Anne Pissaridou — candidate for chair

Personal statement by Anne Pissaridou, standing for election as chair of Hove Constituency Labour Party at its annual general meeting at Ralli Hall, 81 Denmark Villas, Hove BN3 3TH, at 11am on Sunday, February 5.

Anne says:

“I am asking for you to elect me Chair of the Hove and Portslade CLP. At a critical time in our country and for our party, I will bring experience and dedication to the role.

My values

“I have been a member of the Labour Party for most of my adult life. I passionately believe in a united Labour movement ready to tackle harsh, unfair and backwards-looking Tory policies and in particular to fight against the continued focus on austerity which is ineffective economically and profoundly damaging to the vulnerable members of our society. Together we must resolutely challenge rising discrimination and inequality and together we must protect the NHS from privatisation. I have always supported our democratically elected leader and am proud to support Jeremy Corbyn. I am a passionate and consumate campaigner and have led or been involved with every campaign in the city since I came here over 10 years ago.

Relevant Experience/skills

“I served on the Executive Committee of H&P CLP as secretary, and then on the exec of BHDLP. I was encouraged by two local members to put myself forward as a local authority candidate for the election in 2011. With a great team and a clear strategy, I won the seat, unseating a Tory against the odds.

“I was the Labour spokesperson for Children and Young people and even though Labour was the third party I believe that I helped to influence local education policy.

“I was involved in the creation of the Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party and served on the Executive Committee on two occasions. In July 2016, I was elected, by an overwhelming majority, as Vice Chair Campaigns of the City Party.

“I am Portslade branch secretary having served on the exec in various roles for over 10 years

“I have chaired various committees, in my working life (civil service), union rep and local Councillor.

“I have chaired committees and employment appeal panels on BHCC.

“As women’s officer, I set up the local womens forum

“I have used my legal training to familiarise myself with the rules and regulations of the party — it is important that the chair knows the rules and how to apply them without prejudice.

My pledge to you.

“I do not believe in secret backroom deals, I believe that it is important that we are open fair and transparent as an Executive committee, and I will ensure that this is embedded in all our actions. I am acutely aware of the divisions, locally, in our party and will work towards reconcilliation. If I am elected I will ensure that everyone has a chance to express their views in a comradely supportive way.

“We need to make sure that Labour is at the heart of the community and I want to play my part in spearheading exciting and successful campaigns that ensure we elect a Labour government and have a council with the majority it needs to put our principles into practice.

“Throughout my life I have demonstrated a keen work ethic and tackle everything I do diligently and to the best of my ability, even when this involved juggling full time work, family responsibilities and political work. This has required an ability to prioritise and focus as well as an understanding of teamwork. These skills I believe will make me an ideal chair.”