Ghazal Tipu talks to Maya Evan, Deputy Leader of Hasting Borough Council and a peace and anti-racism activist.
What has been your experience of serving as Deputy Leader of Hastings Council?
It’s really, really difficult because the budgets that local authorities get are very much determined by central government, and in the last 13 years, there’s been huge austerity cuts. It’s a struggle just to carry out basic services. We are the 13th most deprived town in the country. We have a lot of vulnerable individuals who are in a precarious situation. And from housing, to paying their bills, to just being able to put food on the table, you want to be able to really support those individuals and sometimes it’s really difficult.
I am lead member for housing and that’s probably one of the hardest portfolios because housing is a basic human right and at the moment we are struggling. We have a housing crisis in Hastings for various reasons, which include things like the rise of Airbnb, second holiday homes, and a huge influx of people who have moved to the town which is in effect has pushed up the rent for people. At the moment, we have 1,200 people in temporary accommodation.
The actual practically of how much money do we have, what levers can we pull, how can we help people, it’s very limited. So as a decision maker, there’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of guilt, and I guess it’s feeling like you’ve been pulled into lots of directions. It is difficult being Deputy, and I feel like you get a lot of blame for something ultimately that isn’t your fault, because you’re not getting enough funding from central government and the local market rate.
Why did you decide to go into local politics?
It all started in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour party. I joined the peace movement in the run up to the Iraq war. I was going to London and joining the anti-war protests. MPs such as Jeremy Corbyn were always on the platform, and at the anti-war conferences. So, it was about hearing him speak, trusting his analysis and that he is the real deal in terms of a socialist vision. And also, I’d over the years spoke on the same platform as him at anti-war events and we talked a lot about Afghanistan.
When he became the leader, I thought “wow” I’d better join the Labour party, which was a first for me. One day, the Chair of our CLP constituency labour party, Paul Barnett, said: “You know what would be really revolutionary Maya, is if 50% of the people running this country were women”. I thought: Paul – you’ve got a point there.
What has been the highlight of your role?
Casework – helping residents and being a rottweiler on their behalf. When you’ve got someone who has got an issue in their house and you take up their case and you win their case for them, it’s very tangible and makes sense. And they’re very appreciative of the work you’ve done for them. And even if you don’t manage to win their case, people often appreciate someone has taken the effort and care to fight for them. I prefer it when we get victories. But even the act of like: “I’m going to fight for you and help you and do everything that I can” – I think that gives a lot of people emotional support. It’s helpful for individuals because often people have never had that in life.
How do you connect your work as Deputy Leader with your previous activism and involvement with the Afghan peace volunteers?
My previous work was an international peace activist. That’s still challenging the system and it’s still helping people at a grassroots level. And that’s what I try to do at a local authority level – challenging the system and trying to do things differently and helping people at a grassroots level but it’s very hard because the local authority system is so solid, and people are used to doing things in certain ways. It’s very difficult to enact change. When I was an international activist, you would create your organisation and you would do you own thing.
But at a local authority level, I guess there’s a lot more power. I’ve got a title and I’m in a position of power. Because I’m part of the system and very much so. I’m a cog in the system, but I probably feel I do have more influence because I’m actually on the inside. Even though, to be honest, mentally it was easier for me to be an international activist and on the outside and doing my own thing. But perhaps being on the inside, and with the attitude that I do have, potentially I am making a bigger impact. It’s very hard to tell.
Being within the “system” and being able to make change, do you have an example of that at all?
Last night we had a Cabinet meeting where revised our Disability Funding Grant. If you have a disability and you need an adaptation in your house, you can apply for this grant. In the past, it’s been very difficult to access that funding because of various blockages. So, we’ve reviewed the various pathways and made it more accessible for people to apply for that grant and to have things like grab rails, wet rooms, and stair lifts. It’s not revolutionary, and it’s not fighting the industrial military complex, and it’s not like going to a war zone, but I think that at a grassroots level, it’s very important to facilitate people’s dignity in life.
What advice would you give to a female person of colour thinking of getting involved in local politics?
A female person of colour getting involved in local or national politics, step one – toughen up, grow a really thick skin, because it’s tough for anyone, but it’s really tough for women of colour. You’ll get it in the neck – sexism and racism. And the establishment is still very sexist, very racist, so if you’re standing in a room and people look across the room, you’ll get picked out because you look different. So be prepared and have your support network who can give you strength and remind you it’s not you, it’s society that’s sexist and racist. You get undermined so much every day that you start thinking: “Maybe it is me. Maybe I am stupid. Maybe I am wrong”. But it’s not. It’s just because you’re swimming against the tide.
You’re involved in a project supporting Afghan refugee women. How is that project going?
It’s both men and women and we have tried to prioritise the women. We’ve got nine to Portugal, and two months ago we got another 21, we need to get another 27 to Spain. That’s been great. We’ve had a Zoom reunion with Afghan peace activists. They’re all scattered around the world now. I have known this group personally since 2011 and they were all in their mid-teens around then. I got to see them grow up and mature. Many of them got married and had kids. They’re still very determined to campaign for peace in Afghanistan and keep the awareness of the world on the country. The fact that we’ve been involved in supporting these incredible peace activists, who now have come of age and want to run peace campaigns in their respective countries is really inspiring for me.
The Home Office is looking to use the prison in Bexhill to house refugees. Are you involved in demonstrations against that?
I do indeed! There was a demo two months ago with locals near Northeye and they were protesting to oppose its opening. It was formerly a military base, and then it was a prison for a while. It was also a training base for foreign military. It’s been closed for at least a decade and so it’s been in very bad disrepair and there’s asbestos present on the site, as well.
So, I went along with some of my anti-racism/Stand Up to War activist friends. There were four of us. Some of us had ‘welcome refugee placards’ and they got them out and immediately the crowd turned on them, like some sort of mediaeval lynching. They were pushed around, had the placards pulled out of their hands. They had people shouting at them in their face. As we left – the classic quote was: “F-off back to Hastings!” erm which was ironic really and some kind of comedy.
Interestingly, the pro-refugee, anti-racism activists, of which I consider myself to be one, and the local residents, they both agree we shouldn’t have Northeye, because we both agree it’s unsuitable for 1,200 individuals to be plonked in the middle of nowhere, in a suburb in Bexhill in a site which is in extreme disrepair with asbestos, with a hostile local community.
I do really worry for the safety of those individuals. It’s looking like it is going ahead. The government is confirming it will be open in September. Now what’s interesting at the protest I attended – it was definitely a mixture of locals, but I could sense there were far-right elements who had come along. And they weren’t part of the local community, and they came to stir things up as well.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
In terms of grassroots movement building at the moment, I think the power is with trade unions. I would encourage everyone to join a trade union and get involved to pressurise the current government and the next government around decent pay and conditions for workers. I think that at a grassroots level, that’s one of the most influential things people can do at the moment.
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