Your candidates in Hoxton West

Nicholas Blincoe

Nicholas is a Silver Dagger-winning crime novelist, turned historian, writing on football in Israel and Palestine. He has lived in Manchester and Palestine, but his family ties to Hoxton go back over two hundred years. He discovered he lives on the same street in Hoxton as his great-grandmother while writing his prize-nominated history of his family ties to Charles Dickens. A one-time speechwriter for Deputy PM Nick Clegg, his disappointment in everyday politics was turned around after hearing Zack Polanski speak. Nicholas says, ‘The Green Party gave me back my hope. We can have safer streets; clean warm homes; in a Hackney that has a sense of fairness, and justice.’

Dave Carr 

Dave Carr was born in Hackney, and spent his working life in the NHS. For ten years, he specialised in critical care at St Thomas’s Hospital. He now works in public health. In the past forty years, he has seen the impact of soaring rents and cuts in services, the wait for council property lengthening, while gentrification has forced people out of the community. As a union activist and campaigner, he has represented workers individually and organising collectively. He hopes to bring that experience as a councillor. He says: ‘The pandemic showed the resilience of our communities but also exposed the massive inequalities in our society and corruption of our politicians.’

Jas Zavar Crowe

Jas is a designer specialising in spatial design and transportation. With a family background of human rights and constitutional law in Kenya, she believes that integrating a human-centric design approach into the council’s service, planning, and housing development would strengthen its ability to work for the people: Improving how our residents interact with services, reducing systematic inequality to improve outcomes for marginalised peoples, and strengthening the council’s ability to deliver affordable, aspirational housing for its residents.

“Hackney’s strength lies in its diversity of thought. My priority as councillor would be to use this strength to fight back against the impacts of gentrification on community, affordability, and inequality in Hoxton and the rest of the borough.”