Recently, Homerton Changemakers offered me the chance to interview Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Labour’s candidate in Clacton at the 2024 General Election and the unofficial best-dressed man in UK politics. Coming up to Cambridge on the train, patching up my questions with the help of dodgy Wi-Fi connections, I didn’t know what to expect. Alongside fighting for progressive politics at the epicentre of Reform UK’s 2024 campaign, Jovan had been the first Afro-Caribbean chair of his local Labour party, worked with Keir Starmer and co in the party’s head office, and co-led a leadership programme for Black party members, while his Clacton campaign had been hit by Labour staff directing him to campaign elsewhere. Fortunately for everyone who attended, Jovan was willing to talk openly about his experiences in politics, and was willing to confront big ideas.
Throughout this interview, the consistency and positivity of Jovan’s outlook stood out to me, particularly when compared to the gloom we now expect from most unsuccessful political candidates. In the midst of a growing far right movement across American and European politics, while the centre-left in Britain stumbles over itself mounting an effective response, Jovan was neither dismissive of the problems we face or the radical solutions they demand, but crucially conveyed optimism that we could bridge these chasms. Even when discussing an often-gruelling election campaign in Clacton, he spoke positively about doorstep conversations, identifying shared concerns between himself and his would-be constituents, engaging passionately on the topics of child poverty and deprivation in the area. In this, he spoke above the bunfight of party politics and the soundbites that can be so appealing to politicians, and directly addressed material deprivation with those forced to face it.
This grounded hope was best displayed in his response to my final question, regarding the Labour government’s track-record so far. The Party leadership’s choices, notably to maintain the Conservatives’ two-child benefit cap, a decision with bleak material consequences for Britain’s poorest children and families, suggest those at the top regard Jovan’s outlook as, at best, an inconvenience. Why, then, should marginalised groups join or vote for Labour today? In this, despite the Party’s record in power and despite his own treatment, Jovan’s practical optimism remained. Though recognising the need for change, he was clear that change could and should be fought for within the Party’s structures, reflecting the view that Labour was still the party most able to force change to unjust systems, even when it appears some are not up for the fight. His response reflected his approach to political action, tested through living a full political life. Indeed, by the age of 27 his CV includes heading the Bernie Grant Leadership Programme, fighting Labour’s battle in Clacton, and since the election using his platform to advocate for progressive politics across the media. These experiences may have contributed to Jovan’s approach to audience questions, where he was honest about the nature of politics and political manoeuvring; and unafraid to tackle big questions about aspiration as a political concept, what it meant in real terms to ethnic minority communities. What is more, Jovan related Labour’s founding vision – working-class people wanting better for themselves and their communities – to the aspirational values common to the migrants who settled in Britain in the post-war period, hoping for better lives for themselves and their families. Throughout the interview – the quickest hour of my life – Jovan was engaging, and offered real insight into the inner workings of party politics, the reality of campaigning in unsafe seats and the necessity of fighting for progressive, meaningful change. All in all, an evening well spent.
Sam Eastoe
