What assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending business rates relief to small businesses that are not in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors.
Awaiting answer.
The Westminster lensMP · Labour Party · Sitting since 4 Jul 2024
Sojan Joseph.
Labour Party MP for Ashford.
Commons votes
486/521
93% attendance · top 2% of MPs
Party alignment
22%
on whipped divisions
Speeches
210
across 119 debates · 37,984 words
Written Qs
105
104 answered · 1 pending
Dispatch
31 May 2026
31 May 2026
Partly aligned with the seat’s councils.
Sojan Joseph is the Labour MP for Ashford, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024.
By issue — what do they vote on most?
Top eight by total divisions voted, this parliament. Volume measures engagement, not direction — see Notable Votes for free-vote moments and rebellions.
Source · The Public Whip · Hansard
Notable votes — free votes & rebellions.
Moments where the whip was free, or where Joseph broke ranks. Free votes are the truer signal of personal stance.
| Date | Bill / motion | Vote | Whip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Third Reading | No | Freevs party |
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 94 | No | Freevs party |
| 20 Jun 2025 | Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 24 | Yes | Freevs party |
Words spoken, by topic.
Lab avg / MP All-MP avgper topic, words per MP
Source · Hansard
Recent contributions.
19 Nov
Suicide: Reducing the Stigma
“Emphasises that reducing suicide stigma requires a collective effort beyond mental health services, including early intervention in schools, workplaces, and community settings, wit…”
12 Nov
SEND Provision: Kent
“Documented constituent cases of seven-month delays in council responses, welcomed £15m SEND funding increase, called for ringfenced mainstream school funding, specialist hubs in ex…”
13 Oct
International Rail Services: Ashford
“Championed restoration as economic catalyst for Kent, criticized previous government's 2015 sale of UK's Eurostar stake, and urged government to pressure ORR to enable competition.”
10 Sept
Suicide Prevention
“Emphasises suicide prevention is broader than mental health alone; identifies multiple risk factors including gambling, financial difficulty, isolation; advocates for whole-of-soci…”
Bluesky is the only social platform we ingest at the row level. The strip below is computed by classifying each post for substance (vs reposts, social mentions, scheduling) and then by tone (critical / measured / supportive) per target.
@sojanjosephmp.bsky.socialLast 60 days · 37 posts
Celebratory → warm, supportive
Labour Party37
Posts
25
Substantive
6
Health
Most criticises
Conservative Party 1
Government 1
Most supports
Government 3
Beaver Green Primary 1
East Kent College 1
Recent substantive posts.
| When | Topic | Tone | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May | Local Government | celebratory | “A good site visit to Ashford Household Waste and Recycling Centre, which will be reopening full time from tomorrow. I know the closure has caused frustration f…” |
| 22 May | Education | celebratory | “Great to visit East Kent College in Ashford to talk about Further Education College Condition Allocations (FECCA). I’m very pleased that EKC will be receiving …” |
| 22 May | Economy & Jobs | measured | “A positive meeting this morning with the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce to discuss Government plans to support small and medium-sized businesses, and what mor…” |
Current memberships.
Select, joint and other committees Joseph currently sits on. Committee work is where much of the line-by-line scrutiny of bills and departments happens, away from the chamber.
| Committee | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Audit Committee | Member | Select |
Source · UK Parliament Committees API
What this means.
Committee member
Committee seats are where backbenchers shape legislation and hold departments to account. Joseph sits on one.
Top departments asked.
| Department | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Social Care | 27 | 25.7% |
| Department for Transport | 19 | 18.1% |
| Home Office | 12 | 11.4% |
| Department for Education | 11 | 10.5% |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 8 | 7.6% |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 5 | 4.8% |
| Treasury | 4 | 3.8% |
| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 4 | 3.8% |
Most recent.
What steps he is taking to support small and medium sized businesses in a) Ashford constituency and b) Kent.
The Government’s Plan for Small Businesses, published in July, sets out the measures that the Government is taking to support small businesses across the UK. This includes tackling late payments, boosting access to finance, and removing red…read full →
Innovation and Technology, if she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the rules governing data protection that require sites and services using age verification to delete submitted information once that data has been used.
The Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the effectiveness of rules requiring the deletion of data submitted for age verification once it has been used.The UK’s data protection framework requires personal data to be minimi…read full →
What recent assessment she has had made of the potential merits of extending tax relief for pension contributions for people aged 75 and over.
The Government wishes to encourage pension saving, to help ensure that people have an income, or funds on which they can draw, throughout retirement. This is why, for the majority of savers, pension contributions are tax-free. This makes pe…read full →
Register of interests.
Results UK Name of donor: Results UK
Address of donor: DC-207, Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation, 6 St George's Circus, London SE1 6FE, UK… |
Be Friends Switzerland Name of donor: Be Friends Switzerland
Address of donor: Post Fach 10, 8126 Zumikon, ZH Switzerland.
Estimate of the probable value (or amo… |
Type of land/property: Residential property (House)
Type of land/property: Residential property (House)
Number of properties: 1
Location: Onamthuruthu, Kottayam, Kerala, India
(Registered 2… |
Appointed as honorary vice chair of the Catholic Union of Great Britain. This i Appointed as honorary vice chair of the Catholic Union of Great Britain. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 4 November 2025
(Re… |
Source · Members API · Last amended 16 Dec 2025
IPSA expenses.
| Category | £ | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Staffing | 124,306 | 78.4% |
| Accommodation | 14,990 | 9.5% |
| Office Costs | 13,435 | 8.5% |
| MP Travel | 3,817 | 2.4% |
| Staff Travel | 1,732 | 1.1% |
| Total · 120 claims | 158,573 | 100% |
Source · IPSA · FY 24_25
| Date | Item | Type | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 3 Jun | What assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of the Defence Growth Deal on Northern Ireland. | Tabled | Northern Ireland |
| Year | Constituency | Votes | Share | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ashford | 15,262 | 32.5% | Won |
2024 — full result, Ashford.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sojan JosephWON | Lab | 15,262 | 32.5 |
Showing the MP’s own row only. Full result table: see Ashford →
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
DivisionsHansard
The Public Whip
Updated 31 May 2026
The Public Whip
Updated 31 May 2026
SpeechesHansard · 37,984 words
22 Jul 2024 → 21 May 2026
22 Jul 2024 → 21 May 2026
Written QsMembers API
105 tabled · 104 answered
105 tabled · 104 answered
CommitteesCommittees API
1 current
1 current
RegisterMembers API
4 entries
4 entries
ExpensesIPSA
£158,573 · FY 24_25
£158,573 · FY 24_25
Order paperUK Parliament
Refreshed daily
Refreshed daily
ElectionsElectoral Commission
DCLEAPIL
DCLEAPIL