Bolton's first Green councillor hopes to become MP

Having worked in social work and in the NHS, Alli is now Bolton’s first Green councillor.

The 59-year-old, ward councillor for Halliwell, doesn’t want to stop there, however.

The father-of-three has now set his sights on becoming the town’s first Green MP.

Halliwell born-and-bred, Cllr Alli is the son of first-generation immigrants to the UK from India, with his own father coming to England after seeing a poster advertising for workers in the cotton mills.

He said: “I started my work life working in a sweatshop, like many of my peers.

"The first-born Asian generation here usually worked in sweatshops after school, and worked on markets at the weekend.

“We did milk rounds before we went to school, so the work ethic has always been there, I think, for the first generation who were born here – because we saw our parents working so hard in the mills to make ends meet.”

In 2002, aged 36, Cllr Alli won the council’s central ward on the Labour ticket – smashing one of the many glass ceilings he says have been placed in front of him throughout his life due to his race.

“I was one of the first Asian councillors, it was quite pioneering – we wanted to buck the system,” he said.

Now, 22 years on, Cllr Alli believes the Labour Party has become too similar to the Conservatives under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer.

He said: “I’ve always been into social justice, workers’ rights. I feel that the new Labour Party, if you like, has moved way too right to be the Labour Party that I was part of.”

'Gaza war is huge on the agenda'

Cllr Alli, whose election leaflets proclaimed ‘Permanent Ceasefire Now’ alongside an image of the Palestinian flag, is under no illusions about why people voted for him.

He said: “I think people were looking for a change, a lot of people are disillusioned with the whole political spectrum, process.

“The Gaza war is huge on the agenda at the moment, as you know. Both of the major main parties weren’t calling for an immediate ceasefire, and the sale of weapons has still not stopped.

“The Gaza/Palestine issue did play a big factor in this, but I also think a big factor is people were looking for change.”

The councillor's leaflet called for a ceasefire in Gaza (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

'People should think more globally'

As a campaigner, Alli doesn’t shy away from international issues.

In 2021, he helped set up Humanity 4 Orphans, a charity which works in the Philippines and helped raise funds to develop an orphanage.

He said: “I think that it’s important that we don’t just live in our little pockets of society and ignore what’s going on around the world, because we are all part of a larger society, aren’t we?

“We are all part of the human race, I feel that it’s important not to have that cocoon mentality where we think about our little patch on the earth.”

Unsurprisingly, Cllr Alli thinks Brexit was a mistake, and says he would advocate for re-joining the European Union.

He continued: “I think people need to think more globally, and one of the things I like about the Green Party is it actually thinks about the environment globally as well.”

Systemic racism 'like organised crime'

Cllr Alli described himself as a 'survivor of systemic racism', and likened it to organised crime.

He said: “I know how much it affects people.

“If I wasn’t strong-willed I would have given up many, many times at the dead ends that were put in place in my career.

“Systemic racism is very different from the naked racism in the 70s and 80s that we faced – an analogy we can use is organised crime.

“You get your crime which is, like, pop your car window, nick your stereo, and have your house burgled.

“Then we get organised crime, which is far more sinister and far more effective, in a way.”

He added: “I think systemic racism is present all over Britain, and it's nice that it's finally being acknowledged, because systemic racism bypasses all the rhetoric and policies.

“Until you recognise there's a problem, you can't address the problem.”

'Reopen community centres' and collect bins

However, Cllr Alli is also keen to discuss local problems.

When I ask him his policy priorities, he’s quick to tell me about the local issues close to his heart – including bringing the tram to Bolton, fairer taxation, and the reopening of community centres.

He said: “I want those youth and community centres that have been shut down in Halliwell opened again. There are shut-down community centres like Cobden Centre, which is in the heart of the community. What’s the point of it being closed?

“The community itself is capable of running that centre at very little cost to the council. I’m all about asset transfer, so I want to help the communities negotiate with the council to get these community assets back into the hands of the community so that they can serve the community.”

Cllr Alli also says bin collection is big on his council priority list.

