BAME NEC representative
The election for the BAME NEC representative positions on the NEC of the Labour Party will
take place in line with the election for Leader, Deputy Leader and the NEC CLP representatives that are currently vacant.
Labour Heartlands members are supporting Keith Hussein, here is what he as to say about himself and why he is best suited to the position for the NEC BAME Representative.
Labour has always been at the forefront of advancing equalities legislation, challenging discrimination, and providing opportunity for full participation in society. We also have more elected Black Asian and Minority Ethnic MPs than all the other political parties put together.
While these are great achievements there is still much more we can do to re-address the under-representation of BAME candidates and members in regions such as ours.
I’m currently one of the only candidates standing for this post who is actually from the North East and strongly feel we need to do more to empower BAME members and encourage greater participation within the Party.
A little about myself, I grew up in the North East. Which I love, like most people, my Father was one of the biggest influences on my life. My late father Fahmy el-rawy was an Egyptian national as a young man he became a seaman serving in the Merchant Navy on the North Atlantic Convoy’s of WW2.
After his ship was sunk in 1941 he spent the rest of the war in a POW camp Stalag 11B. After the War he was repatriated and settling in South Shields. Neither his incarceration in a Nazi prisoner of war camp or the turmoil and tragedy of World War two stopped him having faith in his fellow man.
His commitment to people and community was always inspirational and never diminished, his dedication as a Labour voting union man who was prepared to march the streets of my home town to fight for what he believed in – a better life and working conditions for his family and our community, were the qualities I grow up to believe in. I like to think this is where I inherited the same positive attitude and tenacity to stand up for and along side my comrades. I believe in freedom, equality and democracy for everyone.
This is why I welcome recent proposals from The Party Democracy Review to widen member access to the BAME Labour group. For the first time this will allow all of us from ethnic minority groups to automatically qualify as BAME Labour members with full voting rights: LINK
If elected I’ll do my best to work closely alongside BAME communities throughout the country. I’ve been a Labour Party member for the last four years and have worked with our elected MP on all election campaigns and several fund-raising and public events.
I’m presently an elected Branch Officer at the Beacon and Bents Ward in South Shields and was a founder member of South Tyneside People’s Assembly.
I fully support the party’s agreed policy on Palestinian statehood, the right of all refugees displaced by conflict to claim asylum and oppose UK arms sales to the Saudi regime.
Recently I completed a PhD in International Politics and Culture which focused on Race Relations and Ethnic Representation in Britain and Europe since 9/11. I want to draw on this academic knowledge as a lecturer and work alongside the Training Officer to help enhance existing BAME educational events.
In the last few years I’ve co-organised and spoken at several BAME related educational events for the Party, Affiliates, and in my local community.
These include staging educational presentations on UK Asylum and Immigration Policy at Newcastle Civic Centre and Media Bias and the Labour Movement for North Durham CLP and The Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen at the Al-Azhar Mosque, South Shields.
I’ve also worked closely with Unite Against Fascism and Newcastle Stop the War Coalition. This has included staging and speaking at a number of community events on issues that affect the local BAME community such as a forthcoming debate planned on The Re-emergence of the Far Right. I also co-organised the Anti-EDL Rally along with Unite Against Fascism and Unison at South Shields in March 2017.
Nominate me as your BAME candidate and I’ll work hard to overcome the challenges we face. I’ll also try my utmost to advance BAME issues within the Party and to build an inclusive and democratic forum that gives members a real voice that matters. Thank you everyone.
Endorsed by Jamie Driscoll (North of Tyne Mayor)
Endorsed by The Yemeni Project, Al-Azhar Mosque, South Shields: http://www.theyemeniproject.org.uk/
Endorsed by Daniel Kebede (Candidate for Chair, National Educational Union)
Endorsed by Labour Heartlands
#KeithHussein4NEC2020
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