Councillor Stephen Alambritis
About Stephen Alambritis
I was born in Cyprus. My parents took the brave decision to leave and with £5 between them and along with my three elder sisters, we made the 14-day boat trip to London. Dad worked nights at the Dorchester Hotel in the kitchens in Park Lane while mum toiled as a seamstress in the rag trade at the Angel.
We settled in south west London and I attended state schools in Fulham and Putney. My very first job was in the local Co-op furniture shop.
It was those experiences – working hard just to make ends meet - that led me to join the Labour Party over 30 years ago. I knew that only Labour could deliver a better life for ordinary working people and their families.
And being married to someone who’s spent 38 years working in the NHS, I became increasingly aware that it is only Labour who can tackle the stark inequalities that blight Britain today.
I’m a businessman. And I bring a business-like approach to my politics. I want to get things done – make our community a better place; help people get the hand-up they may need; promote enterprise and growth; and help to create a brighter future. Because that’s why we’re all in politics. Right?
That’s why my next bit of business is to get a Labour MP in Wimbledon.
Leaving Cyprus for a New Home
It was a tradition to take one last photo in the 1950s and 1960s before leaving Cyprus for England, USA, Canada or Australia. This is me with my mum, dad and 3 elder sisters as we set off in September 1964 with £5 to our name for London via Genoa in a huge boat bound with cargo. It took 14 days to get to Victoria Station and thence to an uncle’s house in Fulham to share rooms with 3 other families.
Stephen as an Infant
After arriving from Cyprus in 1964 Stephen, without a word of English, was plunged into state education at Melcombe Primary School where the highlight was that he got to meet the Queen Mother on her visit to the school in Fulham Palace Road in 1968!
Stephen as a Teenager
At age 11, Stephen went to Elliott School in Putney where he went on to write for the school newspaper, aptly called “Comprehensive News”.
Working at the Federation of Small Businesses
Stephen was formerly the spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses, where he was the voice of small business in the UK for over 20 years. He appeared on every news channel in the country including BBC TV News, ITN, Channel 4 News, SKY, CNN, Bloomberg and CNBC. He was regularly interviewed on the agenda-setting BBC Radio 4 Today programme and has been quoted in every national newspaper in the country and in most regional newspapers and ethnic papers.
Appointed to be a Disability Rights Commissioner
Although the Tories enacted the Disability Discrimination Act, they did little to put it into operation. It was left to the Labour government’s Disability Rights Commission to put the legislation into effect. As a Commissioner, Stephen worked on those parts of the legislation that provided protection for disabled people against discrimination in several areas, including employment, transport and access to goods and services.
And then as an Equality and Human Rights Commissioner
As a commissioner on this powerful UN-recognised human rights body, Stephen worked on the Equality Act codes of practice for employers to make sure that disabled employees were protected from multiple kinds of discrimination. These included the failure on the part of an organisation to make a reasonable adjustment to the workplace so that the practice or feature of the premises in question do not put a disabled worker at a disadvantage.
Defending Small Business
When at the FSB, Stephen took on the big corporates without any fear. One of those was WorldCom.
WorldCom was involved in a major accounting scandal that came to light in the summer of 2002. WorldCom was one of the USA's second-largest long-distance telephone company at the time. Senior executives orchestrated a scheme to inflate earnings in order to maintain WorldCom's stock price. Part of that scheme involved holding back on paying its bills to its smaller suppliers. The FSB had initiated a league table of late payers and WorldCom featured as the company taking longest to pay its suppliers in those FSB league tables.
Stephen went public on the BBC naming WorldCom as the biggest late payer and this was reported in the Times newspaper. WorldCom was forced to admit that it had overstated its assets by over $11 billion. At the time, it was the largest accounting fraud in American history.
London wide recognition for Stephen’s business credentials
London Councils is the umbrella body for all 33 of the capitals’ local authorities including Merton and the prestigious City of London Corporation. London Councils makes the case to government, the Mayor and others to get the best deal for Londoners and to ensure that member authorities like Merton have the freedoms and powers to do the best possible job for their residents and local businesses. London Councils runs a number of services for boroughs including the Freedom Pass. It also runs a grants programme for charities. One of the most important bodies on London Councils is it’s Audit Committee. Stephen’s business background was immediately identified by London Councils and he was appointed to their Audit Committee almost a decade ago and today Stephen is the longest serving member of this crucial committee.
Fun Fact About Stephen
Stephen qualified as a football Referee with the London Football Association (LFA). He soon rose up the ranks and was given class 1 status. Stephen has officiated on most of Wimbledon’s football pitches including in a legends’ friendly at the new Plough Lane!
In the picture, Stephen is a young newly qualified football referee officiating on Prince Georges playing fields in Raynes Park. His most awesome match was when a touring African side came up against Wimbledon and their manager at the time Bobby Gould included one Vinnie Jones on the team sheet!
Read About my record in Merton
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