'Many hurdles for women of Asian origin to get elected in UK'
The Inquirer
A solicitor, one-time TV presenter, deputy district judge and deputy mayor. Valerie Vaz is a multi-faceted personality, but in political terms, she had to live in the shadow of her younger brother Keith Vaz, who was re-elected for a sixth term from Leicester east.
No longer so. Making her debut in the House of Commons earlier this month, the Labour MP from Walsall South is raring to go and make up for the lost time as she tells Devika Sequeira of Deccan Herald in this interview from London. Excerpts:
You and Priti Patel are the first Indian-origin women to get elected to British parliament. How does that feel?
It is a great privilege to be elected to parliament and particularly as both Priti and I are the first women of Indian origin albeit from separate parties to be elected. In my constituency there is a fairly high proportion of Asian people and therefore it was all the more important to be elected. Nationally and internationally there has been a vast amount of interest and I hope to be able to link up with the Indian diaspora.
A record number of Asian-origin MPs made it to the House of Commons this time. How significant is this for the immigrant community in the UK?
I think this sends out a signal to the Asian community that it is possible to be elected to British parliament. In particular it is important also for women of the Asian origin to be elected. There were many hurdles for all of us but we managed to work through those. For me it is after 20 years of trying. So it shows that it is important to keep going.
How difficult has it been for you personally to get where you are now? You have been trying for a Labour Party ticket for a very long time...
I first attempted to get into parliament in 1987 when I stood in Twickenham. From that time I have been to a number of selection conferences and obviously one feels that when one is rejected, one wants to better the next time. However in my view, the selections are a matter of luck and there seems to be no plan for this.
Do you and your brother Keith Vaz share common views in matters of politics or are there areas of disagreement?
Both Keith and I are members of the Labour Party and clearly having been elected as Labour MPs, we do share a common view on specific policy issues. There may well be areas of disagreement, but they will be resolved by discussion, but so far, there have been none.
What are the dominant issues in the UK today for MPs from an ethnic minority background?
The issues are very similar to those from the rest of the population. However, in certain situations people from ethic minority backgrounds do face additional injustices, that is, at work or in the types of work they do which can have an impact on their lives. People from an ethnic minority do enjoy a very strong social network and therefore they tend to be very resilient. Despite the economic downturn, people from the Indian, Pakistani or even Sikh communities do tend to support each other in times of need. The Labour government did do that in the last 13 years, but with the economic downturn and with the election of a government with different priorities, I hope they will continue to support each other.
Immigration is another key issue as there seems to be a feeling in the time of economic uncertainty that one should blame incomers. However, the majority of people coming into this country are from the European Union. Where immigration is tightened up from outside the EU, issues such as getting chefs from abroad seems to be an important issue. I see these as very skilled people. We are waiting to see what the new government does in terms of the immigration rules.
Your family moved from Aden to the UK. Do you stay connected to your Goan roots in any way?
Yes we very much like coming to Goa. We still have family there. Keith has visited often. My grandmother was very keen for us to know about Goa and I was lucky enough to travel by boat from Mumbai to Panjim — the 24-hour boat ride which I understand no longer exists. My mother always used to tell us stories of how she used to take the trip and they used to land at Panjim and have a wonderful breakfast before going on to their home of Para and Calangute. My father’s family came from Anjuna. I still have relatives in Goa and I am looking forward to seeing them again very soon.
