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Articles by Ibrahim Dogus
Local Democracy Is Where Politics Becomes Personal
When people think about politics, they often picture Parliament, Prime Minister’s Questions or debates on television. Far fewer people think about the local councillor responding to a resident’s message late at night, visiting a housing block, attending a community meeting or trying to resolve a problem that has already passed through several official channels. Yet councillors are often the first people residents turn to when something goes wrong.
Our energy price crisis is fuelled by weak regulation and even weaker government – LabourList
It has been a crisis long in the making, and it is about as widespread as possible as anyone could imagine. I am talking about the cost of living. Of course, we are in the midst of another national crisis: Covid and the Omicron variant, which have left us drained. As households and business enter the new year, however, and try to imagine life as we emerge from the pandemic, we also face huge concerns over rising energy prices.
Give the Christmas gift of your Helping Hands to the hungry, homeless or lonely – LabourList
This is an invite to a Christmas event – but not one from which you’ll walk away with a neatly wrapped present. Instead, I want you to join me for just a few hours to act as one of the essential community volunteers giving a gift to those most in need. This Christmas, friends from across politics and civic society will once again be packing food parcels to help feed rough sleepers and other vulnerable people in London.
Labour is back in business: Starmer’s simple statement sends a clear message – LabourList
The best line to come out of party conference was “Labour is back in business”. This simple truth sent a clear signal to entrepreneurs that our party understands the link between the economy and opportunity. This line was, of course, at the core of Keir Starmer’s speech, delivered at his first full conference since becoming leader. The group I helped to set up and run, SME4Labour, walks in lockstep with the leader.
Here are the policies needed to help the SME community get back on its feet – LabourList
Keir Starmer has picked apart the government’s erratic handling of the coronavirus crisis. The Labour leader has rightly shone a light on ministers’ stop-start approach to lockdowns, confused public messaging and piecemeal support for business over the last 18 months. Now, Britain is getting back on its feet – thanks to the brilliance of the scientific community in designing the vaccine and the NHS in delivering its rollout.
Labour’s path back to power: strength in breadth, pride, positivity and principles – LabourList
Labour’s path back to power may be rocky, but the recent by-election result in Batley and Spen offers lessons for how it can be achieved. Congratulations must go to Kim Leadbeater, whose narrow victory prompted a surge of pride among Labour activists around the nation. She fought an honest and decent campaign, but the contest was, at times, bitter. It will have been immensely difficult for her, coming five years after her sister, Jo Cox, was murdered in the constituency she represented.
Labour can and will develop the big policies needed to save our high streets – LabourList
The high street is on a precipice. We must listen to traders, speak up for them and support this vital part of British life. As Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis wrote last week, in an impassioned reminder of what retail has offered our communities for centuries, the fightback is now underway.
Labour campaigners are back on the doorstep – and making up for lost time – LabourList
Getting back on the doorstep is just the first step in reconnecting with voters. We are making up for lost time. Labour campaigners and candidates are back on the doorstep – and I’m so happy to say I am one of them. The conditions may be a bit different due to delayed elections and, of course, the continuing Covid restrictions on meeting people. But we are back doing what we enjoy most. I was out leafletting for Labour in south London recently.
Wherever you live and whatever you buy, support Small Business Saturday – LabourList
Is your favourite coffee shop still operating from morning until night? Has your hairdresser or barber reopened its doors after the second lockdown? These stark questions have run through the minds of millions of us as we adapt to the changes in our jobs, commute and home life amid the pandemic.
We need an honest conversation about Transport for London – LabourList
‘A chaotic right-wing premier picks a fight with a regional politician in order to distract from his own failings amid the pandemic.’ If that sounds a depressingly familiar scenario then let us take comfort, now more than ever, from how the story could end – in electoral failure. Boris Johnson’s attacks on Sadiq Khan’s oversight of the public transport network are straight out of the Donald Trump playbook.
