Hornsey’s Labour councillor, Adam Jogee, has resigned to stand for Parliament in Newcastle-under-Lyme in the upcoming general elections on July 4th, 2024. Consequently, Haringey Council has called for local by-elections to take place on the same date. The Haringey Green Party is thus pleased to announce Jo Dowbor as the candidate for Hornsey Ward.
Jo Dowbor is a Green Party officer of Argentine, Polish, and British origin. She grew up in the South American countryside until moving to the UK in 2017. Unable to afford university in the UK, she studied French in her final year of high school and moved to France in 2018. In 2021, she completed her Bachelor’s degree in History, specializing in the Middle East, from the Sorbonne. During her time in Paris, she became frustrated by the inaccurate media portrayal of the gilets jaunes and by police repression, leading her to volunteer as a political journalist, writing articles in English, French, and Spanish for an international audience. She also became a passionate human rights activist and began to show interest in politics. In 2021, she returned to London to be close to her relatives based in Haringey.
She works full-time as a conference producer and will obtain a Master’s degree in International Political Economy from King’s College London later this summer, studying part-time to accommodate her full-time job. She has also volunteered for various charities since 2021, assisting disabled people, the homeless, refugees, and asylum seekers. Last year, she became a Green Party officer in Haringey and co-founded the organization Greens for Palestine. Her authenticity and genuine commitment to improving the world gained her swift support both within and outside the Green Party. She identifies as an eco-socialist and has been a vegetarian, environmentalist, and animal rights advocate since childhood. She is also a survivor of domestic violence, which she says has made her more self-aware and empathetic towards other people’s struggles.
“I am standing for councillor because the world will only change if we fight for it. Many of us say politics is corrupt but are unwilling to do anything about it. As Motaz, the Palestinian photojournalist from Gaza, recently said in his video: ‘I don’t want your likes, I want action’. I am tired of seeing our minorities neglected by both Labour and Tories. I am tired of seeing how eclipsed the residents from Campsbourne Estate feel in comparison to their wealthy neighbours. I am tired of seeing how our Jewish and Muslim communities suffer in silence while the government uses their struggles to their advantage. I am tired of having worked hard all my life and still struggling to achieve what I want because of the simple fact of where I grew up. We need a new approach to politics, where hard-working, strong, but also compassionate people, take the lead. The Green Party has become the true voice for change, offering bolder policies than any other mainstream party. It is our last hope to change the system, hear the voices of the most marginalized, and save the world from climate destruction. I will work hard for the people of Hornsey to provide you with a better life and a fairer and greener ward. It will not be easy, but we must try. This 4th of July, vote Green.”