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

THE UNTOLD SIDE EFFECTS OF COVID ON WOMEN

By Dr Sandesh Gulhane

We all know the devastation COVID has directly had on our health, from killing us to leaving us debilitated though long COVID, but for most people it is the indirect consequences that have caused the greatest suffering. Lockdown, social distancing, and the fear of COVID has deteriorated our mental health, stretched our finances to breaking point and turned 2020 in the year we all want to forget. But this impact has not been felt equally by all.  

It has been well documented that women earn less than their male counterparts across all sectors, but women also tend to hold less secure jobs, be much more likely to have work in the informal sector and also form the vast majority of single parent families. This is why women have a greater struggle against economic shocks than men. In the UK, mothers are 1.5 times more likely to have lost their job or quit than fathers during lockdown. Some of this has been caused by women home schooling their children. UCL found that women spent twice as long teaching their children whilst also bearing the brunt of childcare. This has led to women feeling their wellbeing was suffering with over 50% admitting they were struggling. This disparity was made abundantly evident through a Kings College London study that revealed men were more likely to be bored during lockdown whilst women feeling exhaustion. Of those women who continued to work throughout lockdown, many seemed to have very stressful jobs, with women making up 77% of healthcare workers, 83% social care, 92% childcare and 58% retail staff.   

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Women are also suffering from an exponential rise in domestic abuse globally. In the UK alone, 47 women are suspected to have been murdered during the first lockdown because of domestic abuse in figures released by the charity Counting Dead Women. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline saw a massive increase in calls it received during both lockdowns. The struggle for women is that they are trapped with their abuser and cannot reach out for help. The trend has been for technology to be used to control and intimidate, with the use of webcams, smart locks, and social media. 

A study in the Lancet found that women and those living with young children had the greatest risk of increased mental distress, whilst a government report showed women suffering worse anxiety and depression. This is borne out by what I am seeing in my surgery with increasing numbers of women presenting themselves to me in distress. This ranges from patients showing mild symptoms to actively suicidal thoughts, and as lockdown has progressed the numbers have been increasing. I am also concerned about the number of women who are feeling low and struggling but not coming forward and asking for help. The cardinal signs I want women to look for are: having a low mood more often than not over 2 weeks, a change in sleeping patterns, loss of energy or concentration, becoming easily irritable with others, an increased and consistent heartrate, and repeated anxiety. If you have any of these signs then please contact your GP and we can begin the process to help you. Educational institutions like Universities offer incredible support and employers can help by ensuring that they have educational programmes about mental health, target gender inequality across their company, give staff access to helplines and support at an early stage.  

The recent tragic case of Sarah Everard has triggered a much needed debate on women’s safety and how vulnerable they can be but we need to ensure that domestic issues that often go unseen are also discussed. More must be done to narrow and eliminate the gender disparity in our society as that is the only way we can ever hope to be a fair civilization.

Dr Sandesh Gulhane

Dr Sandesh Gulhane

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A CONSERVATIVE

By Kemi Badenoch MP

I've always been a Conservative. I didn't know it when I was younger, but I certainly was.  

Margaret Thatcher was an inspiration to me, even as a child growing up in Nigeria.  Her achievements as a woman in politics in the 1970s and 1980s made her a global icon.  Moving to the UK, I learned more about her values of self-reliance, personal responsibility and free markets which I very much share.  

I joined the Conservative Party in 2005.  At the time, many people assumed the Labour Party was the party for ethnic minorities but I knew my values and so many others from immigrant have values of personal responsibility and entrepreneurship that are more aligned with Conservatives.  

Becoming an MP is a combination of perseverance and luck.  Most people who stand for election will not win and will lose at least once.  It is very easy to get disillusioned but I had a lot of encouragement and support from my party, from the party chairman to members of my local association and in fact, still do even now as a minister!

I'm proud of the party's record on diversity. It is well known that the Conservative Party has now had 2 female Prime Ministers but less about the amazing work the Prime Minister has done in attracting a more diverse talent-pool.  This has been reflected in his appointment of the most ethnically diverse Cabinet in history.

In 2009, we had 2 MPs from ethnic minority backgrounds. Following the 2019 election we now have 22 including 5 members of the cabinet and several like myself in other ministerial positions.

We have achieved this in a meritocratic way -encouraging and developing the best candidates and never with quotas or identity politics.

Identity is multi-faceted and Conservatives do not pigeonhole people based on visible traits. I am black, and also a woman, a mother, a politician, an engineer, British and Nigerian. All of these things have an effect on my views and my politics more so than my skin colour.

That is why I set objectives during my time as Vice Chair to encourage candidates with a breadth of talent and diversity of experience to stand.  Today our party is as representative as possible of our country’s diversity. To me that means increasing the number of nurses, doctors, teachers, engineers and those with STEM backgrounds, alongside encouraging ethnic minorities, women and LGBT people. I’m glad that I’ve also been able to continue this work beyond the party candidates process, and in my government roles as Treasury and Equalities minister.

The advice I would give to women specifically who want to get involved is "Don't let imposter syndrome stop you".  Politics isn't easy, but the earlier you get involved, the more you will learn.  Help others on their political journeys by getting involved in campaigning and they will help you in return - and you will make friends for life!