Featured Candidate: Rashid Nix

10 April 2015

In the run up to the General Election we will be giving you the opportunity to get to know some of our candidates. Our key candidates and spokespeople can be found here.

This year we will be standing in over 90% of seats in England and Wales.

Our candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood: Rashid Nix

Why are you standing as candidate in Dulwich and West Norwood?

I was selected to stand. The process of putting myself forward is part of a personal development programme I have been on. Complaining can only get you so far and it's within ones comfort zone. Time to step outside of our zones, people!

What are your top three priorities if elected?

Push to have solar panels installed on commercial properties across the constituency-we need to be producing cleaner, greener electricity and saving money. It's a no-brainer.
Tuition fees-young people shouldn't be strapped with a lifetime worth of debt because they want to improve their education. What message are we sending out to young people?
Apprenticeships- I would sign up every company in D&WN to take on young people/ unemployed as apprentices. It's a win-win situation that will promote cohesion in a very divided constituency.

What made you want to get involved in politics?
It wasn't a conscious decision, initially. I am an educator and film-maker by trade so my views on issues are pretty wholistic and interconnected. My film, 'Why Don't Black People Vote?' explores low voter rates amongst the people of Brixton and that was the real eye opener!

What my favourite thing about the constituency?
So many of my childhood memories are linked to the constituency, that I just enjoy riding my bike and meeting the different people. From the old Caribbean dominoes crew in Brixton to the well heeled in Dulwich Village, the people are amzing!

Who is my political hero?
I'm fortunate to come from a 'can-do' family from the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados, so my political heroes are very close to me. Firstly, my late grandmother, Odessa Anthony ( 1920-2013), who moved to Brooklyn, New York after complaining London was too slow for her. And secondly, my Great Uncle, Donald Moore (1891-1994), a civil rights activist in Toronto, who was honoured by the Canadian government for his ceaseless campaigning work.