Aftab Razaq’s election message

“I want to make a difference…”

That is what I wrote back in 2011 when I first introduced myself as the Labour candidate for Councillor in Whalley Range ward. And it’s as true now as it was then.

I have a Pakistani heritage but have long lived in this area, with all five of my children having been born here in Whalley Range. They go to local school with children from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures, as those of you with school-age kids will have experienced.

When our elders first came to the UK, they wanted mainly to make a better life for their families. But now, times have changed. We’re no longer economic immigrants, we’re British citizens. Our aspirations have changed and we have to change to match – take part in society like everyone else, and work to make Manchester a better city.

And in Manchester it is Labour, not the Tory/LibDem coalition that is successfully transforming the city and supporting our local communities. Despite the massive cuts forced on the Council by this government, Labour councillors have continued to do what we can to promote growth and jobs and improve our city as a good place to live.

As a father who runs a small business, I understand the pressures and rewards of hard work and raising a family. I and my Labour colleagues Mary and Angeliki try to support the most vulnerable people in our communities, young and old – and to foster the natural inclination of people in this area to be neighbourly and caring.

The more I have got to know Whalley Range, knocking on doors and meeting local residents, the better I understand what a diverse, hard-working and interesting community this is. Now I find myself four years on, really proud to have been selected again to stand for Labour and Whalley Range in the election on Thursday 7 May. And if I’m chosen by you for another term as Councillor, I promise that I will continue to work hard – to make a difference.