Hi, I’m Minesh Parekh, and I’m the Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Crookes and Crosspool!
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I stood for election to be your Councillor because I want to see Sheffield transformed. I’m proud to have campaigned in Crookes and Crosspool on a platform of housing justice, migrant solidarity, greater democracy, and a Green New Deal, because I believe each of these to be essential to the future of our city.
Housing justice
From my time as a student I spent years in inadequate student housing in Crookes. One of the worst houses having a gaping crack in the kitchen ceiling for six months, and a landlord unwilling to sort it. This is how I know we need citywide landlord licensing to regulate the housing market and bring all rental housing up to liveable, habitable housing for everyone.
Migrant solidarity
We only have to look to crises in Afghanistan, Yemen and Ukraine—and the response of our Government to people fleeing from war, disaster or climate change—to know that we need to do much more to support migrants and refugees. Sheffield was the first ever City of Sanctuary, and we need to redefine what that means: providing sanctuary to everyone who needs it, but also actively show solidarity with oppressed peoples, by divesting from and sanctioning arms and fossil fuel companies, which perpetuate crises without regard for those on the frontline.
Greater democracy
As a climate activist, I know that the climate crisis is a crisis of democracy—it’s because we haven’t had enough democratic control over our economy that we have to confront the climate crisis now. The adoption of our new Committee System and Local Area Committees are a step in the right direction and I plan to push for even greater devolution of power, following the example of other cities which have participatory budget making and hand power to ordinary people.
A Green New Deal
The climate crisis is the threat to the future of our planet and everyone on it, which means that local Councils must do all they can to tackle it. It is great that Sheffield aims to be zero carbon by 2030, but we need to take climate action in a way that tackles social and economic inequality by: investing in public transport and active travel; pursuing a Community Wealth building strategy; and insulating homes to lower energy bills. I will work to embed Green New Deal principles in everything the Council does.
