Aydin Dikerdem

The next Labour government is going to inherit a deeply challenging economic climate, but it’ll also be faced with a nation desperate for change after 14 years of Tory austerity. I think the role of the NPF is to be an engine for ambition during this period, that tests and offers ideas and solutions from the membership, affiliates and unions.

As a local councillor and Cabinet Member for Housing I’m acutely aware of the challenges facing the public sector but also the radical alternatives that can be achieved with bold thinking. I joined the Labour Party in 2013 as austerity was biting and the housing crisis was deepening yet saw how workable pragmatic left-wing alternatives were side-lined. I’ve seen first-hand the intersection between policy and campaigns when working as an organiser for the New Economics Foundation, which has given me a strong grounding in the politics and national conversation around policy. And of course I’m now responsible for developing and implementing policy at the local level in a swing Council.

I’m glad to be backed by the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance and would ask you to also nominate Rathi Guhadasan, Dave Levy, Pat Quigley, and India Burgess (Youth Position).