A woman who has been a Labour member for just two years – and has said she plans to go into politics in Bermuda – has been picked to be the party’s candidate in the West Thamesmead by-election.
Jahdia Spencer, 26, was born in the archipelago but has lived in London since she was 16. She joined Labour after emailing Anthony Okereke to congratulate him on becoming council leader in 2022.
She has told a newspaper in Bermuda that she plans to return to the British island territory and build a career in politics there.
Spencer will take on Steve Day, the chair of the Royal Artillery Quays residents’ association, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats. He has criticised the Labour council, accusing it of not doing enough to help the 1,000 residents there who are trying to force Barratt Homes to boost its plans to remove dangerous cladding on the estate.
Earlier this year a council motion criticising Barratt was withdrawn after a Labour councillor withdrew her support.
Five candidates will contest the election. Siama Gulnar Qadar represents the Conservatives after coming fourth in the Lewisham mayoral by-election earlier this year, while Anji Petersen is standing for the Greens. Ruth Handyside is standing for Reform UK, just weeks after she represented the party in the Eltham Town by-election.
The election was called after Lib Dem councillor Chris Lloyd resigned earlier this month after moving to be closer to his family in Wales.
Lloyd had been elected for Labour, but quit the party in December last year after accusing the local party of not investigating a complaint he had made about an alleged homophobic remark made by a fellow councillor. He joined the Lib Dems in May.
Usually Labour members choose the candidate, but Spencer, who works in the communications team at Southwark Council, was picked by Labour’s London region without local members having a say – something that has enraged some in the party.
“Party members in the other wards with by-elections got to vote for their candidate, so what’s different about West Thamesmead?”, one insider said.
Spencer came to prominence in Labour circles last year when she addressed the party conference in Liverpool as a delegate from the Greenwich & Woolwich constituency party.
She told The Royal Gazette, Bermuda’s daily newspaper, that the experience was “inspirational”, adding: “I plan to go into politics in Bermuda, so I was looking at it from the perspective of what I can bring back to the island, from marketing to speeches.”
Spencer said that Okereke contacted her after she congratulated him on his win.
“At that point, he reached out to his team and they spoke to me about politics — I said I was from Bermuda and had always been interested in politics,” she told the newspaper.
“He encouraged me to come to meetings and join the Labour Party to see what it’s about.”
She said she was not affiliated with any parties in Bermuda and added: “I think it’s a matter of me moving back to Bermuda when the time comes and reading through each party’s manifestos.” However, earlier this year she wrote an online column as a member of the territory’s Free Democratic Movement.
Last year David Burt, the Bermudian premier, praised Spencer on social media after meeting her and said: “I am excited about her desire to return to Bermuda to contribute to public policy.”
While a student, Spencer set up a modelling agency, Kaash Models, that found models for fashion shoots and music videos. The company was dissolved two years ago.
The Greenwich Wire understands that Labour had hoped the by-election – the fourth such poll of 2024 – would be delayed until the new year, but the party’s hand was forced by the Liberal Democrats requesting an election.
While Labour has an overwhelming majority on the council, it does not have a veto on when elections can be held – when a seat becomes vacant, any two electors in the borough can force a poll simply by writing to the council’s chief executive, either together or separately.
West Thamesmead ward almost entirely consists of housing built in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including the Broadwater Estate, Royal Artillery Quays and the Gallions Reach Urban Village. It also includes the complex of prisons at Belmarsh – most of whose residents do not get a vote – and the Lombard Square development off Nathan Way, which is under construction.
Edited on Monday November 25 to add that Jahdia Spencer has written on behalf of the Free Democratic Movement in Bermuda.
To register to vote, visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote by December 3. To apply for a postal vote, visit gov.uk/apply-postal-vote by 5pm on December 4. For more information, visit the Greenwich Council website.
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