February 2023 – Crosspool News – crosspool.info

Minesh Parekh, Councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, has been shortlisted for the best ‘Locally Elected Leader Award’ in the national Green Heart Hero Awards.

The Green Heart Hero Awards are organised by The Climate Coalition, the UK’s largest climate organisation. The Climate Coalition is a group of over 140 organisations—including the National Trust, Women’s Institute, Oxfam and RSPB—who together represent over 22 million people across the UK.

These prestigious awards are an opportunity for constituents to shine a spotlight on the extraordinary actions individuals, communities and organisations are taking to create a cleaner, greener world.

Cllr Parekh was one of four Councillors to be shortlisted for the award, alongside Liberal Democrat Councillor Pippa Heylings of South Cambridgeshire, Edinburgh Scottish National Party Councillor Adam McVey; and Donna Stimson, Conservative Councillor in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Parekh was the only Labour Councillor to make the shortlist for the national award.

He was shortlisted for his work on Sheffield City Council, including successfully proposing a Community Wealth Building Charter for the city, proposing amendments to unpick procurement barriers faced by co-operative and community energy providers, and in taking an international approach to climate justice, writing for the Ecologist about the need for climate reparations to be paid to Pakistan.

Parekh said:

“It’s an honour to have been nominated for a Green Heart Hero Award, let alone shortlisted. I stood for election as a climate activist, committed to Labour’s Green New Deal, wanting to do everything possible I can to tackle the climate crisis. To me that means recognising that climate justice is inseparable from social and economic justice; the only solutions are those that also end inequality.

“I’m particularly proud in my work alongside Sheffield’s Labour Councillors in delivering Community Wealth Building policies—redirecting wealth back into Sheffield’s economy, and giving priority to local and sustainable businesses—has been championed by the residents that nominated me, as I think this is the best weapon local authorities have in our arsenal to build a greener, fairer future.”

Cllr Terry Fox, Leader of Sheffield City Council, added:
“Minesh has made a flying start as a Councillor since being elected last May.
“He has worked hard to put Sheffield Labour’s Local Election Manifesto into action – with the climate crisis at the top of the political agenda, and in a way that centres workers’ voices and focuses on tackling inequality, and it’s great to see this being recognised through the Green Heart Hero Awards.”