UK elections: Three British Moroccans win Westminster Labour seats

Three British-Moroccan Labour Party members have won seats in the UK’s recent local and regional elections, which took place on Thursday.

Aicha Less and Hamza Taouzzale, who were elected as councilors for Westminster’s Church Street and Queen’s Park wards respectively, are already in their second term.

It marks the first victory for Iman Less, who was elected to Maida Vale's council.

Thanks to everyone in Queens Park for keeping faith in Patricia and I and for putting their faith in @Caraquest for another four years!🙌🏽🌹🙌🏽🌹 and what a win overall for us in Westminster!!!🎉🌹🎉🌹 #queenspark #Westminster #2022Elections pic.twitter.com/QhmhrdXJsU

— Cllr Hamza Taouzzale💚 (@Hamza_Taouzzale) May 6, 2022

The councilors' victory comes as the Labour Party won three councils from the Conservatives in London, taking control over the borough of Westminster.

The elections results were revealed on Friday, which saw UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party lose almost 500 seats and control of 11 councils.

Larache-born Aicha Less, who worked in local government for over 20 years, was previously elected councilor for the Church Street ward in 2016, where she became the first person of Moroccan origin to win a seat in UK local elections.

She was previously a member of the shadow cabinet for children and young people and is currently board governor at the Portman Centre for Families and Children.

Meanwhile, Taouzzale, has been active in local British politics for several years and has previously represented Westminster's young people for one year as a member of the Youth Parliament.

For Souad Talsi MBE, a member of the Council for the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), the election of three Moroccan-origin Britons in Westminster "reminds us of the need to empower and encourage people politically active to find a place within the political parties of the United Kingdom", reported the Moroccan daily Agence Marocaine de Presse (MAP).

"It is also an opportunity to remind the Moroccan electorate in the UK that they have a voice and must use it. We must unite ourselves in order to be recognised," the Al-Hasaniya Centre founder added. 

Labour won a total of 31 seats in Westminster - 12 more than it did in the 2018 local elections. The Conservatives managed 23 seats – 18 seats fewer than four years ago.

Overall the Conservative Party lost 487 seats, while Labour gained 108, the Liberal Democrats 223, and the Greens 87.