Sarah Wollaston Independent MP
Sarah Wollaston has been the MP for Totnes since 2010. She has lived in South Devon for 25 years, and worked on the frontline in the NHS for 24 years – including as a GP, a teacher to junior doctors and medical students, and an examiner for the Royal College of GPs.
Sarah also spent several years as a police forensic examiner for Devon and Cornwall Police, mostly working with victims of sexual or domestic violence.
Sarah came into politics after the Conservative Party called on those with non-political backgrounds to bring their practical experience to Westminster. She was selected to contest the Totnes seat after the UK’s first-ever fully open postal primary, which allowed every voter in the constituency, regardless of their political affiliation, to choose the candidate.
In 2014, Sarah was named the Spectator Backbencher of the Year – an accolade also given to her by the Political Studies Association in 2015.
In 2014 she was elected Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee of the House of Commons, a position to which she was re-elected by MPs from across the House in 2015 and 2017. During her time in the Chair, the Committee has published a number of influential reports on areas such as Children’s and Adolescents’ Mental Health Services (CAMHS), end of life care, primary care, and childhood obesity. She has also campaigned on social care, local health services and public health.
In 2017 she was elected Chair of the Liaison Committee, the group of all Select Committee Chairs which regularly questions the Prime Minister.
Away from politics, Sarah likes to find time for running or cycling with her husband Adrian.
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