Before I disappear for the weekend, I want to write this. I am not a Labour member, and I do not believe in blindly following leaders. I refuse to act as if I am in love with a politician or to ignore their mistakes. But I will tell you a story so you can fully understand the motives behind everything I do. This poem, 'If' by Rudyard Kipling, holds a very deep, personal meaning for me. When my daughters left for university, I handwrote this entire text on a piece of cardboard with my own hand and pinned it to their wall. I wanted them to carry this message of resilience with them. It perfectly mirrors my own path. I arrived in the UK at the age of 50 because my own country and its democracy were losing the battle. I was exhausted and broken by that fight. Then I discovered this country and its people, but I also found a government that felt all too similar to the one back home, full of corruption and lies. When the 2024 general election came, I told myself that I had to lend a hand to this country, which is now my new homeland. I joined the Labour Party, even though I am more of a Liberal at heart, just so I could volunteer. I wanted to knock on doors and ask people to support the manifesto. In my country, we do not do that. Voters there are often part of the corruption, giving their vote to whoever promises them a job or money. A friend asked me, 'Cherry, you cannot even vote in the general election, only in the local ones. Why are you helping them?' Yes, because I have settled status, I only have the right to vote in local elections. But it did not matter. They deserved to be helped. For me, this was like stopping the government back home. Conservatives are exactly the same, they put the country on its knees, used it, chewed it up, and spat it out. I believed Starmer could fix it. I trusted him. So, I went out for days with Labour members and spoke to voters without an ounce of shame. And then, the speech about 'the island of foreigners' happened. It made me furious. I wrote an angry email and I left the party. I told myself I was more of a Liberal than Labour anyway. But I was angry, disappointed, and frightened. I am a foreigner. Yet, I have paid my taxes all these years, I helped a daughter here who graduated as the top student of her generation, I volunteered for over a thousand hours, and I am trying to start my own business to give back to this country. And then, Starmer apologised. He said he was wrong to have said it. I forgave him because I knew the political forces pushing him in the election wanted him to say that about the island of foreigners. He realised it shortly after and apologised. For me, Starmer distanced himself from the Blue Labour agenda at that moment. Those are the kind of leaders I respect. Leaders who are strong enough to say 'I made a mistake' and apologise. People of flesh and blood, just like I am. So no, I am not blinded. I am not in love with him, and I am not frantically lobbying for him like a fanatic, which only does him harm anyway. I am simply a voter who is applying for citizenship, waiting in fear of what the Home Office and Shabana Mahmood have decided, am I a 'Foreign or Citizen'? I am writing a book about this very theme. If I get my citizenship, I will give my support to the Labour Party only if he is leading them. Because I want a leader, a PM who can admit a mistake. A human being, and human beings make mistakes. I want a man who represents everything the last three Prime Ministers were not, a decent British person. This is my new homeland, he is my Prime Minister, and I am proud of that. I am here as a citizen in service to my new country and a decent Prime Minister. I know I cannot vote if there is ever a leadership challenge in the party. But today, I decided I will rejoin and send them this exact text in an email too. I am doing it for the Prime Minister who brought decency back to us. 🇬🇧 Have a great weekend and bank holiday ❤️