Sarah Pochin is the Reform UK Member of Parliament for Runcorn and Helsby, elected in a by-election on 1 May 2025 by a margin of just six votes, the narrowest by-election majority in modern British history, according to the Guardian. She overturned a 14,700-vote Labour majority from the 2024 general election, becoming Reform UK’s first female MP and the first non-Labour MP to represent Runcorn in more than fifty years. Before Westminster she was a Cheshire East councillor, the borough’s mayor and a magistrate for two decades. This guide covers her career, her by-election win, and the string of comments that have kept her in the headlines since taking her seat.
Who Is Sarah Pochin? Quick Facts
Sarah Joanne Pochin, born Hyde, was born in Gloucestershire in June 1969, making her 57 as of mid-2026 according to Wikipedia’s biographical record. She was educated at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls and studied banking and finance at Loughborough University, graduating in 1991.
She has lived in Cheshire for more than 30 years and worked for Shell plc and Novar plc before moving into the DIY retail sector. Sarah Pochin married businessman Jonathan Pochin in 1996, and the couple have two sons.
Sarah Pochin’s Career Before Parliament
Pochin entered local politics as a Conservative, winning the Willaston and Rope ward on Cheshire East Council in 2015. She was re-elected for the Bunbury ward in 2019 and served on the council until 2023.
Her party ties were far from smooth. She was expelled from the Conservative group in 2020 after accepting the role of Mayor of Cheshire East from a Labour-Independent administration, then sat as an independent until 2022, when she briefly rejoined the Conservatives to vote in that year’s leadership election, a move that got her suspended from the council’s Independent group too.
Alongside council work, she served as a Justice of the Peace in Cheshire for around 20 years. In 2018, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office reprimanded her for using her position as a magistrate to influence colleagues on a political matter and for making public a complaint that had been raised against her, concluding that her conduct fell short of the standard expected of a magistrate. Nigel Farage later described the case as politically motivated, when it resurfaced during her 2025 candidacy.
She also stood, unsuccessfully, as the Conservative candidate for Bolton South East at the 2017 general election, losing to Labour’s Yasmin Qureshi.
How Sarah Pochin Became an MP
Reform UK announced Pochin as its candidate for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election in March 2025. The seat became vacant after Labour’s Mike Amesbury resigned as MP following an assault conviction connected to an altercation with a constituent in October 2024.
Polling day was 1 May 2025, alongside a wide set of English local elections. Sarah Pochin beat Labour’s Karen Shore by just six votes, overturning a majority of 14,700 that Labour had held less than ten months earlier. The result made her Reform UK’s fifth MP overall and its first female MP in Parliament.
She was sworn in and gave her maiden speech on 12 May 2025, during debate on the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, describing her constituency as home to “beautiful, leafy villages” alongside estates dealing with drug crime and antisocial behaviour, and pointing to local industries from chemicals to farming and science.
Sarah Pochin in Parliament: Key Moments
Pochin’s first Prime Minister’s Questions came on 4 June 2025, when she asked Sir Keir Starmer whether he would follow France, Denmark and Belgium in banning the burqa on public safety grounds. The question caused a stir within her own party the next day, when Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf called it “dumb” on social media before resigning, then returning to the role within 48 hours.
In July 2025, she said she had received reports of antisocial behaviour on a street in her constituency, which she linked to houses in multiple occupation used to house immigrants. Several residents disputed the claims as untrue, and Cheshire Constabulary said it had received no such reports, while a church warden’s open letter accused her of scaremongering. Pochin said the letter contained falsehoods and personal attacks that didn’t reflect the reality on the ground.
Her voting record, tracked publicly by TheyWorkForYou, shows regular participation on immigration, employment and welfare legislation through 2026, including votes against changes to trade union balloting rules and in favour of amendments to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
Controversies and Public Comments
Two moments have drawn national attention since late 2025.
In October 2025, during a TalkTV interview about advertising, Pochin agreed with a caller’s complaint about the racial makeup of adverts, saying it frustrated her to see the current pattern, according to the BBC. She later apologised, said the comment had been phrased poorly, and pointed to a Channel 4 study showing the proportion of adverts featuring black people rose from 37% to 51% between 2020 and 2022, adding that she wasn’t racist but felt some advertising was unrepresentative of British society. Farage called the comments “wrong and ugly” but framed them within a wider row over diversity in advertising.
In June 2026, during England’s World Cup campaign, she posted a video linking the team’s results to domestic abuse rates, suggesting continued wins would help protect women’s safety. Domestic abuse charities Refuge and Women’s Aid, along with equalities minister Bridget Phillipson, criticised the framing as shifting responsibility away from perpetrators. Pochin rejected that reading, saying her point had been twisted and that she’d simply meant families should stay alert around known triggers.
Sarah Pochin’s Personal Life
In July 2026, Pochin spoke in the Commons about her mother’s experience of a forced adoption, saying her mother had been pressured by the church into giving up a baby and had kept the secret until her death. She said she later traced and reunited with the sibling privately, and the Prime Minister praised the “huge courage” of MPs who shared similar stories that day.
Her Register of Members’ Financial Interests shows a residential property in Anglesey held jointly with her husband and an unpaid, dormant company directorship, alongside a donation registered in May 2026 to support her parliamentary office.
FAQS
Who is Sarah Pochin?
Sarah Pochin is the Reform UK MP for Runcorn and Helsby, elected in a May 2025 by-election. She previously served as a Cheshire East councillor, the borough’s mayor, and a magistrate, and was formerly a Conservative Party member and candidate.
How did Sarah Pochin win her seat?
She won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election on 1 May 2025 by six votes, defeating Labour’s Karen Shore and overturning a 14,700-vote Labour majority from the 2024 general election. It remains the narrowest by-election majority in modern British history.
What did Sarah Pochin say about burkas?
At her first Prime Minister’s Questions, on 4 June 2025, she asked whether the government would ban the burqa on public safety grounds, following the lead of countries such as France and Denmark. The question wasn’t formal Reform UK policy at the time and caused brief tension within the party.
Why did Sarah Pochin leave the Conservative Party?
She was expelled from the Conservative group on Cheshire East Council in 2020 after accepting the mayoralty from a Labour-Independent administration. After a period as an independent and a brief return to the Conservatives in 2022, she joined Reform UK ahead of the 2025 by-election.
What did Sarah Pochin say about advertising?
In an October 2025 TalkTV interview, she agreed with a caller’s complaint about the racial makeup of adverts and said the pattern frustrated her. She later apologised, said the remark was poorly phrased, and cited industry diversity data to explain her broader point about representation.
What did Sarah Pochin say about the World Cup?
In June 2026, she linked England’s World Cup results to domestic abuse rates, suggesting the team’s wins helped protect women’s safety, which drew criticism from domestic abuse charities and a government minister. She said her comments had been misread and that she meant families should stay alert around known risk periods.
Is Sarah Pochin married?
Yes. She married businessman Jonathan Pochin in 1996, and the couple have two sons together.
Was Sarah Pochin ever disciplined as a magistrate?
Yes. In 2018, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office reprimanded her for using her judicial role to influence colleagues politically and for publicising a complaint made against her, concluding her conduct fell below the expected standard.
