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Josh Babarinde

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Josh Babarinde
OBE MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Eastbourne
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byCaroline Ansell
Majority12,204 (26.8%)
Liberal Democrat portfolios
2024–presentJustice
Member of Eastbourne Borough Council for Hampden Park
In office
6 May 2021 – 8 May 2023
Personal details
Born
Joshua Thomas Aderele Babarinde

(1993-06-20) 20 June 1993 (age 31)
Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Alma materLondon School of Economics
Websitewww.josh.org.uk

Joshua Thomas Aderele Babarinde OBE (born 20 June 1993) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and social entrepreneur who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne since 2024.

Early life and education

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Joshua Thomas Aderele Babarinde[1] was born in 1993 at the Eastbourne District General Hospital.[2] He studied at East Sussex College between 2009 and 2011, and went on to study politics and government at the London School of Economics.[3]

Career

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After graduation, Babarinde won a place on the social enterprise fellowship Year Here.[4] During this time he volunteered as a youth worker in East London, working with young people to find an alternative path to crime and gang violence. Inspired by this experience he founded Cracked It, a social enterprise offering smart phone repair services provided by youth at risk and young ex-offenders.[5][6] Cracked It was the recipient of Social Enterprise of the Year awards by both the Centre for Social Justice[7] and the Evening Standard.[8]

Babarinde has won numerous accolades for his social entrepreneurship achievements, including a Shackleton Award[9] and a Winston Churchill Fellowship.[10] In 2019, he was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of social entrepreneurs.[11] Babarinde went on to work as Head of Learning and Innovation at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in 2020. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for his services to criminal justice, social enterprise and the economy.[12]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Babarinde was trained by St John Ambulance to serve as a volunteer COVID-19 vaccinator in Eastbourne.[13]

Babarinde is a trustee of the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne.[14]

Political career

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During the 2019 general election, Babarinde stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow, coming in third place.

Babarinde won a by-election to Eastbourne Borough Council in the ward of Hampden Park on 6 May 2021.[15][16][17] He stood down as a councillor at the 2023 council election to focus on his parliamentary election campaign.[18]

In 2022, Babarinde contributed a chapter to The Battle for Liberal Britain, a book edited by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, in which he proposed to re-envision council estates as business incubators.[19]

Babarinde stood for Parliament in the 2024 general election in his hometown of Eastbourne, aiming to unseat Conservative MP Caroline Ansell, who had been one of his school teachers.[20] He was elected with a majority of over 12,000.[21] In September 2024, Babarinde was selected as the Liberal Democrats' parliamentary spokesperson for Justice.[22][23]

Personal life

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Babarinde is gay.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 64465". The London Gazette. 22 July 2024. p. 14085.
  2. ^ "Josh Babarinde's statement to voters". Who Can I Vote For?. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ "OBE for ESC alumni". East Sussex College. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Josh Babarinde 2015". Vimeo. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  5. ^ Purdy, Lucy (19 February 2019). "Social entrepreneurs are fired up to tackle injustice". Positive News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ MacKenzie, Stephen (27 August 2020). "Diversity boils down to a life or death issue". Big Issue. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  7. ^ Ratcliffe, Rebecca (17 March 2018). "Top social justice award for Cracked It smartphone project". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  8. ^ Lynch, Russell (1 July 2019). "Evening Standard Business Awards 2019: Keeping the highest standards". The Standard. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  9. ^ Smith, Olwen (29 October 2017). "Fighting Crime, One Cracked iPhone at a Time". tbd*. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Josh Babarinde". Churchill Fellowship. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Social Entrepreneurs, Forbes 30 under 30". Forbes. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  12. ^ "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B11.
  13. ^ Lindsey, Peter (17 February 2021). "Eastbourne's Josh Babarinde OBE qualifies as Covid-19 Vaccinator". Bournefreelive. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Two new Trustees appointed to the Towner Board". Towner Eastbourne. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  15. ^ Lindsey, Peter (7 May 2021). "Josh Babarinde wins Hampden Park By-election". Bournefreelive. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Election of Councillor" (PDF). Eastbourne Borough Council. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Councillor Josh Babarinde OBE". Eastbourne Borough Council. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023.
  18. ^ Panons, Jacob (6 April 2023). "Eastbourne councillor to step down to focus on MP race". Sussex World. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  19. ^ Davey, Ed (3 March 2022). "Ed Davey: The Battle for Liberal Britain". Lib Dem Voice. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  20. ^ Harding, Thomas (2024-06-10). "Lib Dems' manifesto puts candidates in position to tear down Tory blue wall". The National. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  21. ^ "Eastbourne results". BBC. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  22. ^ "New Lib Dem spokesperson team announced". Mark Pack. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Liberal Democrats: Our People". Liberal Democrats. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  24. ^ Reynolds, Andrew (5 July 2024). "Number of out LGBTQ+ MPs falls following election – but Labour has a reason to be proud". PinkNews. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Eastbourne
2024–present 		Incumbent
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