On 5 July 2024, at precisely 03:15 am, an announcement echoed across Leicester that will forever be etched in my memory– “I do thereby declare that Shivani Raja is duly elected as Member of Parliament for Leicester East constituency”.
As Shivani’s agent, friend, and supporter, witnessing her take the stage as the newly elected Member of Parliament, especially in front of two failed former MPs, was an immensely proud moment for me. It was a moment so powerful that it brought tears to my eyes.
The question everyone is asking: How did you turn Leicester East blue, especially with two former Leicester East MPs standing as candidates? The answer – simple, we listened to the electors and ran a positive, local campaign.
If you’ve been involved in Leicester City politics, you’ll know that this win was not just a fluke – it was a result of years of groundwork. The seeds of success were sown at the 2023 local elections when Baroness Verma (former Federation President), Richard Tutt (former Federation Chairman) and Rhys Brown (former Deputy Chair Political) led us to victory, successfully electing seventeen councillors – against the national trend.
Building on the foundations laid over the past five years, we continued the winning streak by delivering a campaign that truly resonated with local communities and residents.
The people of Leicester East wanted a Member of Parliament who wouldn’t just spend time on Twitter or parade Indian celebrities but someone who would stand up in the House of Commons chamber and fight for fairer funding and investment for the city, somebody who gets our city.
They wanted a representative who would help retain our young people by providing them with opportunities for great jobs right at their doorstep, and most importantly, hold Labour accountable for their mismanagement in Leicester East and across the city.
Our core campaign team—Shivani, myself, Rhys Brown, Richard Tutt, Manoj Keshavji, Utkarsh Thakkar and Baroness Verma —defied national trends by delivering Leicester East as the only Conservative gain in the country this year. This young, dynamic team achieved success without any support from CCHQ—no funding or advice, just hours of brainstorming.
To anyone who might label this victory as ‘religious politics,’ I challenge you to find any evidence of that and discuss it with me directly.
This win was driven by Shivani, a local candidate who campaigned on local issues and demonstrated that Leicester East deserved better than 37 years of Labour neglect.
What a way to secure the seat—by defeating Mr. Keith Vaz, the former Labour MP who resigned in 2019 amidst scandals. Unsuccessfully, Vaz failed to make his comeback. In fact, he didn’t even make it into the top three; he finished fifth with just 3,681 votes, trailing behind Claudia Webbe, who secured fourth place.
Despite two former MPs standing against Shivani, the victory was hers. Leicester East is now back where it belongs – in the hands of The Conservative and Unionist Party. And I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished.
Vrushika Valand 
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