting business rates for small businesses and freezing energy prices, investing in skills and giving grants to provide work for young unemployed. Putting more money into the NHS, a new system where care for the elderly. Get more police back on the streets. She holds that a Labour government would continue to regard British ties with Israel as important. But she said it must continue to advocate for a negotiated peace with the Palestinians, and for “democratic values”.

Sackman was backed by a number of Labour politicians including Prime Ministers Gordon Brown, Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Sackman won the election with a majority of 4,581 votes. In her victory speech which was held at Royal Air Force Museum Sackman said the community would “triumph over hate” in a campaign in which Labour’s record on tackling anti-semitism came under the spotlight. and that she would help to build: “A society where nurses aren’t forced to visit foodbanks; where women and girls aren’t afraid to walk home at night; where we act when we see the planet on fire, and where we welcome rather than demonise those, like my ancestors, who come to this country fleeing persecution.”

Member of Parliament
Inside Housing listed Sackman as one of eight newly elected MPs who would be advocates for the cause of social housing in the new Labour government due to her experience with planning and environmental law and her work with the charity Shelter.

On 9 July 2024, she was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales. Sackman took her Oath on the Hebrew Bible. Though did wish to have taken the oath on Hertz Chumash which was not held by the House of Commons Library, then on the 1743 edition of the Hebrew Bible however was informed it was too delicate to remove.

Personal life
Sackman is a member of New North London Synagogue where she had led children Shabbat services, she is both Ashkenazi and Sephardi, she has two children and is married to a lawyer. They married in Bevis Marks Synagogue. Sarah's father is a north London solicitor of east European descent who moved to East London and 300 years ago her mother’s family moved from Tarragona Spain, Italy and Morocco to Gibraltar, where they own a 150-year old perfumery. Sackman served as School governor for four years in a state primary in Camden, and has also volunteered at Toynbee Hall Free Legal Advice Centre.