Cllr Kam Rai, Leader of Redbridge Council, is seeking re-election as he contests the Aldborough ward in the upcoming Redbridge local elections.
In an interview with Asian Voice, he reflects on his priorities for the borough, drawing on his experience at the helm of the council to highlight ongoing work in local services, community safety, and regeneration, borough-wide priorities. A long-serving Labour councillor, he has played a key role in shaping the council’s direction in recent years.
As the campaign intensifies, he sets out his vision for Aldborough and wider Redbridge, focusing on delivery, accountability, and continued support for residents this year.
What will be your priorities during the first six months of your term?
I think the main priority at the outset is to keep our community united. We have a very diverse population in Redbridge and across the borough, and most people already get along and treat one another with respect.
After elections, particularly when there are more divisive parties involved, it is important to bring everyone back together. If we win, as we hope to, there will still be people who voted for other parties, but the responsibility is to represent everyone, not just our supporters. Our focus would therefore be to go out, engage with residents, and ensure we continue to represent everyone fairly.
As council leader with experience of overseeing the borough, what immediate actions would you take to better support young people and address their needs?
It’s all set out in the Labour manifesto and I believe we are the only party with a fully costed, borough-wide plan. One of our key priorities is to create 5,000 good-quality jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for young people aged 18 to 25. We would work with businesses and partners to either create or secure these roles, because youth unemployment and the transition from school to work is a real challenge that needs addressing.
Alongside this, I have committed to bringing together all providers of youth services in Redbridge with a fresh approach, almost starting with a blank sheet of paper. This would include organisations involved in mentoring, sports, arts, education, and general youth engagement. The aim would be to coordinate everyone in one place to develop a shared plan for youth services, focused on keeping young people away from crime, exploitation and harm, while also giving them real aspiration and opportunity for the future.
We would work directly with young people and providers to shape a clear offer: whether that is support with CVs and job applications, training and skills, sports, education, or simply safe and positive activities outside school.
Importantly, we would also connect the many excellent volunteers and community groups already doing great work, so they can collaborate rather than operate in isolation. By building those links, we can strengthen referrals, avoid duplication, and ensure young people are directed to the right support already available in the borough.
How does that diversity influence your leadership approach, especially given concerns about rising hate incidents?
It starts with young people. We need to ensure that in every school, children learn to understand and respect differences between people. Whether it is festivals, clothing, or food, even if they do not share those practices, they should respect those who do, rather than mock or ridicule them. Education is key to building that foundation.
Alongside this, we must engage directly with all residents, not just formal community groups, as they do not always represent every voice. Additionally, despite our diversity, most people share the same priorities: respect, opportunity, safe neighbourhoods, clean streets, good schools, and safe spaces for families.
So we should focus on those shared priorities and deliver on them collectively.
Finally, we must be willing to challenge hate whenever it appears. Whether as politicians, as a council, or as individuals, we cannot ignore it. If we expect respect, we must also ensure we do not tolerate abusive or divisive behaviour ourselves. Challenging hate consistently is essential, regardless of where it comes from.
With councils currently facing financial pressure and tight budgets, how will this impact your work, and how do you plan to manage and address these constraints?
It is true that councils have faced significant financial pressure, particularly after 14 years of cuts under the Conservative government. As a result, Redbridge became one of the lowest funded boroughs per head in London, ranking fourth lowest.
However, over the past 18 months, with a Labour government in place, I have had the opportunity to speak directly with ministers and government advisers to make the case for fairer funding. That work has helped secure an additional £61 million over the next three years. This is a major positive. In the past, we had to be extremely efficient and innovative in how we used our limited resources to protect services, but even that became increasingly difficult.
With this new funding settlement and a fairer distribution of resources to underfunded areas like Redbridge, we are now in a stronger position. It means we can better protect and invest in libraries, parks, community spaces, schools, and roads over the coming years.
How do you respond to the recent criticism of Labour Party, and how do you explain the rising local support for Reform UK and the Greens?
When it comes to parties like Reform, the Independents, and the Greens, they are often very effective at dividing opinion, blaming others, and offering overly simple answers to very complex problems. As a result, our own party needs to do a better job of communicating our message. We also have to recognise that people understand this is a difficult period. They can see the previous government left significant challenges, and they know it will take time to fix them. That clarity of direction is what people need.
At the same time, it is understandable that when people are frustrated or struggling, they may be drawn to parties that promise quick fixes. But in reality, those solutions are rarely realistic or deliverable.
Why are you the best choice for the job?
I think, first of all, we are the only party with real experience in delivering services. We have had candidates in place across Redbridge for at least the past year, if not longer, whereas other parties have selected their candidates only in the last few weeks. I don’t think that shows proper respect for the electorate, because engagement should happen over many months, not just at the last minute, so people can understand your plans.
We are also the only party with a fully costed manifesto and a clear, detailed plan for Redbridge, no other party has set that out in the same way.
In addition, we are the only ones truly representing the whole community. Our candidates reflect the diversity of the borough, and we are committed to ensuring no one is left behind. Whatever someone’s background, religion, or identity, they have a place in the Labour Party and will be treated with respect and proper representation.
