The Labour candidate for Lincoln has told how his “profound disagreement” with Foreign Secretaries made him jump from Whitehall into politics.
Hamish Falconer, the son of Labour peer Lord Charlie Falconer, was selected by the party last month to stand in the city.
He served as the head of the UK’s Terrorism Response Team, and led relief efforts in conflict-ridden areas including Pakistan and Afghanistan.
His work under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss convinced him to stand for office himself.
“I loved my job and it was a privilege to serve people, but I felt like the country was on the wrong path,” he said.
“I profoundly disagreed with several Foreign Secretaries who I served under – Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab – about the direction we should be going in.
“I had been a Labour Party member since I was young. Eventually I had a choice to stay in the Foreign Office and keep my mouth shut or embrace my Labour side.”
Hamish spent two years working in South Sudan, which was deemed one of the most dangerous places in the world after falling into civil war.
He says he’s proud of the work but it was a ‘hard lesson’ about the reality of politics.
Hamish Falconer, son of Labour lord peer Charlie, won the backing of the local party | Photo: @Hamish4Lincs
“The Foreign Office was doing everything it could to stop the newest country in the world from spiralling into disaster. The level of violence was unlike anything I’ve seen before or since,” he said.
“There were atrocities, total economic collapse, extreme violence and mass rapes and killings.
“We were proud to be providing medicines, textbooks and whatever else to support the government. But we constantly saw toxic, ethnic politics. It was a hard lesson about how politics can dwarf everything else.
“I remember fighting not to send a delivery of pharmaceuticals directly to the government in the capital, because we knew 40% would go missing.”
The nomination bid for Lincoln’s MP seat was his first ever race.
He stood against city Councillor Naomi Tweedle, who was seen as the local candidate, having been born and raised in Lincoln.
Despite concerns about him being the outsider candidate, he was able to win over the local party.
“My mum is from outside Newark so I have known Lincoln since I was a kid,” he said.
“It’s not attractive to fight other Labour candidates. Naomi is an incredibly principled and decent person, and we didn’t let the race become acrimonious. I have more clear-cut differences with Karl McCartney.
Hamish has frequently joined the picket lines of strikes
“He is trying to tell a story about how life has got better since 2010, but wages in Lincoln are down by 4%. That might be fine if the cost of living crisis wasn’t through the roof – with all the potential in the city, wages should be increasing.
“Lincoln has many of the socio-economic challenges the rest of the country has, but also has massive high-tech potential with the RAF bases, Siemens and the university.”
He says that since moving to the city and becoming engaged with its politics, he has been struck by people rallying together through the cost of living crisis.
Lincoln could be a swing seat when the next general election is held before January 2025, and the economic situation is likely to be pivotal.
“Since I’ve moved to Lincoln, I’ve found such a strong network to help people who are struggling, with warm banks and food banks in churches and charities,” he said.
“It’s great that they’re doing this, but no one’s pointing out the fact this shouldn’t happen in one of the richest countries in the world.”
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Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
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