I applied to be shortlisted as a Labour Party candidate in the 2018 local election in the Noel Park ward in Hornsey and Wood Green. I lived in this ward and served as Noel Park Branch Labour Party’s chair between 2010 and 2012. My parents still live in Noel Park. Below is my appplicant statement sent to members of Noel Park Labour Party.
About me: My personal journey has shaped my passion for public service. I moved to Haringey with my family from Bangladesh at the age of 12 and went to a local school, Langham School (now Park View Academy). I lived in temporary accommodation for seven years moving to different parts of Haringey until the Council allocated my family a permanent house in Noel Park.
I read law at university. After my graduation, I worked in Haringey as a community organiser for four years. Then, I worked for a few years in the Cabinet Office as a legal adviser. After this job, I trained to become a solicitor at an international law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills. I currently work at the London Law Practice. I live in Tottenham Green with my wife and our two children. My wife is a doctor at North Middlesex Hospital. You can read more about me on my blog: www.khaledmoyeed.wordpress.com.
Community Organiser: I am particularly proud of the work I had done in Haringey in the early years of my career as a Project Manager of Haringey Peace Alliance. I delivered projects to improve community cohesion. By way of example, I set up the Haringey Faith Forum, delivered a project to rehabilitate ex-offenders and organised the annual Haringey Week of Peace involving different community groups.
Community activism: I have always been active in my community and have a 20-year track record of volunteering to help the local community, for example, I served as a trustee of Haringey Race & Equality Council and as a governor of Risley Avenue Primary School. In 2010, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office selected me to take part in a study tour of China representing Haringey as a future leader.
Labour activism: My journey as a Labour activist began in Noel Park where I served as chair of the BLP between 2010 and 2012. I rejuvenated the ward after helping to elect three Labour councillors in 2010 where there was only one Labour councillor before. It is now one of the safest Labour wards in Haringey. I recently served as chair of Tottenham Green BLP where I am now the elected secretary. I am also Tottenham CLP’s BAME Officer and was elected as its delegate to Labour’s annual conference this year.
My priorities: Having grown up in council housing, I am opposed to regeneration projects that enforce gentrification and social cleansing. I also oppose development vehicles that put public land into private hands. I am committed to building more council homes to tackle the housing crisis. This is consistent with Labour’s current policy under Jeremy Corbyn whom I voted for as leader in 2015 and 2016.
As a champion of community cohesion, I will fight for polices to ensure that disadvantaged sections of the community are not neglected such as what happened at Grenfell. Finally, I will work towards a cleaner environment, because poor air quality kills 10,000 people in London every year. That is, 16 deaths from each ward that can be prevented!
Why me? Being a councillor is a big responsibility. The Council is the biggest employer in the borough. It has 63 primary schools and 12 secondary schools. It has a significant annual budget and its population of 268,000+ people rely on its services. I have demonstrated through my accomplishments in life that I have the skills and the ability to take on this huge responsibility. I also have the passion and the drive to go the extra mile and come up with innovative solutions to tackle the housing crisis, for example.
Cllr Khaled Moyeed 