Sir Keir has demonstrated his full commitment to South Asian communities across our country. I would like to illustrate this with the appointment of an individual, who I have had the immense pleasure of getting to know over the last year or two and working with. Vidhya Alekson OBE – who was recently appointed Political Director at Number 10 … writes Professor Kishan Devani BEM
Sir Keir Statmer has shown not just in words but in action his undying commitment to the South Asian Diaspora in the UK. Whether it is through his own work in his Camden Constituency or through his own offices while he was Leader of the Opposition and now in Number 10.
Sir Keir has demonstrated his full commitment to South Asian communities across our country. I would like to illustrate this with the appointment of an individual, who I have had the immense pleasure of getting to know over the last year or two and working with. Vidhya Alekson OBE – who was recently appointed Political Director at Number 10.
Vidhya is an inspiration to many of us in the diaspora as she was appointed to this role by Sir Keir after the General Election victory, but prior to that Vidhya served as Sir Keir’s Director of External Relations & Stakeholder engagement – while he was Leader of the Opposition. Having worked with Vidhya, myself, I can say to the wider South Asian Community that there is not a better person for the role and that it is a matter of pride that we have a member of the South Asian Diaspora at the heart of Number 10. Her humiliy, passion and dedication to our country through her public service. Vidhya was previously instrumental in starting up Power to Change – an independent trust, established in 2015 to support and grow community-led businesses across England. She led the trust from 2015 to 2022.
Prior to this, Vidhya was the deputy chief executive at the Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank focusing on living standards, and was also the mental health lead for the personal health budgets delivery programme at NHS England. Vidhya worked at the US Department of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C. from 2006-2010 and before that at the UK Treasury and the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit.
Vidhya has a modern languages degree from the University of Oxford and an MSc from the London School of Economics. She is a former Trustee of the Young Foundation. This appointment in itself illustrates our Prime Ministers commitment to the South Asian Community, by having individuals such as Vidhya at the heart of Government is a matter of pride for all of us and shows Sir Keir’s commitment to our wider community. We now have a Labour Prime Minister in Number 10 who is committed to Equality, Diversity and inclusion.
With his formidable Cabinet, Parliamentary team and his Number 10 Team – he is a force for good and will bring about the change necessary to give South Asian Communities across our country the ability to thrive and flourish.
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