A former Labour councillor has decided to join political party UKIP
Former Labour councillor, 60-year-old Harjinder Singh Sehmi, has decided to join political party UKIP.
An immigrant from India now holding British citizenship, Mr.Sehmi stated he wants to support a party that controls UK borders. He said, “I agree with UKIP over border control.
“If you have a three bedroom house you can’t have five or six guests because it’s too crowded – it is the same with the country.
“The Labour Party is only for Labour, the Conservatives are only for rich people but UKIP is for the whole of Britain.”
The former Labour member believes immigration to the UK from other European countries is more of a concern than immigration from outside Europe, which is much more tightly regulated.
Mr. Sehmi is aware his decision will not sit well with others including those he works alongside as a community volunteer.
Despite this he is determined not to restrict himself to just being a member, but to put himself forward as a possible candidate for a Coventry City Council ward and for a parliamentary seat.
Mr Sehmi, a dad of four and grandfather, represented the Cheylesmore ward on Coventry City Council before losing his seat to Conservative candidate Roger Bailey.
He studied for an arts degree at the University of Punjab before moving to the UK. He then married wife Guljinder, who had moved here several years before from the city of Mombasa in Kenyan. He worked at the General Electrical Company and was a shop steward for trade union the T and G. He now lives in Foleshill and plans to start a travel business.
Former Conservative Douglas Carswell recently became UKIP’s first MP, winning the Clacton-on-Sea by election. His defection from the Conservative Party had triggered the election.
Newly elected West Midlands UKIP MEP Jim Carver said, “People are attracted by our policies, such as raising tax allowances and taking everybody on the minimum wage out of income tax. Harjinder is one of many. A lot of our activists are coming from old Labour backgrounds.”
