Councillor Mimi Harker to stand again

Councillor Mimi Harker OBE has announced that she will be standing for re-election as councillor in the ward of Chesham Bois and Weedon Hill for the fourth time in the local council elections next month.

Mimi was first elected in the ward in 1999 and has demonstrated incredible longevity in retaining her seat on the Council for over a decade.

Mimi was a member of the 2010 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Women Councillors Taskforce (BAME) that was set up by Harriet Harman MP to tackle the inequality in local politics and also served as a mentor on OBV's BAME Women Councillors Scheme.

Mimi became involved in politics just over twelve years ago afer being involved in a successful campaign against a major building development; she was subsequently elected onto the Chiltern District Council. In 2004 she became a Cabinet member with responsibility for Community, Young people and Communications, a position which she has held since.

Mimi says 'her role as cabinet member and councillor for the ward of Chesham Bois and Weedon Hill, gives her great responsibility and a platform to make real change'.

Mimi, who was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list last year, is part of the British Asian Conservative Link, which encourages Asian conservatives to represent the concerns of the Asian community.

Standing for her fourth term in office, some may argue that Mimi may not pay as much attention to detail as she may have done when she was initially elected. On the contrary, Mimi says that her job is ‘very rewarding’ and she ‘absolutely loves it.’ ‘I believe people here know that I always champion local causes.’ She says, ‘It is about caring, about problem solving and being a champion for my community.’

Alongside her political commitments to the Chesham Bois ward, Mimi has also actively taken part in programmes to ensure that she is not the only female from an ethnic minority who is participating in political decision making at a local and national level.

The multicultural society we enjoy in Britain deserves political leaders that are representative of the communities we live in. One person who has contributed to this change is Mimi Harker OBE; she is someone who can be described as a trailblazer for representative politics in Britain.

Mohand Nour