By Emmanuel Urhiofe – The recent May local elections have seen more councillors added to the growing number of Black Asian Minority Ethnic councillors in the UK. They were drawn from the Conservative, Labour and the Liberal Democratic parties, while one was elected as the next Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire. The elections were held on 6 May 2021 for more than 145 English Local Councils for around 5000 seats, 13 directly elected mayors in England and 39 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales. There was also the London Mayoral election as well as the UK parliament by-election for the constituency of Hartlepool. The elections were delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BAME community wants political influence and better representation in mainstream politics, thereby increase participation. Since 2018, the number of BAME councillors occupying local council seats have risen exponentially, thanks to an incremental increase in voters turn out, political engagement and awareness within the ethnic minority community. So expectations are high from the newly elected representatives.
Joanne Anderson a Labour councillor has been elected as the mayor of Liverpool, making history by becoming the first black woman ever to lead a major British city.
Joanne said she was “proud and honoured” to be the first black woman directly elected as a mayor of a UK city and the city’s first ever-female leader.
“Liverpool has always been a city of firsts, one that does things differently and that charters its own path. Today we made history,” she said.
“Today is the beginning of the fresh start we all want and need for Liverpool,” said the newly elected Mayor of Liverpool.
Among those who were recently elected as counsellors are Cllr Fatuma Nalule who got elected in a bye-election in the newly elected London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) Thames Ward Councillor; Sem Moema who got elected as a London Assembly member, Festus Akinbusoye, who was elected as Bedfordshire’s next Police & Crime Commissioner; Josh Babarinde OBE who won the election to Eastbourne Borough Council and Yetunde Juliet Adeshile who won as Councillor in the Basildon Council.
“Thank you for making me make the right decision” – Cllr Fatuma Natule
who contested under the umbrella of the Labour party thanked the residents and all the people who assisted in her election for helping her make the right decision. Ms Natule scored 1,545 votes followed by her closest challenger, Andrew Boff was Conservative candidate Andrew Boff, who received 939 votes.
Seating councillor Rodwell described Ms Natule as a “wonderful candidate.”
He said: “We’re a Labour borough through and through, and I think people know that – despite our difficulties – we’re all in this together.”
The four remaining candidates who contested the election were – Independent Sabbir Zamee, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition’s Pete Mason, Lucy Ewube Baiye-Gaman, from the Christian Peoples Alliance Party, and Liberal Democrat Afzal Sayad Munna
“I will fight for migrant rights and make a difference” – Sem Moema.
Newly elected Sem Moema who represents Labour for Hackney, Islington and Watham Forest (North-East) and was newly selected into the London Assembly said he will stand up for migrant communities and work for renter’s rights.
Ms Moema, whose parents fled Apartheid South Africa in the 70s to find a fairer society in Britain, said that the London Assembly should help councils to build council homes, in part by maximising funding and releasing the GLA’s surplus land.
Writing on her campaign website, Ms Moema said “I’ve been a Labour member and activist for almost 20 years, and I have served two terms as a councillor, driven to join and make a difference to the community I live in.
“In these difficult times, we need visible and vocal BAME representatives to defend the diverse and open boroughs we have created in Waltham Forest, Islington and Hackney. We need to build a society based on our shared Labour values, truly for the many and not the few.
“I know the North East London constituency because it’s my home: I used to live in Islington, and I helped housing associations to build social housing in the borough. I live in Hackney; I was the chair of Hackney South CLP and I’m a councillor and cabinet member there. And I worked for several years in Waltham Forest and my mum and sister live there now.”
“I will focus on improving confidence on the police” – Akinbusoye.
Festus Akinbusoye, 42, who was elected as Bedfordshire’s next Police & Crime Commissioner, received 59,7934 votes to defeat the second candidate, David Michael MBE, the Labour candidate who received 50,815 votes.
As part of his campaign, Mr Akinbusoye pledged to put policing back at the heart of rural and urban communities, improve public confidence in the police force and take a tough line on drug dealing and organised crime.
As elected members, PCCs are directly accountable to the communities they serve. They attend monthly Police and Crime Panel meetings, where panel members made up of local councillors and independent lay members scrutinise their actions in running the force.
The new commissioner parades high profile educational certificates. He obtained a Bachelors (Hons) Degree in Business and Communications, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations. He went further to obtain a Masters in International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London with majors in International Law, International Relations and Economics.
Mr Akinbusoye has worked with Members of Parliament to lobby government in changing legislation, which led to the banning of a substance called khat in 2014, which up until then was freely available in the UK despite being illegal in most of Europe and North America.
“I am fighting to reduce the rate of teenage crime” – Josh Babarinde
Josh Babarinde OBE who won the election to Eastbourne Borough Council retained the seat in Hampden Park for the Liberal Democrats.
The seat had been left vacant after the departure of Liberal Democrat Dean Sabri, who stepped down earlier this year “due to work commitments.”
Mr Babarinde who also qualified as a COVID-19 vaccinator was honoured with an OBE by the Queen in 2020 for services to criminal justice, social enterprise and the economy.
The by-election was triggered after Liberal Democrat Dean Sabri, who was first elected as a Borough councillor for the ward in 2019, stood down in January due to new work commitments.
Community campaigner Josh Babarinde OBE, who was born and bred in Hampden Park, built a career as a social entrepreneur working with ex-offenders and is on a mission to give back as a councillor.
Since the first lockdown, Josh has led the award-winning #EBtogether campaign, a volunteer effort to telephone over 5,000 shielding residents across Eastbourne and Willingdon to connect them with local support.
Local resident Josh also led a town-wide drive to source and donate video phones to care homes so that their residents could still keep in touch with their families when visits weren’t allowed.
“I am honoured to be elected “– Yetunde Juliet Adeshile
Yetunde Juliet Adeshile who won as Councillor in the Basildon Council said she was very honoured to be elected as the Councillor for Vange Ward, Basildon, Essex.
The elected councillor who is a registered Chartered and experienced Project and Programme Management professional and a full member of Association of Project Management (APM) said she would devote her energy to the service of the people.
She said: “God gave me the grace and honour and privilege to be the first African British-Nigerian to sign into Basildon Council as a councillor. Also, the first African (Nigerian) to stand in the Borough election”.
In a message of congratulating her, Operation Black Vote posted on her Facebook: “She has done it. Congratulation”.
Another friend Kemi Tomide-Johnson Klimax exclaimed: “Congratulations. The Lord will be with you all the way”.
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