Luke Akehurst
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Luke Akehurst | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the Labour Party NEC | |
| Assumed office Nov 2020 | |
| In office 2010–2012 | |
| Hackney Councillor for Chatham | |
| In office 2002–2014 | |
| Succeeded by | Ward abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 1972 (age 52) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations | Labour First |
| Education | Bristol University |
| Occupation | Director of We Believe in Israel |
| Website | lukeakehurst.blogspot.com |
 | This article about a British politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Luke Akehurst (born 2 March 1972) is a British Labour party official, and former counciller. Since 2022, he has been a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, having also previously been on the NEC from 2010 untill 2012.
Education and early career[edit]
Luke Akehurst studied at the University of Bristol. In 1993 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Politics.[1]
From 2000 to 2011, Akehurst worked at the Weber Shandwick Public Affairs firm.[1]
Involvement in politics[edit]
From 1995 to 1996, Akehurst was National Secretary of Labour Students.
In 1995, Akehurst came 7th in the Bristol City Council election in the Stoke Bishop ward.
In the 2001 general election Akehurst ran as the Labour candidate in Aldershot, coming third place behind incumbent Conservative MP Gerald Howarth and the Liberal Democrat Adrian Collett.
In 2022 Hackney borough election, Luke Akehurst was successfully elected to the Council, where he served untill 2014.
In the 2005 general election he ran again as a Labour candidate, this time in Castle Point. In the run up to the election, Akehurst criticised an anti-imigration ad that siting Tory MP Bob Spink had published as "appalling comments that whip up racial tension" and "reminiscent of the worse utterances of Enoch Powell."[2] He came second to Spink.[3]
In 2006, Akehurst became Secratary of Labour First, which represents "moderates" and "the old Labour Right". Under his leadership, the organisation has been committed to "Clause One socialism" of prioritising getting Labour candidates elected to the parliment above all else.[4][5]
Since August 2011, Akehurst has been employed as director of We Believe in Israel, which aims to campaign and lobby for support of the Israel amoung non-jewish people. Akehurst, although not Jewish himself, has frequently spoken positively of Zionism, describing it in 2023 as "a beautiful ideology of anti-racism."[6]
As leader of Labour First, he was involved in 2020 talks with Progressive Britain that established the pro-Starmer umbrella group Labour to Win. Since the organisation's launch, Akehurst has been one of its two co-directors.[7]
In the 2021 Oxford City Council elections, Akehurst ran for the St. Mary's ward, and came in third.
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Akehurst, Luke. "Luke Akehurst". LinkedIn. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Nicholas Watt. "Tory candidate under fire for 'send them back' asylum ad". The Guardian Date. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ Gilbert, Jeremy (14 April 2018). "Antisemitism, cosmopolitanism and the politics of Labour's 'old' and 'new' right-wings". openDemocracy. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Labour First". Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Akehurst, Luke [@lukeakehurst] (13 September 2023). "I'm very sorry for you if you cannot see Zionism as a beautiful ideology of anti-racism and the national liberation and cultural flourishing of the Jewish people. I have no idea why you or anyone else harbours such intense negativity towards such a profoundly decent movement" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna (5 April 2020). "Progress and Labour First launch 'Labour to Win' umbrella organisation". LabourList. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
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