Diolch am ymweld.
I’m Kanishka, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in the Vale of Glamorgan.
I’m driven by the belief that politics and good government can empower people, transform communities for the better, and help create a more equal and caring society.
That’s why I am working every day with a single focus: a brighter tomorrow for the Vale of Glamorgan.
Ymunwch â mi!
My story // Fy stori
I grew up in South Wales and live in Barry. I have since travelled for study and work, but Wales has been the one constant. Cymru wedi bod yn gyson. It’s where I live.
It is where I mentor state school students applying to universities each year, something I have done for over a decade. It is where my mum and dad still live. It is where my family and I volunteer.
Public Policy
I have spent most of my career in public policy. Initially, I worked as an activist for an employment guarantee programme as a way of tackling poverty in rural India. I then spent five years as a British civil servant: helping improve public services by devolving power, using technology and better supporting individuals with disabilities. I now use insights from my day job in technology and my own personal, familial experience to write about how we can design a better world for households in severe debt.
Technology
At work, I provide advice and funding for founders who want to use technology to tackle climate change and improve financial resilience. My work combines my background in technology with two causes that matter to me: the future of our planet and the financial resilience of households and businesses.
I am optimistic about the potential for politics - party politics and community involvement - to improve people’s lives. For eleven years, I have been an activist for the UK Labour Party, campaigning in every election across the UK, and foremost in South Wales. I have also shared my expertise with Labour, as a volunteer adviser for several MPs and as Head of Tech Policy for Labour’s Shadow Digital Secretary.
I believe in activism beyond just party politics. I am a proud member of GMB union, a Trustee for community causes (Citizens Advice) and a volunteer at Trussell Trust foodbanks. I have enjoyed founding two national campaigns: Help Your High Street, which matched independent Welsh shops with customers during COVID, and Attain Wales, a Senedd-backed programme which has helped over a hundred Welsh students get into top universities since 2011.
Politics
Kanishka is the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate in the Vale of Glamorgan, after a career in senior government and private sector roles.
In government, Kanishka advised ministers on domestic public policy, as Senior Adviser at the Cabinet Office and as Expert Adviser to Britain’s Environment Secretary. He also advised the Labour Party frontbench as Head of Tech Policy.
In business, Kanishka advised and invested in climate and fintech start-ups across Europe and the US, and previously advised FTSE boards, sovereign finance ministries and start-up founders at Lazard.
Kanishka grew up and lives in South Wales, studied at Oxford and Stanford universities, and is passionate about social mobility and social justice. He ran a national campaign to help British high streets during the national COVID-19 lockdown and has published national research on helping households in severe debt.