Lewis Iwu

20 July 2009

What is it about your political beliefs that put you on the Left rather than the Right?
I believe that everyone is born equal with an equal endowment of rights and as such should have the ability to become the authors of their own life stories. What puts me on the left is my belief that the state has a strong moral obligation to actively break down the obstacles that prevent people from realizing their freedom and pursuing their own goals. Investment in public services is important, as well as redistribution. Furthermore, I believe that whilst it is important to have a reasonable concern about individuals we are above all a collective and we should have shared concerns for others as a society.

What do you consider made you Left wing?
I grew up in Newham, East London, which is an area that I love and has an incredibly diverse community. But it also has its fair share of social problems. Many young people grew up with few recreational facilities or without the resources at home to reach their aspirations or even harbour aspirations in the first place. I got involved in student politics at a fairly young age and represented the area at the UK Youth Parliament since I could see first-hand the effect a lack of investment in public services could have on a community. Caring about the quality of social relations in my community, arguing for the state to play a bigger role in creating a genuine equality of opportunity for all and realizing that our communities are only as strong as our worse off members made me left wing.

How would you describe the sort of society you want Britain to be?
I would like to see a society with no barriers to participation in the workplace or in education on the grounds of somebody’s gender, race, class, age, sexuality or religion. As our country becomes more diverse it is more important than ever that the barriers that have existed in the past be swept away. Oxford educates more people from Eton alone than those who were on free school meals across the whole country. If we genuinely care about freedom then the state should ensure all can begin on the same starting line.

I would also like to see more people engage with decision making in this country. There are huge swathes of people in the UK who are disengaged with some of the most paramount decisions that are made in this country, many of which would directly affect those very people. A society where debate is not just shaped by a few, but is undertaken by the many, is a vibrant one that I think will lead to better policy making and would also create a sense that we are society with shared problems and shared concerns rather than a collection of individuals with few societal ties.

What one or two changes would make the biggest difference to bringing that about?
Breaking down barriers to participation. I would support, for instance, the extension of schemes that would provide less privileged students at school with resources such as textbooks and computers, based on their family situation. In some areas of public life I would even support the creation of quotas to break the glass ceiling that exists in some institutions.

As for getting more people engaged with the political process, I think the political world needs to stop carving itself off as something that is separate from the life of an ordinary citizen. The left needs to be clear and honest about what its vision and goals are (which I think in comparison to those on the right are much more intellectually compelling and convincing).

Though it seems like the buzzword word at the moment, transparency not just in operation but also in language and discourse is the key. It should not be the case that politicians just pass down policy to the public in a manifesto every four or five years. There should be a constant discussion involving everyone in schools, in the community centre, in the dining room.

What most makes you angry about the way Britain is now?
The under-utilisation of potential in this country. Individuals not applying to the best universities, not going after the next promotion and not getting involved in the civic process because they feel alienated and that they do not belong to the ‘right’ club.

Which person, event, era or movement from the past should we look to for inspiration now?
I’ve always found the immediate aftermath of the Second World War in Britain fascinating. We as a nation were able to overcome one of the darkest moments in humankind’s history and, through our political process, create invaluable institutions such as the NHS that still have an amazing legacy today. It shows that there is always room for progress and that the left can point to a proud history.

1 Comment

One Response to “Lewis Iwu”

  1. jubinmotamed
    July 20th, 2009 @ 10:58 am

    I have worked hard on building sites for 30 years, have an MSc in structural engineering, I live on job seeker's allowance, my daughter who was awarded a border of first class degree from LU is asked to pay £6K education fee for her MA. This shows talented students aare barred from continuing their education to open space for less talented from rich families.

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