Joan Ryan

Joan is the Labour Member of Parliament for Enfield North, having first held the seat from 1997-2010.

She is a dedicated and committed campaigner for Enfield having led a vigorous community campaign to save Chase Farm Hospital, which has subsequently lost its A+E and maternity services under the current Conservative Government. She also campaigned for new and better schools in Enfield including the state-of-the-art Oasis Academy and Keys Meadow primary school. In addition, she led the successful campaign to stop the sell-off of Forty Hall and organised many successful community initiatives such as job fairs, health days and youth events.

Joan served as a Home Office Minister during the Labour Government, where she led the Government's work tackling crime, anti-social behaviour and illegal immigration. She also served as the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Cyprus.

Before politics, she was a teacher for 14 years. Since 2010, Joan returned to teaching, served as Chair of the Riders for Health Charity, which works to improve access to healthcare in Africa, and was the Chief Executive and Policy Advisor to the Global Tamil Forum - promoting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

She has lived in Enfield with her family for nearly twenty years. She is a mum and grandmum.