Stephen Balogh is the SDP prospective candidate for next General Election for Ealing Central & Acton, He is also on their London wide list for the Greater London Authority. We spoke with Stephen about his decision to stand.
“following a 30-year business career, I am now active in non-profit, political and public policy organisations that promote the general flourishing of society and building of community”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
As well as being a candidate on the London List for the upcoming London Assembly elections, alongside Amy Gallagher as our mayoral candidate, I am the SDP’s prospective parliamentary candidate for the SDP in the Ealing Central and Acton constituency, in which I have been resident for 25+ years. In terms of a brief background, following a 30-year business career, I am now active in non-profit, political and public policy organisations that promote the general flourishing of society and building of community through the thoughtful application of socially responsible, small-c conservative principles. This includes active involvement in my local parish and other neighbourhood cohesion initiatives through to much broader based regional and national organisations promoting kinship, community and service. As part of this, I am National Organiser for the New Culture Forum and in this capacity responsible for the “NCF Locals” initiative in which groups are established in localities around the country, giving a fresh rootedness to those who feel isolated politically. I am married (in fact married/widowed/remarried) with two grown up adopted boys.
“Instead of being seen as a means to achieve national cohesion, all too often community is now seen as a way to demarcate and fragment society into groups jockeying for preferential treatment”
What made you decide to stand for the SDP?
There’s a clue in my previous answer. For me, community is the bedrock of society and we have seen a fragmentation in recent decades of what it means to be community. Instead of being seen as a means to achieve national cohesion, all too often community is now seen as a way to demarcate and fragment society into groups jockeying for preferential treatment that is sometimes (often, even) incompatible with the overall demos. The values and policies of the SDP unashamedly seek to restore a different vision of community that transcends defined interest groups and orients citizens once more to the nation in which they live. A lot of the SDP’s policy framework stems from this simple but foundational proposition.
“the real problems of London: crime, lack of housing especially at the affordable end and a sense of allocation priorities that do not always feel just, an overriding sense of edginess bordering on hostility in public spaces that used to be welcoming”
What do you see as the big concerns for London and what issues do you hope to champion?
The dominant mode of politics in London is divisive and all to often described along contours of identity differences and perceptions of difference and disadvantage. This creates a sense of “us and them” and a zero-sum game in the race to preferential treatment. Meanwhile, the real problems of London: crime, lack of housing especially at the affordable end and a sense of allocation priorities that do not always feel just, an overriding sense of edginess bordering on hostility in public spaces that used to be welcoming, public transport that does not provide the sense of personal security and efficiency that Londoners and visitors to London rightly think they should deserve and are paying for, all against an increasingly grubby feel. Personally, I start with my back yard, that is, the essential but effort-consuming “keepie uppie” of community building for public good, not for subsectional interests. With restoration of a sense of civic pride and responsibility, a renewed desire to influence and participate in policies for the good of all Londoners is generate in its wake. Where this does already exist, there is for instance ready collaboration with neighbourhood policing and a sense of cohesion to replace isolation and edginess.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
Please follow me on X/Twitter (@BaloghStephen), also London SDP (@Londonsdp) and SDP mayoral candidate Amy Gallagher (@standuptowoke). Retweet what you agree with (and feel free to comment on what you don’t). For the campaign policy manifesto, look at https://sdp.org.uk/amy/. The London election campaign is of course short now, but there is a slightly longer game for the many SDP candidates for London parliamentary constituencies, such as me. If you would like to help or even join the SDP as a member, get in touch via www.sdp.org.uk. Our profile is growing all the time, and we welcome any help to make it grow faster, for the sake of our communities and nation.
