Councillor Prerna Bhardwaj was unanimously elected as Mayor of the Gerrards Cross Town Council for the civic year 2024-2025.
Councillor Bhardwaj's election marks a historic moment as she becomes the first female Mayor of the town. She is also the first Indian-origin person to hold the position. Her professional background and dedication to community service position her to make significant contributions to Gerrards Cross during her tenure. Born in Essex, the Councillor brings extensive experience to the Council, having worked in finance and media in the City of London and internationally. Now residing in Gerrards Cross with her young family, she is known for her passion for the local community and her commitment to giving back.
Speaking to Asian Voice, she discusses her historic appointment, her vision for the community and other details.
Can you tell us about your journey from Essex to becoming the Mayor of Gerrards Cross? What inspired you to enter local politics?
Growing up, my parents campaigned hard to get a licence to run a local radio station and it was only when they wrote to their MP and had his support, they were successful in getting the licence and now have Nusound Radio 92FM. This experience stayed with me and made me realise that being in politics, you have the immense potential to make a positive change to people’s lives be it at a local or national level.
When I was 16 years old, I was also fortunate enough to shadow Baroness Flather in the House of Lords and was really inspired by the amount of work she carried out to help others, particularly women and children in developing countries and rural areas. After that experience, I was determined to try and live my life where I would be able to help others and follow in the Baroness’s footsteps. I joined the Conservative Party when I was 16 and became an active member of the Ilford South Conservative Association where I grew up. I also stood for local elections in Ilford when I was 21 whilst studying for my law degree at university and thoroughly enjoyed speaking to people on the campaign trail. I was called to the Bar and then went on to work for UBS and Goldman Sachs however felt that I wanted to follow my passion for politics. I was elected as a Gerrards Cross Town Councillor in a by-election on the 7th December 2023 and was voted in as Mayor on the 20th May. I enjoy local politics as you can make a difference and relate to people at a grass root level and help shape change to help with everyday life.
What are your top priorities for Gerrards Cross during your tenure and what are some of the immediate challenges you see the community facing? How do you plan to involve and engage with the residents in your decisions and policies?
My top priorities are to make Gerrards Cross clean, safe and engage more with our younger residents and women. We have several schools in the area and a large population of young families as well as the elderly. I am keen to reach out to all segments of residents to help them raise their political voice and campaign for issues that are most important to them. The immediate challenges the community face are potholes, speeding, parking issues and litter. Whilst some of these issues falls under the Buckinghamshire Council remit, I am keen to work alongside our Buckinghamshire Councillors together with our Gerrards Cross Town Councillors to make a difference. The residents are welcome to attend all our Council meetings and have a dedicated allotted time to speak at the beginning of each meeting. I am keen to revamp our website and social media so that meeting dates are better publicised as well as all the work we do.
How does it feel to be the first female Mayor of the town? You also represent a minority within a minority as a South Asian woman. How will you ensure that the concerns and voices of the minorities within the community are heard?
It is a great privilege and honour to be the first female Mayor of Gerrards Cross as well as the first Mayor of Indian origin. I hope I can use this role to encourage and inspire more women and minorities to engage in politics and be more politically active. Anyone is free to email me: [email protected] and I would be happy to speak to them about their concerns. As mentioned above we hold regular town council meetings and I would welcome them to attend our meetings and speak to me or write in a letter/email which will be read out at our meeting under the “Correspondence” section of the agenda.
Balancing professional responsibilities and family life can be challenging. How do you manage your various commitments?
It can be challenging being a mother of two small children, but I am fortunate to have a very supportive husband and family who all help me keep my professional commitments. I like to be productive and manage my time efficiently when I do have childcare so that I am able to spend quality time with my children and family the rest of the time.
What role do you see for young people in the development of Gerrards Cross, and how do you plan to involve them in local governance?
Young people shape the future and it would be good to galvanise their opinions of how we can better the town. We have great schools in the area and I would like to speak to children to try and encourage them to join politics and activate their political voice.
