HAVE YOU CONSIDERED STANDING TO BE A LOCAL COUNCILLOR?

By Selina Seesunkur

I was elected in 2018 and, having been a Councillor for over 3 years, I have met some incredibly wonderful people, who rather selflessly help members of their community and make their towns a better place. They do not do this to pursue political aspirations or to further professional ones, they are genuinely the salt of the earth and I feel humbled to know them. I believe that, to change the face of politics, we need more people who are community-focused and fewer traditional cut-throat politicians. This might be an ideological statement to make because there is a point in every politician’s life where you have to fight to survive, whether it is to be re-elected for another term, or just to gain a place in the management team or cabinet. However, I truly believe the purest of community champions would win any day of the week, as they are winners to the people they were elected to serve.

Being a Councillor is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done, but can you be a community champion without entering politics? Yes, of course you can. We have quite a few residents who campaign because the Council have proposed something their community does not agree with, from developments to road closures. They petition, protest, and more.

So why become a Councillor if you can make a difference anyway? Well, there are things Councillors do that an activist or member of the public cannot do. In summary, if your Party is in control of the Council, i.e., they hold the majority of the seats, Councillors run the Council. This means they can set local policies, be part of a Cabinet that decides which schemes to run, and manage the public purse, (budget). If your party is in opposition, Councillors scrutinise the policies, schemes and budgets to ensure taxpayers’ money is being spent properly and in accordance with the needs of the community. Whilst Opposition Councillors have less power, they tend to petition and challenge more, and therefore can still make a significant difference.

Aerial Shot by Simon Taylor showing the land between the leisure centre and Larks Wood – 7th October 2020

In my borough (Waltham Forest, which is Labour controlled) the Council decided to propose a mature green forest space as a development site for over 200 homes. This would have replaced precious woodland with big blocks of flats. We had just entered lockdown, so traditional methods of gaining support, like door-knocking were off limits. Given this space was enriched with wildlife and mature trees, residents wanted to save the space, as did I. Once we had a consensus, my colleagues and I launched a petition and campaign “Save the Green Space”. Residents were so passionate about this space, we collectively gathered over 2,000 signatures and over 380 residents wrote letters to the Council. We were successful in saving this space, once known for its famous Larkswood Lido.

However, the story did not end there. A small Community Group, the Friends of Ainslie and Larks Wood (FOAL), teamed up with the Highams Park Plan Group and we all worked together on an application to designate the land as green open space, which would have protected it against future development. Given the overwhelming response by the public, the Council agreed to designate the space, meaning the space will not be built on during my lifetime and beyond. It is a legacy which will resonate with FOAL and me forever. It is moments like that which make me proud to be a Councillor. I was able to champion the cause with the Council as I was part of the Council and it was impossible for Officers and Councillors to ignore me. I was able to raise it at key meetings including Cabinet and the scrutiny committee and, because we were in lockdown, these meetings were televised, making it hard to ignore. If you have a bit of spare time and want to make a difference to your local area, please consider standing to be a Councillor, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of your lifetime.

Selina Seesunkur



MAMA, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU

By Tamkeen Shaikh

One of the most common questions asked to me is “Why The Conservative Party?” My answer, which some find surprising, is that the Conservative Party is the only party that unites the country, and believes in equality by creating opportunity for all. 

It’s the Conservative Party that treats the people equally before the law. I believe in the moral, legal, and political equality before the law and so does the Conservative Party. We never would want to leave anyone behind. 

I am most passionate about creating opportunity by providing people with excellent education and training opportunities and supporting small businesses which in turn boosts the economy, enabling people to succeed. 

With that belief and faith, I joined the Party in 2015. In Barking, which is the heartland of Labour, supporting the Conservative Party was very uncommon. However, I was determined that Barking and its residents deserved better. 

I was born in India, graduated in Accountancy & Statistics, after which I became a journalist. I always dreamt to visit other parts of the world, so 17 years ago I moved to London to pursue my Masters and I fell in love with the city.  Since joining the Conservative Party there has been no looking back, I was first elected as Deputy Chair Political in 2016 for The Barking Conservative Association and later in 2018 as Chair. I quickly understood that funding is the key for any association to be successful. I decided to run a membership drive and hold fundraising events. Barking held its first ever fundraiser organised by the Association, well-supported by neighbouring associations. 

With a strong belief in Conservatism, during the General Elections 2019, I stood as Parliamentary candidate for Barking and increased the vote share by 4%.. Online abuse is something that has become very common. Standing as Parliamentary candidate, I experienced this first hand, with some people taking things beyond the pale. I received some messages saying that  “I was a sell out”, “You will burn in hell fire”, and was also accused of taking money, all  because I was a member of the Conservative Party. 

