By Sharmila Devi

LONDON--Britain’s opposition Labour party last week selected Laween Atroshi as its first British-born Kurdish candidate to stand in next year’s general elections.

Nadhim Zahawi of the governing Conservative party is the first and only Kurd to be elected to the British parliament so far. Ibrahim Dogus earlier this month failed in his bid to represent Labour in an internal party election.

Atroshi, who is 25 and works in clinical research for the National Health Service, was born and raised in London. His father is from Duhok and is a medical doctor and his mother, from Koya, trained as a pharmaceutical scientist.

“I have been a supporter of the Labour party since a young age, around 14, as it represents the interests of ordinary working people,” he told Rudaw. “I am passionate about fairness and equal opportunity for all citizens and not just those at the top.”

He hopes to represent the constituency of Surrey Heath where he was one of five shortlisted candidates and he won more than 50 per cent of the vote.

But he faces a tough battle next year against Michael Gove, education secretary and who currently represents the constituency for the Conservative party, which governs Britain in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

“I am really looking forward to working with Laween,” said Rodney Bates, a local Labour councillor. “His energy and enthusiasm will be a real asset and he will be a formidable challenge to Michael Gove.”

The youthful Atroshi was very much focused on UK issues and not the Middle East, saying he was “not qualified to comment on the politics in the region or neighboring regions as I am not affiliated or connected to any political party there.

“However, I do believe that every person, regardless of belief or location in the world, is entitled to the taste of democracy.”

His views do not appear to stray from official Labour policy and he wholeheartedly supported Ed Miliband, Labour leader who last year led the drive against military intervention in Syria.

When Atroshi was asked about the tens of thousands of civilians killed since the West voted against intervention, he said he believed dialogue in the United Nations was the best way to defuse the Syrian conflict.

“Ed Miliband was instrumental in preventing the rush to bomb Syria with cruise missiles and advocated greater use of the United Nations,” he said.

Within Britain, he hoped to “amplify the voice of the voiceless as I know the feeling that working, ordinary people are going through given all the cuts and pressure from an out of touch, Tory-led government,” he said. “I want to challenge unfair policies and secure a better future for Britain.”

He had engaged with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) through a “humanitarian lens” including healthcare for the poor and sending 60,000 English books with a charity.

Rudaw