British politician with Pakistani roots wants to overhaul mayoral election in east London
Rokhsana Fiaz wants to do away with top-down mayoral system of Sir Robin Wales, who has held office since 2002
Rokhsana Fiaz will be running for mayor against Sir Robin Wales, who has held office since 2002. Photo Courtesy of The Guardian
A British woman with Pakistani roots is challenging a politician who has been in power in a London borough for more than 15 years right now.
Rokhsana Fiaz is a second generation Pakistani whose parents moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Fiaz boasts of her humble beginnings living in Newham, one of the more deprived areas of London. Circumstances and the housing situation in the eastern London borough lead Fiaz and her family to homelessness, one of the main components in her political campaign.
Fiaz, who is contesting against Sir Robin Wales, the current mayor of Labour-dominated Newham, promises for a greater involvement of Newham citizens in the politics of the city. She wants to do away with the top-down mayoral system by the end of her first term.
"This council is too top-down, too hierarchical. The incumbent to my mind represents the past, a very ossified way of doing things,” she said in a report published in The Guardian, criticising how Wales has been running his administration ever since he took office in 2002.
Cultural Revolution: Women eager to work despite barriers
Wales has been credited with significant economic investment in the area such as building the Olympic park where the 2012 Summer Olympics was held.
He has argued that "things take time to get done", but Fiaz claims the life in Newham is far from getting improved.
"We have all this development, but residents can't afford to live in Newham," she said, adding that she herself could not easily afford to buy a home in the borough.
Fiaz has been serving as a councillor since 2014, but her political journey began as early as when she joined the Labour party at 16 years of age. Her election campaign rests interests of the citizens of Newham at the centre, advocating "against the Tory austerity agenda that is hurting [Newham] people, on homelessness, regeneration, parking, LOBOs, Stop and Search and youth provision."
She describes herself as "a candidate for everyone, hoping for support from all parts of the party".
Two thousand Labour members in Newham have until Friday to cast their vote to elect a mayoral candidate for the party for the race in May. Wales, Fiaz's opponent, has held the mayor's office since 2002. In the last election in 2014, he won the seat with 61 per cent of the vote.
This article originally appeared in The Guardian.
Rokhsana Fiaz is a second generation Pakistani whose parents moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Fiaz boasts of her humble beginnings living in Newham, one of the more deprived areas of London. Circumstances and the housing situation in the eastern London borough lead Fiaz and her family to homelessness, one of the main components in her political campaign.
Fiaz, who is contesting against Sir Robin Wales, the current mayor of Labour-dominated Newham, promises for a greater involvement of Newham citizens in the politics of the city. She wants to do away with the top-down mayoral system by the end of her first term.
"This council is too top-down, too hierarchical. The incumbent to my mind represents the past, a very ossified way of doing things,” she said in a report published in The Guardian, criticising how Wales has been running his administration ever since he took office in 2002.
Cultural Revolution: Women eager to work despite barriers
Wales has been credited with significant economic investment in the area such as building the Olympic park where the 2012 Summer Olympics was held.
He has argued that "things take time to get done", but Fiaz claims the life in Newham is far from getting improved.
"We have all this development, but residents can't afford to live in Newham," she said, adding that she herself could not easily afford to buy a home in the borough.
Fiaz has been serving as a councillor since 2014, but her political journey began as early as when she joined the Labour party at 16 years of age. Her election campaign rests interests of the citizens of Newham at the centre, advocating "against the Tory austerity agenda that is hurting [Newham] people, on homelessness, regeneration, parking, LOBOs, Stop and Search and youth provision."
She describes herself as "a candidate for everyone, hoping for support from all parts of the party".
Two thousand Labour members in Newham have until Friday to cast their vote to elect a mayoral candidate for the party for the race in May. Wales, Fiaz's opponent, has held the mayor's office since 2002. In the last election in 2014, he won the seat with 61 per cent of the vote.
This article originally appeared in The Guardian.