Tower Hamlets Green Party has announced it is putting forward community health professional and campaigner Maggie Crosbie [1] as its candidate for the 16th December by-election in Banglatown and Spitalfields.
Maggie Crosbie, a mother of two, known locally for her tireless work to improve the lives of disadvantaged families and young people in some of the most deprived areas of the East End, says:
"As Banglatown and Spitalfields’ councillor, I will fight for the whole community in the face of unprecedented government cuts to public services. We all need to stand up to the threats facing us, and mobilise to save our vital health services.
"As a health visitor you get to see families in their own homes, so you understand people and their problems a lot better. We are facing a crisis in housing with chronic overcrowding and damp posing serious health risks. I want to make sure that tackling our housing problems is a budgetary priority."
Maggie set up a health visitors group for the homeless in Spitalfields and sat on the Tower Hamlets Health Authority’s Equal Opportunities Committee. She also initiated an advocacy scheme within the health service and a support group for battered and separated Asian women. She was co-ordinator of Subtext, a local arts organisation, and ran a very popular open mic event for young people at Rich Mix. She continues:
"Young people come up to me in the street and ask: ‘When are we going to do it again?’. When I tell them the Arts Council pulled the plug they just feel that no one cares. I want to give young people a voice through creative writing and performance, working with poets, writers, drama, graffiti artists in schools and psychiatric settings in Tower Hamlets."
Maggie continues to support students campaigning against university fees, along with her Green Party [2] colleagues. She is presently involved in a local dyslexia support group and organising a major ‘Learning with Difference’ conference in February 2011.
Notes to editors
[1] Biography – Maggie Crosbie
Maggie Crosbie grew up in North West London and has lived in the East End for most of her adult life. Her father is Scottish and mother is English.
She is a qualified state registered nurse (SRN) and worked for several years as a health visitor. She changed career direction and undertook a drama and threatre arts degree at Goldsmith University, resulting in a BA (Hons) in Drama and Theatre Arts.
She worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Tara Arts and Man Méla. She was appointed literature worker at East Side Arts, a Whitechapel bookshop with an arts project attached to it, later known as Subtext.
Maggie worked for Spitalfields Health Centre as a health visitor in Brick Lane for five years. She is largely responsible for the Centre acquiring Bengali speaking advocates and interpreters, which she viewed as essential given that 99% of the community do not speak English.
When Maggie discovered that there were large numbers of homeless families placed in B&Bs across London she set up a homeless health visitors group working with GP’s, families and community groups to improve their situation.
Maggie Crosbie is the Coordinator of the Tower Hamlets Green Party.
[2] The Green Party was established in 1972. It seeks to create a more equal society, cut spending on war and defence and is campaigning against the austerity cuts.
It won its first member of parliament this year and has two European MEPs, two London Assembly members and 115 councillors. It is the only major party to consistently call for the abolition of university tuition fees.