Unmesh Desai is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he has represented

City and East City and East is a constituency represented in the London Assembly. Created in 2000 it was represented by John Biggs until 2016. Since the 2016 assembly elections the constituency has been represented by Unmesh Desai, of the Labour Party. Bo ...

in the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to rejec ...

since 2016. He served as Councillor on the London Borough of Newham from 1998 until 2016, representing East Ham Central from 2002 onwards.

Background

Desai has resided in East London for more than 30 years. He previously trained and worked as a solicitor. He is a trustee of the West Ham United Foundation, President of the Newham Cricket Club and a Vice-President of the East London Rugby Club. Desai acted as election agent for Stephen Timms, the Labour MP for

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the hundred of B ...

. He has written for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' on the Prevent strategy. Desai has also been the Chair of the Newham Fabian Society for several years.

Career

Desai was first elected to the

Newham London Borough Council Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a ...

in 1998, representing St Stephens ward. He was subsequently elected as a councillor for East Ham Central in 2002 following a boundary change. He continued being a councillor for East Ham Central until 2018 when he stood down to focus on his London Assembly work. During his time on Newham Council he served as Cabinet Member for Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour. In May 2016, Desai was elected to the

succeeding John Biggs as the member for

, winning nearly 58% of the vote. He was subsequently reselected as Labour candidate for the constituency for the

2020 London Assembly election The 2021 London Assembly election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the members of the London Assembly, alongside the 2021 London mayoral election. The mayoral and Assembly elections were originally to be held on 7 May 2020, but on 13 March 2020 i ...

. Desai is Labour's London Assembly spokesperson on Policing and Crime and Chair of both the London Assembly Audit Panel and the Police and Crime Committee. During his time on the Assembly, he has campaigned on issues including police pay and conditions,

anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

, and hate crime at football grounds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Unmesh Living people Labour Members of the London Assembly Councillors in the London Borough of Newham Year of birth missing (living people) British politicians of Indian descent