I’m Naranee Ruthra-Rajan and I’m standing as the Green Party candidate for Hammersmith and Chiswick, because I know as Londoners, we deserve a more imaginative and hopeful approach to addressing the issues our country faces, and I know the Green Party is the party to do this.

Full statement

I was born in Hammersmith, grew up in Kingston as a member of the Sri Lankan Tamil community there, and have lived in Hammersmith since 2006. My career has spanned education and the arts, which (at their best) are about encouraging questioning, critical thinking and creativity. Whether in my former job as a primary school teacher or my current role in a young people’s charity, I have always focused energetically on encouraging people to engage critically with ideas and challenges, not finding fault for the sake of it, but to identify answers to problems and to imagine a hopeful future where real, big, exciting changes become possible in people’s lives. I don’t say this is an easy thing to do. I know from experience it’s hard to find the space and the energy to work in the world when it is as troubled as it seems right now. To then find the head space to imagine how it could be better in the future can feel impossible and overwhelming.

However, coming from two sectors that are hugely underfunded, often undervalued and where time is always tight, where the pressure to deliver against targets is high, I know that change is incremental and achievable and happens every day. And I know that it takes an imaginative approach to make that change happen even though it can feel like you’re swimming against the tide.

These challenges are part of politics too. For too long, the old parties have been allowed to treat the problems we face as inevitable facts of life, or a can to be incessantly kicked down the road. But, as Caroline Lucas, MP, our current City Hall Greens (Sian Berry, Zack Polanski and Caroline Russell) and hundreds of elected Green councillors across the country have shown, there are realistic alternatives that with imagination, persistence and hard work can be communicated and translated into policies that inspire people and change their lives. I am really excited to campaign for policies that offer real solutions to the crises that people face in this country. Policies such as a wealth tax, ambitious plans for housing and insulation and a programme of green jobs. There is plenty to be done. But we can do it.

A key thing I’ve learnt through my work, whether as an employee or volunteer is how change can only happen when people are truly heard and empowered to participate in finding the solutions. We need everyone’s unique contribution in order to succeed, which is why diversity and genuine respect are so important. I’m excited to be standing with Greens across the country, committed to campaigning on an inclusive platform. We need to get better at representing the diversity of our home and I’d be proud to be a Sri Lankan Green MP candidate.

My priority as an MP would be to identify the best ways to become a genuinely child-friendly country. As a teacher, I know that by meeting the needs of the most vulnerable we improve everyone’s lives. Children and young people have had an incredibly rough ride in the last decade. I’ve seen first hand the many issues children and the adults that work with them have faced. And almost all of them are rooted in inequality. Without more equal access to green spaces, creative education and cultural opportunities, clean, breathable air, safe and affordable housing, and a transport system that is cheaper and truly accessible for everyone we will not build the future our children deserve.

I’m committed to working for a Greener, more equal constituency here and would ask you to support me as the Green candidate for Hammersmith and Chiswick.