At an online selection meeting on Monday 18 January attended by almost seventy local members, Muqaddasah Bano was chosen as the new Labour candidate for the next local elections in Whalley Range (currently due to be held on 6 May 2021).

“My first name is Muqaddasah, but most of my friends just call me Bano. They find it easier to pronounce!” she says. Bano will be campaigning for Labour alongside our current Councillors Aftab Razaq, Angeliki Stogia, and Mary Watson who will be standing down at the election. “If I am elected, I know I will need to work very hard to follow Mary, who has achieved so much in Whalley Range during fifteen years service as councillor” says Bano. “But with the support of Aftab and Angeliki, I promise to do the best I can.”

Bano used to live on Demesne Road and was a regular visitor to Alexandra Park. “I used to spend quite a lot of time sitting on a bench by the lake with my tablet and getting on with some work in the fresh air” she remembers. A few years ago she had to move with her son to Wythenshawe in order to get suitable accommodation, but now that she’s been selected as a candidate here, she is planning to move back to Whalley Range as soon as she can.

She is a committed campaigner, particularly on problems of domestic violence and child abuse. She says “Although I’ve still got local friends and contacts in Whalley Range, my first task is to speak to as many people as I can – lockdown permitting! – and learn more about the issues that matter most to residents”. Bano is also a keen user and advocate of public transport. “I don’t have a car, so I really rely on public transport a lot. Until I’m able to move, I’ll be using the tram to travel to Whalley Range from my current home.”

If you have questions or issues that you would like to raise with Bano, you can contact her on bano@whalleyrangelabour.org.uk.