I was angry and upset to read these messages but they were of course unfounded accusations, and I saw them as a political attack to bring me down. I decided to move on without wasting more time on it. I am working on breaking down barriers and the only way to respond to such attacks was to carry on with what I was doing. Empowering people and speaking my mind fearlessly. 

Standing as a candidate in the general election taught me a lot. The biggest lesson that I learnt was to 'Filter, ignore and move on.' 

After moving to Southend in 2019, last year I stood as a councillor candidate in Southend, as soon as I posted this on social media the abuse began again, with comments that I was an extremist because I wear a hijab, which I do out of choice. This time I decided to call out the perpetrator. The support from Southend Conservative group, from the public, local MPs and of course my friends and family was unbelievable. It gave me so much strength and confidence to fight against such negativity. 

Despite accusations of Islamophobia against the Party, my hijab has never been an obstacle in my political career. The Conservative Party has welcomed me with open arms and I have never experienced any discrimination. Equality is something that society as a whole is fighting for and we Conservatives are at the forefront of that effort. To take this forward, I have joined the Conservatives Against Racism for Equality (CARE), a Conservative group that firmly believes in equality. 

Apart from politics, I have a huge interest in working with all communities, to build a more cohesive society. With Barking being one of the deprived areas of London, homelessness is something that needs to be addressed and we must all play our part. Lat year, I was part of an initiative to give a Christmas meal to the homeless. I not only prepared, but also served the meal at ‘The Barking Salvation Army”. This was a great success and really helped to build some community spirit.  

Last but not the least, after a long day of canvassing when I return home its very rewarding to hear my 8-year old daughter say to me, “Mama I am so proud of you.” It just empowers me to strive even more harder and gives me the assurance that nothing is impossible. 

Hard work and perseverance can achieve anything in life… We all are humans no one less or more than the other.

Tamkeen Shaikh

AUKUS LOOKS TO BE GLOBAL BRITAIN’S FIRST SUCCESS STORY – THE THREE SEAS INITIATIVE (3SI) COULD BE THE SECOND ONE.

By Filip Derewenda

 While AUKUS is a key security instrument to maintain regional peace and stability, the Three Seas Initiative ensures European stability through trade and investment cooperation. If Global Britain wants to succeed in maintaining a stable rules-based international order, it ought to consider engaging with the Initiative.

The AUKUS security pact will see the United States and the United Kingdom assist Australia with developing and deploying nuclear-powered submarines. The strong criticism from our French allies notwithstanding, AUKUS is the first major post-Brexit foreign policy victory. Global Britain has created a new avenue for transatlantic cooperation and stronger ties with Australia through a collaborative approach to international stability. However, plenty is yet to be done to build a democratic bulwark against authoritarian expansionism.

While security cooperation is a key component in maintaining stability in the rules-based international order, trade and investment cooperation is an equally important tool. Earlier this month, I contributed to a 10-page report on the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) and the Opportunities for Global Britain, which outlined the mechanisms of the 3SI and highlighted the exceptional political and economic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe. Most importantly, the report also discussed the geopolitical competition currently taking place in the region and demonstrated the 3SI’s ability to act as a strategic counterforce to the growing challenges. 

The Three Seas Initiative is an economic platform that aims to intensify regional cooperation through infrastructure, energy, and digital interconnectivity projects. The twelve founding members of the initiative are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Germany, the United States, and the European Commission are the Initiative’s official partners. Since its inception in 2016, the 3SI has hosted over 5 intergovernmental summits and has established a rapidly growing 3SI Investment Fund to attract international private and public sector capital, which includes Washington as one of its contributors.

As unpacked in the aforementioned report, the 3SI’s success is inextricably linked with the region’s ability to counter Moscow’s growing energy dominance and offers Central and Eastern Europe, the fastest growing European economic region, an alternative to Beijing’s ‘17+1’ investment platform. However, despite its quick development since 2016, the 3SI needs significant political and economic support in order to fulfil its full potential. Consequently, in cooperation with the Initiative’s official partners, many other international players such as Japan have expressed their interest in engaging with the Three Seas Initiative and its institutions.

Global Britain, alongside its recent success in security cooperation, should consider following its closest allies in establishing a new avenue for trade and investment cooperation via the 3SI. A UK-backed 3SI would not only open the British public and private sector to over 157 infrastructure, energy, and digital interconnectivity projects, but would most importantly ensure that stability and prosperity are maintained on the Old Continent.  

Filip Derewenda

I believe that discussions around British foreign policy in the context of Central and Eastern Europe are quite scarce in mainstream media, thus I believe this article provides the readers with a new perspective of post-Brexit Britain and educated them about the region more generally.

The full report on the Three Seas Initiative and the Opportunities for Global Britain can be found here - https://emerging-europe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Report-on-the-Three-Seas-Initiative.pdf  

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