Diwali Celebration at the Two Cities Conservatives
The Cities of London and Westminster Conservatives were delighted to hold their first Diwali Celebration last week.
It was our pleasure to welcome guests from across the Association, and London more widely, to our inaugural event celebrating and commemorating the iconic festival that means so much, to so many.
The event saw former Home Secretary, Priti Patel MP, join us as keynote speaker. Priti met with guests beforehand for a private drinks reception with sparkling Punjabi wine, meeting and greeting attendees one-on-one, and chatting informally. In her mid-dinner speech, she later spoke about the importance of building bridges across communities within the party, and the importance of Association events like this. She then went on to talk about the current state of affairs in British politics and her vision for what the future may hold. Priti kindly took questions following her speech, and gave answers to the burning queries raised by guests.
Following Priti’s segment of the evening, guests were treated to a selection of excellent Indian food over several courses. They were also provided with authentic Masala Chai, south Indian coffee and Punjabi wine.
The Association were also delighted that for the vote of thanks, we could welcome our wonderful local Member of Parliament, Nickie Aiken MP. Nickie spoke about her long relationship with Priti that spanned over several decades. She spoke of the importance of doing local community events like this, within our culturally rich and diverse constituency. Nickie then introduced the second speaker of the evening, Gagan Mohindra MP with whom she is a close friend and colleague. Gagan gave a wonderful contribution, talking about his experience in local government, and what his thoughts were on how to progress the party both locally and nationally.
The 'Festival of Lights' is an amazing celebration, and the Two Cities were delighted to mark this important occasion in the first, of what we hope to be many more events in future years. So watch this space, and join us next year!
Speaking about the success of the event, Association Chair, James Spencer, said
I’m so pleased that the Two Cities continues to lead the way with events like this. It’s important that we recognise and cater for different groups within the party, so it’s satisfying to see our inaugural Diwali dinner being so well received by guests. We can all celebrate and enjoy distinct and interesting festival like this.
Echoing this, Executive Committee members, Sunil Chopra, said
The Two Cities Diwali Celebration made a great start to an area that hasn’t really been looked at before within the party. There is a lot of scope to grow in this area, and I’m pleased that the Association is working hard to facilitate events like this.
