This week Brighton Centre hosted the Labour Party Conference, the first with newly-elected leader Jeremy Corbyn in charge. Corbyn’s much-anticipated speech to conference took place on Tuesday and first-year Manchester student Rohi Malik was chosen to introduce him in front of the 4,500 members.
Rohi grew up in Corbyn’s London constituency of Islington North and has seen first-hand his work as a local MP. She said, “we have always seen how committed and honest he is, how hard he fights for the things he believes in and stands up for the people of Islington North.”
Rohi began working on Corbyn’s bid for Labour leadership over the summer and said that “to have any part in that was amazing.”
Speaking to The Mancunion on Wednesday she still couldn’t believe it had happened and said it was “terrifying, one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.” But Rohi also said it was incredible to be a part of something she believes in so strongly.
Her speech to Conference touched on why she believes in the Labour Party. Her father was a political prisoner in Pakistan who sought asylum in the UK, trained as a doctor and has been working in the NHS for the last 25 years. Her father was also the inspiration behind the decision to study Medicine at the University of Manchester, which she started only this week.
Speaking about why she thinks Jeremy Corbyn has gained so much support and won the leadership contest so decisively, Rohi said it was because he provided a clear alternative. “People wanted change after the election and Jeremy offered them a real alternative and a different approach,” something he certainly will be doing after his speech spoke of “challenging austerity, creating a kinder politics and a caring society.”
As Conference ends, Rohi will begin studying Medicine in earnest and the country will wait to see how Corbyn’s Labour Party will perform in the House of Commons over the coming months.
