Ashton Waterloo Councillor Vimal Choksi has received a letter from Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his MBE.

In June of this year, Cllr Choksi was honoured on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his work in government and the local community.  

Sir Keir made reference to the work of the Ashton councillor in a letter.

It reads: “Your years of committed service to your local community are an inspiration and have shown the positive impact of local Labour councillors during a period when we are out of government in Westminster.  

“I know that serving as a councillor, especially in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic, can be an enormously difficult job that can take a huge personal strain but your continued dedication and care for your local community has exemplified the very best of the labour party and our country. 

“Your community is very lucky to have your service and on behalf of labour. I wish to extend our most sincere thanks, appreciation and best wishes for the future. I hope you take enormous pride in this richly deserved award and I look forward to congratulating you in person when it is possible.” 

Cllr Choksi was elected in 2018 and made history as the first councillor of Indian-origin for the Ashton Waterloo Ward and the first Asian-origin Councillor in Ashton-Under-Lyne.  

He also works in senior management at Oldham Council and as a speaker of three major Indian languages - Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu – he helps with casework and community activism across Greater Manchester and assists other councillors with translation.  

In Ashton-under-Lyne, he is heavily involved in the work of the Swaminarayan and Jalaram Mandir Hindu temples, as well as in the wider Hindu Indian-origin community.  

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