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12 May 2010 09:06:10
As Britain wakes up to a new era of coalition politics headed by Conservative prime minister David Cameron, postgraduate student Ejel Khan is reflecting on several hectic weeks working for the campaign team of Esther Rantzen who was bidding to become MP for Luton South.
And while the TV personality and broadcaster may have failed to gain sufficient support to win the seat, she certainly won the admiration of Ejel who is studying Mass Communications at the University. He claims that he was disillusioned with the political process until he heard her speak in Luton in the days before she declared her candidature.
“Initially, I simply wanted to find out more about her, what she stood for and her plans to help the Luton community. As I got talking to her, I saw that she was genuinely interested in making a difference and felt passionately about what she was saying. It was then I decided to help the campaign where I could,” he said.
During the campaign, Ejel used his BA Hons in Media Production to design promotional leaflets, advise on the campaign website and co-ordinate press interviews and features about the former That’s Life host. He also introduced her to different sections of the Luton community, including a meeting with a Muslim women’s group and Sikh New Year celebrations. On the doorstep he would also sometimes act as a translator for people who did not have English as their first language.
“Everyone in the campaign genuinely thought Esther had a
chance of winning, but it was an uphill struggle. Esther did not have the
resources of the big parties or the machinery that is behind them. She put up
her own money to fight the campaign and I think a lot of people in the campaign
team were carried along by Esther’s enthusiasm and determination.”
Even on election day, after lectures and course work, Ejel was leafleting the streets of Stopsley until the closing of the polls to get his candidate elected. It was not to be; the would-be MP trailed in fourth with 1,872 votes, losing her deposit in the process.
Ejel is in no doubt, however, that the experience was worthwhile. “Esther may have lost, but she won the hearts of lots of people who voted for her. I also know that she intends to remain a part of Luton life and politics.
“For me it has restored my faith in politics and shown me how you can help on issues like community cohesion and multi-culturalism and how it affects our society. It also exposed me for a brief time to an exciting world that I never thought I would be part of.”
Latest news» 2010» May» Ejel shares in the election excitement
