GREEK Cypriots in north London are being wooed by a joint operation between the British Labour Party and ruling Greek Socialist party, PASOK, to keep north London constituencies voting left in Britain’s general elections, expected in June.
PASOK is to donate staff and organise political meets in north London to persuade the Greek Cypriot community to re-elect Labour Party MPs, after their landslide win in 1997.
A string of north London seats — Enfield Southgate, Finchley and Golders Green, Hendon, Enfield North and Edmonton — all have substantial Greek and Greek Cypriot populations.
North London has been a Conservative Party stronghold in previous years and the Labour-PASOK deal was also instrumental during Britain’s last general election.
Labour MP Stephen Twigg defeated possible Tory-party leadership contender Michael Portillo with a majority of 1,433 in 1997. Some seats have more Greek Cypriots than Labour’s winning margin in the last election.
The Labour Party-PASOK deal was brokered between Margaret McDonagh, general secretary of Labour and Costas Skandalides, her opposite number at PASOK.
“We are offering donations in kind rather than money. Last time we were able to organise meetings and distribute leaflets among the Greek community, particularly in north London,” Skandalides told The Guardian newspaper.
North London Labour MPs have taken regular trips to Cyprus during their term in Parliament, and have been vocal in their support of Greek Cypriot interests.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
