St Albans MP Anne Main has said she would like to see a British Bangladeshi Conservative MP in the House of Commons. Mrs Main, who is president of the Conservative Friends of Bangladesh, was speaking at the CFoB’s annual dinner in London last week.
The event was attended by 280 British Bangladeshi Conservative party activists from across the country and by many prominent Conservative MP’s, MEP’s and GLA members. Cabinet minister, Andrea Leadsom, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Tom Tugendhat and pensions minister Guy Opperman were amongst the speakers at the dinner.
The CFoB has been running for over 10 years and aims to build closer relations between British Bangladeshi’s and the Conservative party through political activism and humanitarian support. CFoB members took on over 200 campaigning sessions across 60 constituencies during the recent general election campaign in 2017.
Speaking at the event, Mrs Main said ‘It is incredible how much this organisation has grown over the years. The hard work all across the country has been vital in securing the party votes and building an ever closer relationship with British Bangladeshis and the Conservative party.’
Anne continued, ‘What we need now is a British Bangladeshi Conservative MP. For too long the Bangladeshi community has been underrepresented and it is about time that changed. I would encourage as many of you as possible to stand, in local and general elections, and speak up for the many shared values that the Conservative party and the Bangladeshi community here in the UK have.’
The CFoB have travelled on 5 social action projects to Bangladesh, most recently in September 2017. The group have visited many charitable and humanitarian projects during their visits and have supported local charities and aid organisations working hard to improve the lives of many of the poorest people in Bangladesh.
Chairman of the CFoB, Mehfuz Ahmed said ‘We are a formidable campaigning group within the Conservative party and the important social action work we have been able to do over the years has helped many Bangladeshi people. I look forward to the years ahead as I have no doubt the CFoB will continue to grow and make a real change for the better for many people in Bangladesh and hopefully here in the UK as well.’