One of Labour’s new MPs has been elected as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) against antisemitism.

Joani Reid MP, who is not Jewish and represents East Kilbridge and Strathaven in Scotland, said on social media she was “honoured to have been elected… I look forward to working with colleagues across the political spectrum to address this pernicious and all too persistent scourge in our society.”

Before her election to Parliament, she had served as a councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham between 2014-2022.

Reid succeeds previous co-chairs Labour’s Catherine McKinnell, who is now Minister for School Standards and as a government minister is prohibited from playing a role in APPGs, and the former Conservative MP for West Bromwich East, Nicola Richards who stood down before the general election.

New Labour MP for Hendon, the constituency with the second largest number of Jewish voters in London, David Pinto-Duschinsky was elected as a vice-chair of the APPG.

The son of a Holocaust survivor said he was “pleased” to be elected and that, “Never has this work felt more important.”

Also elected as vice-chairs were Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, Christine Jardine and Conservative MP for Meridan and Solihull West, Saqib Bhatti.

The APPG is administered and supported by the Antisemitism Policy Trust, whose chief executive, Danny Stone MBE told the JC: "We are delighted that once again MPs and peers have placed their confidence in us. We look forward to supporting their joint efforts to tackle the dangerous and continuing spike in anti-Jewish racism."