De Beauvoir by-election: Independent Network candidate calls for a ‘more diverse political make-up’ in Hackney

Independent Network candidate Kelly Reid. Photograph: Independent Network

Youth worker Kelly Reid is passionate about making sure residents’ voices are heard.

Reid contested May’s council elections in Clissold ward as an Independent Network candidate.

It was her first experience of political campaigning, and she picked up 220 votes.

Now she is running again – this time in her home ward of De Beauvoir – after the surprise resignation of Labour’s Tom Dewey just two weeks after polling triggered a by-election.

“It is really important that the voices of residents are heard,” she said. “I will continue to advocate for them.”

She thinks there needs to be more variety in the political fabric of the Labour-run borough.

“It’s healthy for the council to have a more diverse political make-up. I believe that there needs to be a diversity of voices.”

Voters will go to the polls on Thursday 7 July and the result is expected the following day.

Reid said one of the key issues for residents is policing, with reports of burglaries increasing since the start of the pandemic. There are also issues of anti-social behaviour in the north of the ward.

She said she has already been talking to police about ways to tackle this in her role as a youth advisory member for Hackney’s safer neighbourhoods board.

The Independent Network has campaigned against low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) over concerns that they move pollution elsewhere.

Reid wants an independent review carried out on the impact of LTNs on all Hackney residents.

She said the cost-of-living crisis is also a key issue on the doorstep.

“There are concerns about whether there will be vouchers for children’s meals over the summer.”

She is also concerned about suitable community space in the ward, citing one building that is very small and another that has accessibility problems.

“Some elderly residents have been stuck in their flats” during the pandemic, she added, and she wants them to have places where they can gather.

Reid works for The Crib youth charity and part of her role involves working with children at risk of exclusion. She is also researching exclusions with Hackney CVS.

Her wishlist of ways the council can help young people include mental health support, with the need exacerbated by the pandemic, and looking at delays in drawing up education and health plans for children with special educational needs.

“We have parents who do not have anybody, and a lot of them are living in temporary accommodation,” she said.

Communities are also powerful in providing support and knowing what works for people, Reid explained.

“During lockdown and when faced with other serious challenges, I witnessed the community come together to care for one another and show solidarity in a way that made me proud to live here.”

The deadline for the formal nomination of candidates for the by-election is Friday 10 June.