AVRUPA TIMES/LONDON-Labour elects London’s youngest Council Leader.Labour has chosen its first woman leader in Enfield Council.Nesil Caliskan, 29, was last night elected Leader of Enfield Council by the ruling Labour Group of Councillors, becoming the first woman to hold the post and the youngest council leader in London.Nesil succeeds Doug Taylor, who has led the council for the past eight years.Nesil joined the Labour Party at 15 years old and has campaigned for Labour in every election since 2004. She has lived in Enfield her entire life. Nesil works for NHS England in the national Equality and Health Inequality Team.
Nesil said:
“I am incredibly proud to be the first woman leader in Enfield Council. I will represent all of the borough's diverse communities and strive to give every Enfield resident a voice.
“I became active in politics because I passionately believe in fairness and everyone being able to fulfil their potential. Our communities deserve well funded public services.
“We must do more to combat the rise in serious crime and Enfield Council will lead the way in tackling the housing crisis in London which is affecting many of our residents.
Paying tribute to Councillor Doug Taylor, Nesil said:
“Doug has been a brilliant Council leader who has steadied the ship during very difficult times for local authorities, at a time when this Conservative government has cut our budget by more than half since 2010”.
Labour retained and increased its majority at the recent local council elections. Nesil was elected Leader of the Group at its annual general meeting. She will be formally appointed Leader of the Council at its annual meeting on 23 May.
Statement from Enfield Labour Council Leader - Nesil Caliskan
I became active in politics because I passionately believe in fairness and in giving everyone an equal chance to fulfil their potential. That is why I will ensure that Labour values and politics remain firmly at the heart of Enfield Council.
Doug has been a brilliant Council Leader who has steadied the ship during very difficult times for local authorities. Enfield Council was badly hit as the Conservative government slashed Enfield Council funding by more than half since 2010.
Our residents have really felt the damaging impact of those cuts. And there's more to come. But, together with Labour Councillors I will fight against the cuts and fight for fair funding. I will defend our communities, who deserve well-funded public services, and we will protect the most vulnerable.
There is much we can do to give hope to our residents. There are three key areas that I see as priorities - poverty, crime and housing. It is a scandal that one in three children in Enfield lives in poverty. Serious crime in our borough has to be rooted out if we are to make our streets safe for all our residents. And Enfield Council will lead the way in tackling the housing crisis in London, which is affecting many of our residents.
I am committed to ensuring Enfield Council delivers good, value-for-money services and is responsive to the needs of our residents.
Enfield is where I was born and have lived my entire life. I look forward to leading the Cabinet and Council to serve the people of Enfield.
Turkish Cypriot Nesil Caliskan was last night elected Leader of Enfield Council