Sarah Hayward is the Leader of Camden Council. She's worked tirelessly to tackle inequality and help people from different backgrounds get one. This includes specific work to help women from Bengali and Somali background get in to employment, tackling poverty wages by leading the way in introducing the living wage and building more council housing than any other local authority. Sarah is hoping to take this experience to a national stage by seeking Labour's parliamentary nomination in Holborn & St Pancras.
Away from politics, Sarah is married to Dan, lives in Kentish Town and is an avid Arsenal supporter
1) What is your current position?
Leader of Camden Council
2) What are your proudest achievements?
Last year one in 20 council homes built in the UK were built in Camden. We provide 25 hours of childcare for three and four year olds and later this month we'll launch a trial apprenticeships for adults who haven't done post 16 education. These adult apprenticeships were inspired by women who'd had children young and struggled to get back in to the work place.
3) What inspires you?
A seemingly intractable problem - I like to find answers and solve issues. And good music.
4) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
My head of sixth form Jesse Elms. Initially I wasn't going to go to university. I grew up in a single parent family and my mum struggled to make ends meet and I was scared of the idea of debt and whether I'd be able to pay it back. He sat me down and talked me in to it. I don't know where I'd be now if it wasn't for him.
5) What is the best aspect about your current role?
I get to make a difference to people. It's what I got in to politics for. I can't do everything I want and I definitely can't do it fast enough. But I get to make decisions every day that change other people's lives for the better. You can't beat that feeling.
6) And the worst?
Having to deal with the Tory cuts. More than one third of Camden's children live in poverty and yet we have received the 8th highest cut in the country. The Tories think that's fair! It means we've had to make some very difficult decisions and been forced to cut vital services that we know save us money in the long run.
7) What are your long term goals?
I'd love to live in a country where everyone has an equal chance of success whatever their background. Issues like race and gender or poverty should have no bearing on how successful you are. I've worked to tackle inequality all my life, and wherever I end up this will also be a key part of who I am and what I do.
8) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
I'd raise the National Minimum Wage significantly and implement living wage legislation so that high cost areas like Camden can ensure employers pay a living wage. One of the biggest barriers to equality is that people on the lowest wages are trapped in jobs paying poverty wages.
9) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
Rosalind Franklin. I didn't pursue any sciences beyond school, but always enjoyed them. I'm fascinated by research and discovery. I never cease to be amazed at how quickly the boundaries of our knowledge are being expanded.
Rosalind Franklin was the unsung hero in the discovery of DNA and as a feminist she deserves much greater recognition than she got at the time or gets today.
We have to make a proactive choice to tackle inequalities - including racism and sexism. Part of that is about properly recognising the contribution that people from different backgrounds make. Rosalind Franklin's work continues to under pin scientific discovery today. That's definitely worth celebrating.
