Labour announces NHS radiographer as candidate for 18 May Enfield Lock by-election
A Turkish-speaking radiographer has unveiled her bid to become Enfield’s newest councillor in a by-election next month.
Labour candidate Elif Erbil said she wanted to be link between local government and the community if she is successful in the vote, which will be held in the Enfield Lock ward of the borough on 18 May.
Ms Erbil, who works the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, northwest London, said her knowledge of the NHS helped her understand how healthcare services could be improved.
She told Haber that she had been campaigning alongside local MP Joan Ryan for many years and saw her candidacy as “the next step to get myself more involved in the community.”
Crime and fly-tipping were among the issues she said local residents were telling her about on the doorstep.
“They’re talking about fly-tipping issues, the rubbish that’s forever being collected at certain points on their streets,” she said.
“I can be the link with the community. Obviously I have a Turkish background but I can be a link with all of the communities. Everyone says we’re a multicultural society. It’s being the link between the government, the local council and the people.”
Ms Erbil, who is a niece of current Enfield councillor Nesimi Erbil, was born in southeast Turkey but came with her parents to the UK aged three.
She said: “I feel more British. But I’m proud of my Alevi heritage and my Turkish heritage, I’m proud of both and go back to visit in the summer.
Besides Ms Erbil, four other candidates are standing in the by-election: Christine Ann Bellas (Conservative), Kate McGeevor (Green), Richard Morgan-Ash (Liberal Democrats) and Gary Alan Robbens (UKIP).
The vacancy occurred following the resignation of Labour’s Ozzie Uzoanya for family reasons.
Labour took all three seats when the last election was held in Enfield Lock in 2014.