In a research briefing, the House of Commons reported that there are an estimated 715,000 people that immigrated to the UK as of March 2020 for work, study, and seeking asylum.
Yet the current UK government is trying to curb the number of immigrants entering the UK, through the Nationality and Borders Bill proposed by home secretary Priti Patel in her New Plan for Immigration.
The bills have been heavily criticised considering that WorkPermit.com reported that the UK has a high number of immigrant-origin Members of Parliament (MPs), based on a study conducted by an international project, Pathways to Power in 2015.
Being an older study and limited to parliament, these numbers do not include the 20,000 councillors, who look after their constituents in their local area.
So who can take part in politics?
Standing as a councillor
First, you would also need to check if you’re qualified to stand as a councillor by checking off these requirements:
Be 18 years old
Be a British citizen or a citizen from a Commonwealth country or European Union
Be registered to vote in the area or have lived/worked there for at least 12 months before an election
The easiest place to start is in your own area and community as you would know and be more familiar with the needs and issues there. For this, you would have to look for your local council.
There are different levels of councils depending on where you’re at and what they’re responsible for:
In England alone, there are a total of 343 local councils and this number does not include town and parish councils. According to the Local Government Information Unit, there are around 11,930 local councils throughout the UK.
Due to this sheer number, it is worth looking into what roles are available in your local council and how best you can contribute. This would also help you build your network and your base to represent the next council level or as MP.
Standing as an MP
If you want to stand as MP, you need to check these basic requirements:
Be over 18 years old
Be a British citizen or a citizen of a Commonwealth country or Republic of Ireland
That said, it’s easier to join a political party than to stand as independent as according to parliament.uk, you would need to be nominated by 10 parliamentary electors of the constituency you want to stand in.
If you’re under a party, you would be able to receive additional support and have more people to vouch for you as each party has its own selection process. Being selected is also highly dependent on your political CV and if you’re authorised by your party’s nominating officer.
If you want to stand as independent, you still could. But every MP candidate would need to pay a £500 deposit when submitting their nomination papers to ensure that you are serious about representing your constituency.
This deposit will only be returned to you if you receive over 5 percent of the total votes that have been cast.
Due to this monetary requirement and funding your own campaign materials, you would be disqualified to stand if you’re bankrupt.
Additional resources for you to learn more about standing for your area:
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