The people of Beirut need our help, and quickly – LabourList
It was an early Tuesday evening when a massive explosion rocked Beirut, killing at least 180 people and injuring more than 6,000. An estimated 300,000 have been left homeless by the explosion, which occurred after 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were stored unsafely at the city’s port.
Let’s celebrate the contributions of small businesses during the Covid crisis – LabourList
This year, small businesses have often been on the frontline of the local Covid community response. Some provided free meals to key workers, while others gave free accommodation to NHS employees isolating to protect their loved ones. Even when facing some of the most difficult and challenging times, business owners have been looking out for their communities every step of the way.
Enfield North selection – runners and riders - LabourList
Even before the parliamentary selection process began, Enfield North Labour was widely regarded to be embroiled in a civil war. There has been no shortage of controversies in the constituency currently held by Joan Ryan. Last year, the selection process for council candidates saw members demand that Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) investigate amid accusations of voting irregularities and inconsistencies in interviews.
What we can achieve in local government
We may not be in national government, but there is still much we can do, writes Ibrahim Dogus I was grateful to be chosen by my Labour comrades to be the next deputy mayor of one of London’s most diverse boroughs. I feel pride, as well as a great sense of responsibility, to have won a seat on the council for Bishop’s ward, and to be elected deputy mayor for a year. I look forward to serving residents to the very best of my abilities.
My journey to become deputy mayor of Lambeth shows London is a land of opportunity
Last week I was grateful to be chosen by my Labour comrades to be the next deputy mayor of Lambeth, one of London’s most diverse boroughs. It was a remarkable moment for me, an Anglo-Kurdish restauranteur born in Turkey in the 1970s who came to London in the 1990s unable to speak English, with no thoughts of entering politics.
Lambeth local elections: Labour holds Bishop’s ward
Labour has retained Bishop's ward on Lambeth Council, with Ibrahim Dogus joining incumbents Kevin Craig and Jennie Mosley representing Waterloo and the South Bank at the town hall. Lambeth Liberal Democrats had been hoping to retake the ward they lost in 2014 but they missed out by nearly 400 votes. New councillor Ibrahim Dogus owns the Troia, Cucina and Westminster Kitchen restaurants on the South Bank and is the man behind the British Kebab Awards.
Why we should bet against fixed odds
Fundamental change is needed to prevent the scourge of gambling addiction harming the poorest, writes Ibrahim Dogus At the end of last year, SME4Labour launched the Labour Campaign for Gambling Reform (LC4GR), a new grassroots initiative that aims to push the case for progressive change in an industry that, for too long, has done too little to protect those vulnerable to gambling addiction, their families, and their communities.
Review: The Company Citizen
Businesses have a responsible role to play in society– we need a blueprint to make sure that happens, writes Andy Norman in his review of Tom Levitt’s The Company Citizen The power of corporations and their ability to shape the world around them is growing. At a time when we face a daunting number of critical challenges – hunger, drought, war, migration and refugee crises, climate change – 42 of the world’s 100 largest economies are now businesses.
Is the National Lottery a slippery slope into addiction?
Most of us have tried our luck with the National Lottery at some point in our lives – we must stop this becoming an addiction, writes Chris Evans MP Most of us have tried our luck with the National Lottery at some point in our lives. Who would pass up the opportunity to turn a £2.50 Euromillions ticket into a £161m jackpot win as Chris and Colin Weir from Ayrshire did in 2011? In June last year, another lucky ticket won someone £133m – enough money to live in comfort for a lifetime.
Time for a business rates alternative
Which one of Labour’s ideas for business will the Tories pinch next, asks Ibrahim Dogus Small and medium-sized enterprises are already facing an unprecedented set of challenges with Brexit looming and all the instability associated with it. Prices are rising, investment is slowing and SMEs are getting increasingly nervous. The overall climate is gloomy, and last month was the worst October for British retail since 2008.
Labour under Corbyn can be the natural home for small businessmen and women | LabourList
This is part of a series of articles in the run-up to the Budget on November 22. Small businesses are the backbone of their communities and, as the best councillors and MPs know, their support is vital to making a difference on the ground throughout the country. However, there are still some people who see a contradiction between a person like me – a small business owner, employer and entrepreneur – and my solid support for the Labour and trade union movement.
