Liezel Longboan
Anthony ‘Tony’ Vaughan made a double historic win in the UK’s recently concluded 2024 general election: he is the first politician of Filipino heritage to be elected to the British parliament. He is also the first Labour Party MP candidate to win in Folkestone and Hythe in 74 years.
Since its creation in 1950, Folkestone and Hythe has been a Conservative Party stronghold.
“You voted for change and it starts right here,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on his his election on Friday, 5 July.
Mr Vaughan unseated Damian Collins of the Conservative Party by a huge margin. He received 15,020 votes, while Mr Collins got 11,291 votes, giving Labour a majority of 3,729.
As a barrister for 17 years, Mr. Vaughan focused on public law, human rights and equality law in his practice. His top priority as an MP is to save the NHS, making more services delivered locally, harness AI to speed up diagnosis, and focus on prevention. He also promised to act on the housing crisis and cut the cost of living.
Filipino roots
In June, Mr Vaughan attended the Philippine Independence Day celebration of the Filipino community in Folkestone. The then Labour candidate talked about his mother, Aida ‘Inday’ Lagrimas, during his speech. Originally from San Roque, Northern Samar in the Philippines, Mr. Vaughan’s mum came to the UK in 1973 and worked as a cleaner and a carer for the NHS.
“I’m really proud to be here because I know that my mum will be sitting at the back and she’d be so embarrassed that I’m drawing attention to her,” he said smiling in a video taken during the event.
Mr Vaughan praised his mum saying, “She spent her whole life basically serving other people.” He spoke of her compassion, hard work, and dedication to service.
While the new MP has not talked much about his Filipino heritage in his social media posts, the first photo in the gallery section of his website is a family picture showing his mum and dad holding their two young children.
Expectations and hopes
On his election, Filipinos in Britain congratulated him and shared the news on social media. When asked about their views on Mr Vaughan’s historic win, most of them spoke about seeing him as a representative and voice of Filipinos in parliament.
Folkestone resident and Filipino community leader Melissa Grace Dizon said “For me, he is a symbol of hope for every British-Filipino and an inspiration for the next generation of Filipinos to work hard and make a difference in the UK.”
For Filipino entrepreneur MJ Robles, he said “Iba din kung may representation tayo kahit half-Filipino sya. (It’s different if we have representation even if he is half-Filipino).” He explained that in the national census, Filipinos use the category “Other Asian.” He hopes that Mr Vaughan will help change this as an MP. “This may be the first step for us to be heard as Filipinos,” he said.
Immigration and human rights solicitor Crystal Dias said that “I hope that Tony will leverage his influence to convince the new Labour government to reinstate previous domestic worker rules. Reintroducing the right for overseas domestic workers to change employers within the UK, renew their visas, and eventually settle would protect these workers from exploitation.”
Half of the overseas domestic workers who come to the UK are from the Philippines. They have formed associations in the UK to advocate for their rights and improve their wellbeing.
