York Central’s newly elected MP, Rachael Maskell, caused a stir when she swore her oath of allegiance on Wednesday 20 May.

Members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown before they take their seats in Parliament after a general election or by-election and after the death of the monarch. The wording for the oath is:

“I (name of Member) swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God”.

However before swearing allegiance to the Queen Ms Maskell swore her oath to her constituents in York Central.

Afterwards Ms Maskell explained:

“The people in York are my priority. I promised to put them first and I wanted my work in Westminster to start by showing that I intend to keep that pledge.”

“As an MP I have to be in London to represent York, and the people living here. But when Parliament isn’t sitting I will be here in York, talking to people, listening to their concerns and ideas and taking them forward to Westminster. I will be out and about in the City, working every weekend, starting in Clifton this Saturday (23/05). I want to be a community champion, taking politics to people rather than asking them to bring politics to me.”