Rising influence of the UK diaspora
ONE of the most important barometers of how well integrated a minority is into mainstream society is by their level of political representation. Turkish Cypriots have been in the UK for 100 years, but until recently, there has been little penetration into the British political sphere.
For years, our community elders have preferred to occupy themselves with the politics of their ethnic homeland, sparring locally with those diametrically opposed to their views, without having much of an impact on Cyprus affairs. Many have assumed — wrongly — that by virtue of the time spent in the country and the size of the community (estimated to be 200,000-strong), we would one day have our own MP in the British Parliament.
As it turns out, Turkish Cypriots have had an elected parliamentarian: one Richard Hickmet.
A lawyer by profession, Hickmet was a Conservative councillor on Wandsworth Council (1978-83) before winning the parliamentary seat for Glanford and Scunthorpe in the 1983 general election. He served a single term, before losing to the Labour candidate in 1987. Wikipedia wrongly attributes his roots to Turkey. His parents are in fact from Cyprus.
Hickmet’s success — and our community’s total lack of awareness of him — reflects his personal ambition and ability to rise without relying on the north London community bubble. Back in the 1980s, there were probably very few Turkish residents in either south-west London or Humberside.
Since then, with the exception of Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, who has been a Lib Dem peer since 2010, there has been no political representation at a national level. But things are definitely changing.
Last week’s local elections in England see a record number of British Turkish councillors elected — 39 to be exact — serving in 11 different boroughs, including four councils in south London and two in east London. It smashed the 2014 total by nine. With Suzanne Nuri-Nixon’s by-election success earlier this year in Wymondham, Norfolk, we have at least 40 councillors nationwide. Around half are Turkish Cypriots, the remainder a mixture of Turks and Kurds from Turkey.
One newcomer is Councillor Kay Isa for Chingford Green. As an assistant to her local MP and former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, she enlisted his support in trying to overturn the UK government’s ridiculous security policy that forces passengers on flights from Ercan to London to disembark in Turkey.
Another prominent British Turkish Cypriot politician is Emina Ibrahim (she’s anglicised her name as she’s fed up of them mispronouncing Emine). On Thursday, she was re-elected as a councillor for Haringey, and a few days later selected to serve as deputy leader of the Labour-run council.
Her elevated role in a major north London borough makes her one of the most senior politicians from our community, but her influence is not just limited to local politics. A committed socialist, Emina’s day job is as a branch secretary for Unison, the UK’s second largest trade union.
Emina is the national vicechair of Momentum, a powerful left-wing grassroots movement within the Labour Party that closely shadows the policies of its leader Jeremy Corbyn, helping to grow the membership to the largest of any political party in Europe. In September last year, she won a landslide victory to become a member of Labour’s powerful National Constitutional Committee (NCC).
Her rapid rise up the political ladder makes her a force to be reckoned with. As chair of Haringey’s Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel, it was Emina’s initial objection to the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV) — a public-private housing partnership with property giant joint Lendlease to redevelop council-owned land and property — that created a local furore and subsequently turned the issue into national news.
Emina led the faction opposing the HDV, fearing the venture would not produce enough social and affordable housing. Several other Haringey Labour councillors, including then council leader Claire Kober, thought this was wrong and asserted that private backing was vital if the council was to overcome a funding deficit. It prompted a bitter battle between the two Labour factions, with those opposing HDV emerging on top.
Having known Emina for over 20 years, I know she is sincere and passionate about a huge range of social and political matters. One of those is Cyprus, with her family roots tied to a border village on the Greek side of the “Green Line”.
She is a strong advocate of reunification and for years was an activist in trying to bring Greek and Turkish Cypriots together, taking part in initiatives like the women-run Hands Across The Divide. More recently she, some other Cypriot friends and I explored the idea of Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens, who is of Greek Cypriot heritage) holding a peace concert on the island. She is also proud of her Muslim, Turkish roots.
Today though, you’re more likely to see her in a photo alongside the High Commissioner for the Republic of Cyprus than the London Representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. I’m not sure if that is due to her personal choice, or that the TRNC London Office fails to engage her.
From a Turkish Cypriot perspective, Labour has never been particularly balanced on the Cyprus issue. For years, its current leader Jeremy Corbyn would attend Greek Cypriot rallies at Trafalgar Square where he would blame Turkey for the island’s division and publicly support the rights of Greek Cypriot refugees, yet ignore the rights and unfair isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
Since taking over the party, his comments have been more considered, but there has been little to make us in the Northern part of the island feel that he has our best interests at heart.
Under the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay’s direction, Lefkoşa is employing a more proactive approach to international relations. He would do well to focus on London and leverage the likes of Kay Isa and Emina Ibrahim.