There are at least nine Portuguese candidates in the British local elections on May 5, the highest number ever, reflecting the growing interest in the political participation of immigrants and Portuguese descendants, which was welcomed by the Portuguese government.
One of the most decisive factors for the successful integration of the Portuguese into society was political participation. When this involvement occurs, it means that there is full integration. Therefore, I see this as a very positive factor, “said Paulo Cafofo, Foreign Secretary for Portuguese Communities, in Agncia Lusa.
The Madeiran politician said that “the greatest evolution will continue for Portuguese and Portuguese who want to participate in political life” and that “encouragement is needed”. [para] This could happen in the next election. “
Diego Costa, 23, is a City Council candidate [Council] He is running for the first time in the Lambeth constituency in south London [ward] Oval.
Also Lambeth and Serena da Silva, 41, of the ‘Labor’ party, are newcomers to politics in Waterloo and the South Bank constituency.
Sofia de Sousa, 32, is running for a second Conservative seat in the Blackwall & Cubitt Town constituency in Tower Hamlets Chamber in east London, where she lost the election four years ago.
Lucia Das Neves, Luso’s successor, will run for re-election to the ‘Labor’ party for the Woodside Ward constituency in the Haringe city council north of the British capital.
Outside the capital, Januvario Guzmவோo and 32-year-old Diego Rodriguez are the Conservative Party’s candidates for the Bridgewater City Council in Somerset, southwest England, for the Eastover and Bridgewater East & Powtrip constituencies, respectively.
Rodriguez, who was once mayor of the village in 2018, is the first Portuguese to accept such a position in the United Kingdom and is the most experienced mayor of Portuguese descent who has held office for seven years.
Diego Coreis, 43, was re-elected councilor last year [city councillor] For Littlemore, a suburb of Oxford, he will run again this year due to a reshuffle of constituencies, this time for a four-year term.
In Wales, Councilor for Portuguese Communities, 48-year-old Aiolanda Banu Vikas, is again a candidate in the village of Rexham for the Welsh Nationalist Party Blade Zimru after a failed attempt in 2017.
In Scotland, for the first time, the Portuguese candidate Martha Matos Costa (44) is running for the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the Liberton / Kilmerton area of Edinburgh.
In the UK, 4,360 seats will be up for grabs in 146 municipalities, 1,227 in 32 constituencies in Scotland and 1,200 in 22 municipalities in Wales.
Local elections in the UK are held almost every year, but in different municipalities or constituencies.
As a councilor, Carla Barreto, 43, was elected independent mayor of Thedford village in the east of England in 2019, and served one year.
The Portuguese community in the United Kingdom is estimated to be about 400 thousand people, the fourth largest in Europe after Poland, Romania and Italy.
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