Unmesh Desai

British politician

Unmesh Desai AM
Unmesh in 2017

Member of the London Assembly for City and East
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2016
Preceded by	John Biggs
Majority	78,307

Personal details
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Profession	Politician

Unmesh Desai is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he has represented City and East in the London Assembly since 2016. He served as Councillor on the London Borough of Newham from 1998 until 2018,^[1] representing East Ham Central from 2002 onwards.

Background

Desai has resided in East London for more than 30 years. He previously trained and worked as a solicitor. He is a trustee of the West Ham United Foundation, President of the Newham Cricket Club and a Vice-President of the East London Rugby Club. Desai acted as election agent for Stephen Timms, the Labour MP for East Ham.^[2] He has written for The Guardian on the Prevent strategy.^[3] Desai has also been the Chair of the Newham Fabian Society for several years.

Career

Desai was first elected to the Newham London Borough Council in 1998, representing St Stephens ward. He was subsequently elected as a councillor for East Ham Central in 2002 following a boundary change. He continued being a councillor for East Ham Central until 2018 when he stood down to focus on his London Assembly work. During his time on Newham Council he served as Cabinet Member for Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour.

In May 2016, Desai was elected to the London Assembly succeeding John Biggs as the member for City and East, winning nearly 58% of the vote.^[4] He was subsequently reselected as Labour candidate for the constituency for the 2020 London Assembly election.^[5]

Desai is Labour's London Assembly spokesperson on Policing and Crime and sits on the Budget and Performance Committee, Police and Crime Committee and Transport Committees.^[6] During his time on the Assembly, he has campaigned on issues including police pay^[7] and conditions,^[8] anti-fascism,^[9] and hate crime at football grounds.^[10]^[11]

In 2022, Desai successfully called for a Metropolitan Police investigation into breaches of Covid regulations at Downing Street under the Boris Johnson administration.^[12]

He has highlighted the phenomenon of "cuckooing", where criminals take control of a vulnerable person's home and use it for organised crime, writing a report "Protecting the Vulnerable: Addressing 'Cuckooing' in London" which showed there were 316 cases of cuckooing in 2022. The report set out recommendations to tackle the offense.^[13] Desai has continued this campaign, calling for cuckooing to be made a specific offence^[14], and calling on the Metropolitan Police to enact his recommendations^[15].

He has highlighted the impacts of police underfunding, focusing on screened out crime^[16], Blue Badge theft^[17] and resources needed to police protests in London.

He has used his position to ensure that the Metropolitan Police build trust and confidence in their work following the Casey Review, monitoring the number of officers dismissed for misconduct^[18], the number of hearings undertaken^[19] and new Policing Board that oversees standards in the Met^[20].

He has also called for greater action from police on violence against women, highlighting high rates of drink spiking in London^[21] and poor prosecution rates for Female Genital Mutilation.^[22]

References

^ "Unmesh Desai | London City Hall". london.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ Press Trust of India (15 May 2010). "Former UK minister attacked by knife-wielding Muslim woman". NDTV.com. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
^ "Unmesh Desai". the Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
^ Sophie Morton. "Labour candidate Unmesh Desai wins London Assembly seat". Newham Recorder. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
^ "Newsletter Edition 32 | Tower Hamlets Labour". thlabour.org.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ "Unmesh Desai | London City Hall". www.london.gov.uk. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ "Public sector pay rises in full: What police, teachers and more will get | Mirror Online". mirror.co.uk. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ "Met Police cancels 330,000 officer rest days as it tackles surge in knife crime and police cuts | London Evening Standard". standard.co.uk. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ "London United will unite the left to fight the far right | LabourList". labourlist.org. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ Steinberg, Jacob (26 March 2019). "West Ham face calls to condemn Democratic Football Lads Alliance | The Guardian". The Guardian. guardian.com. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ "News from Unmesh Desai: Football clubs urged to improve recording of hate crime | London City Hall". london.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^ Townsend, Mark (29 January 2022). "Will Met inquiry into Downing Street lockdown parties 'neuter' Gray report?". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ Desai, Unmesh (May 2023). "Protecting the Vulnerable: Addressing "Cuckooing" in London" (PDF). London Assembly.
^ "Police Professional | Much more to do to tackle 'cuckooing', says Assembly member". Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ "MOPAC and Met efforts to combat cuckooing". Police Oracle. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ Vickers, Noah (1 March 2024). "Data reveals how many crimes are being 'screened out' by Met Police". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ "Fourfold rise in Blue Badge theft in London shows need for police and council funding – Unmesh Desai AM | London City Hall". www.london.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ Phillips, Jacob (21 May 2024). "Number of Metropolitan Police officers being dismissed hits new high". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ "Police Professional | 'Significant improvement in accountability of officers' as misconduct hearings hit new high". Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ Desai, Unmesh (12 October 2023). "London Policing Board". London Assembly.
^ Vickers, Noah (24 November 2023). "Drink spiking offences in London rise 300% in five years". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ Vickers, Noah (27 August 2024). "Met Police log 1,000 FGM reports over 10 years but only two lead to convictions". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 August 2024.