Abtisam Mohamed: meet the new Sheffield Central MP, the first of Yemeni heritage in the House of Commons

“I thought I was doing too much, I was juggling a lot,” she says.

At the time, she was chief executive of the charity ACT, busy working as a solicitor and also a Cabinet member on Sheffield City Council.

“The whole Covid period was exhausting, particularly with decisions around schools closing,” she remembers.

However, too many people told her to keep going, and now three years on she has been elected as the MP for Sheffield Central.

Abtisam had to beat Eddie Izzard in a selection contest after long-serving Labour MP Paul Blomfield stood down.

She is the first person of Yemeni heritage to be elected to the House of Commons, and the first female Arab MP.

Abtisam was born in Yemen and moved to Sheffield at the age of eight to join her father and grandfather, who were working in the steel industry.

Just weeks after getting elected, riots driven by far-right hooligans erupted across Yorkshire and the whole of England.

Abtisam says this was the first time ever she questioned whether she should go into Sheffield city centre.

“It was a really, really depressing week,” she says, recalling how her family members were told to stay at home for their safety.

“It felt like a targeted attack on our existence, it was pretty tough.”

Abtisam wants to focus on community regeneration, which she believes can reduce the anger politicians have been facing.

The new Labour MP said the number one issue for her Sheffield Central constituents is the climate crisis.