An end to ‘constructive ambiguity’
Labour’s position on the single market is good for small and medium-sized businesses and workers alike, writes SME4Labour chair Ibrahim Dogus Last week, Keir Starmer – shadow secretary of state for exiting the European Union – clarified Labour’s approach to Brexit, saying that there would be no ‘constructive ambiguity’ as with the Tory government.
Ten years on from the crisis, it's time to turn RBS into the people's lender | LabourList
This week marks the anniversary of the failure of Northern Rock, sparking the credit crunch and then full blown financial crisis from which the economy has yet to recover. The near-collapse of Britain’s banking system culminated in the meltdown at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a once regional player who, in the space of less than ten years had become one of the world’s largest financial institutions.
The great British takeaway challenge
The takeaway industry is one of Britain’s most innovative sectors – politicians must take action to ensure that Brexit does not threaten its growth, writes Ibrahim Dogus The way we eat is changing. Whether it be lunch in the office or Saturday night dinner with the family, the British public has never had so much choice at such convenience. The best of what the culinary world has to offer can now be delivered straight to your door with the touch of a button.
Class is at the heart of the gambling menace – so Labour must tighten the law | LabourList
With chancellor Philip Hammond apparently having scrapped the review into fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), now is the time for a serious and co-ordinated campaign in the Labour Party and in the country against the scourge of gambling addiction. After a series of high profile stories about the damaging impact of gambling, public attitudes are hardening.
A quiet optimism for Britain
Relieving tensions in our society means more than just anti-terrorism strategy – it means a government ready to make real reforms across the country, writes Ibrahim Dogus The appalling terrorist attacks on Manchester and London left us all facing a host of important questions. There are the obvious ones such as who or what inspired the killers to commit such horrendous crimes and how can the police and security services prevent future outrages.
British business needs leadership
Only a Labour government can provide businesses, small, medium and big, with the support they need to thrive, writes Ibrahim Dogus Britain and its people need prosperous businesses. At the moment too many are struggling to expand and grow. This is not good for the economy and it is not good for people. It does not allow for innovation and the development of skills. If small and medium businesses are strangled, eventually this will have a knock-on effect on big business too.
A Westminster for the many
Cities of London and Westminster deserves a hardworking, accessible member of parliament that will fight their corner, argues Ibrahim Dogus My name is Ibrahim Dogus and I am standing as the Labour candidate in Cities of London and Westminster at the general election. After coming to London at the age of 14 with my family as political refugees from Turkey, I now run five successful small businesses and four charitable organisations in the heart of the city and employ over 60 people.
Why I am standing for Labour in Cities of London and Westminster
WriteYou is Britain's non-partisan social newspaper. You can follow our General Election Coverage here. If you enjoy our coverage please do consider becoming a member for £5 a month and supporting our mission for a non-partisan comment platform here. Get involved in the discussion by commenting on this article or WriteYou discussion by clicking here My name is Ibrahim Dogus and I’m standing as the Labour candidate in Cities of London and Westminster at the general election.
Disaster for small business
The increase to national insurance contributions in this year’s budget is yet another Tory assault on small businesses and entrepreneurs, writes Ibrahim Dogus This week’s budget has proven to be the disaster for innovative, small businesses that many had feared. Once again, this government has demonstrated its complete disregard for small and medium sized enterprises and its corresponding enthusiasm for faceless, giant corporations.
Tory rate hikes are killing SMEs
Philip Hammond’s devastating business rate hikes should put to bed the myth that the Tories are the party of small businesses, argues Ibrahim Dogus The news of catastrophic business rate hikes should put to bed once and for all the myth that the Tory party is somehow a friend to small and medium enterprises. Small and medium-sized businesses across the country are facing closure thanks to rate hikes so extreme that they may no longer be able to turn a profit.
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