Having celebrated and SLEPT a lot, finally posting some photos from Friday, a real turning point in Hackney politics and in my life as well - I cannot say how grateful I am for the opportunity to represent the brilliant, talented, kind people of Clissold Ward, Hackney, and I thank every person who I spoke to during the campaign, whether they decided to vote for us or not, because you taught me so much about what you want this borough to be 💚 The message I took away from the campaign is that Hackney has so much potential - in its people, old and young, in its culture, traditions and history, in its beautiful parks and buildings, and in the many spaces which have been neglected, underused or allowed to deteriorate. I remember at the second People’s Forum we held at Lordship South Estate, a resident told us that he was ready to paint parts of the estate, but the Council had never supported him with the funds or resources to do so; residents were ready to put their community hall back into regular use, but they couldn’t access it for free - and on Thursday, we spoke with an amazing resident about how Milton Gardens Community Hall used to have karate lessons for kids after school, where the parents would cook together, but due to austerity that is a thing of the past. This got me thinking about virtuous cycles: if the Council provides support, whether space or funding, the residents of Clissold are ready to do the rest. The ideas for community events are there - events which help children learn and thrive, make us less lonely, where we share food and talk across the generations, where parents or pensioners or people with disabilities can all benefit from the support they need - we just need to be ambitious in helping residents to put their ideas into practice. We have incredible examples to learn from:
@childrenwithvoices ,
@gascoynecommunitycentre ,
@cocreatehackney and hundreds more in Hackney. My aim in the first month of being a councillor is to meet with these groups and find out how we can scale up their achievements across Hackney, and what the Council can do to make this happen. Thank you to
@hackneygreenparty and
@hackneyindsg for making this possible ❤️💚✊🏼
