Four years after she made history by being the first
elected black councillor to represent Hucknall Central ward in Ashfield, United
Kingdom, Zimbabwean born Nicolle Ndiweni continues to smash the glass ceiling
after being nominated as one of five East Midlands candidates for the European
parliamentary elections to be held later this month.
Ndiweni, who sits on the Labour Party’s East Midlands
regional board as the black and minority ethnic women’s representative, said
she believed the need for a Labour government at local, national and
international level was more paramount than ever.
“We need Labour MEPs (Members of the European Parliament)
at the heart of Europe to influence policies that will improve our lives,” she
said.
“I genuinely want to see the region progress and continue
to fight for jobs, investment in the region, workers’ rights and the protection
of our environment today and for generations to come.”
Ndiweni said this year’s European parliamentary elections
were doubly important because there was a risk that far right parties, like
Nigel Farage’s Brexit party could make massive inroads and destroy what the
bloc had built.
In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European
Union, but lack of clarity on how exactly to do that has so far seen the
country remain part of the bloc.
Ndiweni was born in Karoi in 1989. She attended Rydings
School in Karoi before going to Arundel Senior School in Harare.
She then studied for a BA in Criminology and International
Relations at the University of Lincoln.
At the time of her election for the council seat, Ndiweni
said: “It’s still a little surreal that the little Zimbabwean girl from Karoi
is now councillor Ndiweni in England.”
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