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Anna Sabine’s emergency surgery led to the loss of her voice. The Frome and East Somerset MP tells Ben Gartside how she is returning to Parliament more determined than ever to be heard
When Anna Sabine finished a routine media appearance on Politics Live in the spring, she returned to her office and received an email that would prove life-changing.
Her parliamentary assistant warned her that they had been sent a “really weird” email, and they couldn’t be sure it was legitimate.
“It wasn’t even a constituent. It was a random man. I was on the BBC, and it was from a guy who was an ear, nose and throat surgeon in the West Midlands. He said: ‘I’m sorry, this is a really weird email, but do you know you’ve got quite a big lump on the left side of your thyroid? And I think you need to get it looked at quite quickly.’”
Sabine, initially unsure, took the decision to seek medical advice and was told the lump – the size of a lemon – required removal. Within eight weeks, she was in surgery.
While relatively routine, she was warned the procedure might cause temporary damage to her vocal nerves. In the event, however, the outcome was much more severe. One of her vocal cords was completely severed, preventing her from speaking in anything above a whisper.
As the MP sought to recuperate through the June heatwave, she could tell something was wrong before doctors told her.
“That night in hospital, I was actually not able to sleep because it was so hot. I was thinking, ‘This feels really bad. What if something really bad happened?’ And I was kind of catastrophising about the end of my career.
“I was thinking about all the things I wasn’t going to be able to do. So, when he then came and told me that’s what had happened, I was almost in the worst place for it.
“I had about two days of just uncontrolled self-pity and weeping, and thinking, ‘This is the end’. And then I pulled myself together, but it was really bad to start with.”
When she returned home, communication proved difficult. Sabine’s husband has tinnitus, and her reduced voice has made things harder.
The situation has been life-altering. She has become self-conscious about her laugh, so stifles it. Before the operation, she enjoyed being comedic and doing silly voices with her family; less so now.
In Parliament, adaptation has proved easier. With her team, she devised a plan: more breaks, shorter meetings and a discussion with the House authorities about how things could be adapted.
As Parliament returns, the Frome and East Somerset MP will be back with a special microphone for speaking in the Chamber, and has been given dispensation to bring water in.
As news got around of Sabine’s new normal, reaction varied.
Today programme presenter Nick Robinson sent supportive messages to Sabine, having suffered a similar injury after surgery for lung cancer. The two have a plan to meet and discuss their experiences later in the year.
I wait with interest to see whether people are going to talk over a woman that’s struggling to speak
On the other hand, one event organiser summarily rescinded an invitation to speak at the party’s autumn conference in Brighton, presuming Sabine would quietly step back from public speaking. On the contrary, she has no such plans.
“Someone had planned to offer me a spot speaking at an event, and then they’d rescinded the invitation because they’d heard I wasn’t coming. And I thought this is interesting, but you get written off very quickly if you’re not careful. So, I’m very clear that I am coming to conference.”
As Sabine prepares to return from recess, she’s decided not to shy away from her new role as the ‘Whispering MP’.
She plans to return to broadcast media where, before her operation, she was a reliable performer for the Lib Dems: combative and canny.
“I wait with interest to see whether people are going to talk over a woman that’s struggling to speak,” she says mischievously.
On social media, Sabine is leaning into her sense of humour. “I’ve rebranded myself. I’ve got a sub-brand, as my comms manager would say, called the Whispering MP. [My staff and I] quite enjoyed the entertainment value from it.”
Sabine has recorded some videos for her Instagram parodying influencers who speak in loud whispers and has built an online following of people tracking her journey as a full-time whisperer.
“There’s a community of people now that kind of know my story. Occasionally, I’ll get a comment like, ‘Why are you whispering?’ or ‘Have you got a really bad hangover?’ And then, before I get to it, other people will jump in, going, ‘No, she had this happen to her.’ So it’s actually made it a real community on social media, in a really nice way.”
As politics returns after a quiet summer, Sabine is reflective about what the second chapter of her political life will look like.
“There’s a thing about: do I seem weak now? Like, does this make me seem weaker? Which is another reason to be really clear: I will do national media, and I will carry on campaigning.
“My constituents are not going to get any less of an MP than they had before. But there is something interesting about your character. How senior can you seem if you’re whispering? Basically, I don’t know.”
