I believe we are entering a time of huge political turmoil. We will need as many progressive voices as possible. This is why I am standing to be Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Camberwell & Peckham, explains Maurice Mcleod.

We are entering a period of huge social and political change in the UK. Communities like ours have had enough. If Labour is going to be relevant in the coming years, we cannot be bystanders while our communities call for change.

Camberwell & Peckham needs

• Someone who is not afraid to stand up for them
• Someone who will take their voices into the corridors of power
• Someone who has walked more than a mile in their shoes

I am that person.

Background

My single mum was a Windrush generation nurse. I connected with my Eswatini father at 40, but he passed away before I got to meet him. I did meet my Swazi family, including my legendary Gogo in subsequent trips. 

I turned down a scholarship to a private school as an 11-year-old and went to the local comp. I have lived on South London council estates my whole life and never exercised my Right to Buy, on principle. 

My politics have evolved through my lived experience of being black and working class in an unequal Britain. I was stopped over 100 times by the police as a young man.

It’s impossible for me to disregard our black, Global Majority and working class communities, because they are me. They are my family and friends. They shape my perspective.

As Camberwell & Peckham MP, I will:

• Be a socialist voice, defending working class people
• Work closely with local members, Councillors, activists, and community organisations
• Be a strong anti-racist voice for all of our marginalised communities
• Defend our LGBTQ+ communities
• Champion Palestinian rights
• Support our unions, never cross a picket line
• Immediately join the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs

My work

As a campaigning journalist, I started on Red Pepper and was Political Editor of the Voice in the 90s. I spent 15 years on Fleet St news desks, including the Guardian and Independent. I was part of the team which ran the influential platform Media Diversified. 

As an activist, I demonstrated outside South Africa House in the 1980s. I marched against the Poll Tax, the war in Iraq, Section 28, immigration raids, for a free Palestine, and, following far too many deaths in police custody. I was instrumental in numerous local Black Lives Matter demos and attended countless picket lines.

As a social commentator, I have spoken on race, class and society on countless platforms, including the Guardian, Novara and the Voice. I have decades of experience of delivering equality messages even when they are not popular.

As an anti-racism leader, I am CEO of the leading anti-racism charity, Race On The Agenda. I have worked closely with Kick it Out, Operation Black Vote, the Runnymede Trust and many more. I have set up organisations to amplify voices of the grassroots voluntary sector.

My political life

• Joined the party in 1994, but left in 2002, in the lead-up to the Iraq war.
• Elected Councillor in Queenstown ward in 2018 to turn it red for the first time since the 1990s.
• Joined the Socialist Campaign Group of Councillors.
• Part of the team which got Black History Month to my borough after six years.
• Supported residents to beat the Council’s plans to hit them with huge sprinkler bills.
• Helped elect, then bucked national trend to re-elect, Marsha de Cordova in Battersea.
• Supported Rebecca Long Bailey and Dawn Butler in the Labour leadership.
• Re-elected Councillor in Battersea Park Ward, as part of team that won Wandsworth for first time in 44 years.
• Bringing radical change to Wandsworth as part of the Housing Committee and as Tenants’ Champion.
• Working with Labour Black Socialists to ensure Labour is free from Afriphobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism.

I want to be part of a Labour Government which:

• Gives working class people a pay rise, with a National Minimum Wage of at least £15ph.
• Strengthens workers by repealing anti-union laws and moving to a 4-day week.
• Abolishes in-school hunger with Free School Meals for all children.
• Builds an economy fit for the future with a Green New Deal.
• Protects tenants’ rights with statutory landlord licensing, by removing ‘no fault evictions’ and capping rents.
• Removes the profit motive from services with nationalised, rail, mail and utilities.
• Redistributes wealth through progressive tax and enhanced social benefits.
• Tackles systemic racism, by implementing the many recommendations already on the table.

Maurice Mcleod is Chief Executive at Race on the Agenda and a Labour Councillor for Battersea Park. This is an edited version of his campaign leaflet. Twitter: @mowords