He said: “We don’t get regular bin collections in Halliwell, and that’s due to a number of reasons, such as bin wagons not being able to turn into backstreets as a result of parked cars, so I really want to focus on that – and potholes, I’ve got to get potholes in.”

Cllr Alli said closed community centres and missed bin collections were at the top of his priority list (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

'Lack of community consultation is why I stood'

National Green Party policy calls for 20mph limits in urban areas and a 55mph national speed limit, as well as on- and off-street parking levies for those with cars.

Cllr Alli said he would support some of these measures, but that he believes a lack of engagement on policies has led to disquiet in communities such as Halliwell.

“I would certainly want to see 20mph speed limits in heavily built-up populated areas just to avoid accidents.

“Whilst on my campaign I actually saw a young child get knocked over on Eskrick Street.

“Straight away I thought, we need safer zones for young people. A 20mph speed limit in heavily built-up areas, I don’t think that’s an unreasonable ask.”

However, when it comes to parking levies, Cllr Alli says he thinks more engagement is needed.

He said: “I think every community has to be engaged with, and one of the things that also prompted me to stand is the lack of community consultation that went on in my area before these huge ‘6G’ towers and lampposts.

“What people in my community felt was they were put up willy-nilly without community consultation.

“I don’t believe any systems, whether they’re lampposts or traffic alleviating systems, or pedestrianizing, I don’t believe that should happen without community consultation.”

'We shouldn't touch the green belt'

Having built his own home as part of a community co-op scheme,  Cllr Alli is aware of the difficulties of the nationwide housing crisis.

The Places for Everyone plan for homebuilding, which includes all Greater Manchester boroughs bar Stockport, would see some green belt land earmarked for development.

Cllr Alli says he would not build on this land without building on brownfield land first.

He continued: “Until we utilise all the brownfield sites we have around towns like Bolton, I don’t believe that we should be touching the green belt.

“That green area is home to Britain’s wildlife as well, it’s not just a human issue – it’s good for the environment if we keep these spaces, and why should we not?

“It’s like anything else – why would you not use what you have at hand before encroaching on green spaces, it just doesn’t make any sense.”

On the cost of living, Cllr Alli believes public ownership of utilities such as energy is one of the best ways to reduce the burden on residents.

He said: “Whether you’re poor or rich, it doesn’t matter if you’re a millionaire or a single mother on benefits with five kids, you are charging both of them equally for the units of the electricity they use, for the petrol they put in their car.

“How can that be fair, how is that a fair society?”

'Can you imagine if you had a tram from Bolton?'

On the Bee Network, Alli thinks Andy Burnham’s ‘Bee Network’ project, to bring buses back into public control, is ‘working well’.

He said: “I think Bolton needs to be connected, can you imagine if you had a tram from Bolton to its nearby areas?”

He added that it would be ‘awesome’ if Halliwell were connected to the tram.

Generation Z are 'not afraid'

Cllr Alli is aware of the impact of climate change, and the risks the future holds for the younger generation.

Moments after joking that the younger generation, including his children, aged 16, 24, and 26, are ‘spoiled’, he admits that he believes they are also much smarter than his generation was at their age.

He added: “I feel like we are at the crescent of change politically in this country. I feel there’s a vibe of wanting change like never before.

“I feel that we have the new Generation Z, they are more empowered as a generation in order to make or create that change, or challenge and throw down the gauntlet for the creation of that change than in any other generation that I’ve seen in my lifetime.

“It’s exciting for me. They’re not afraid of challenging the system either. It’s good, because I think a lot of the generation I come from are used to conformity – we’re trained to conformity.

“I’m not just talking about Asian people here, I’m talking about my childhood friends – we went to schools where discipline was compulsory, respect for traditions and conformity to authority was drummed into us.

“I feel this new generation, whatever culture you come form, has that almost cocky tenacity that says ‘we don’t have to listen’ and ‘we don’t have to do things your way because you did them that way’.

“I often say to my youngest daughter: ‘you at your age have far more knowledge than somebody who was, say, 30 years old in my age, and that’s due to social media, TikTok, whatever you want to call it.

“Today’s generation knows more about global issues and the world than we could have ever dreamed of knowing at their age.

“That’s power, that’s people power, and I still have great faith in people power.”