Meet the candidates: Shake It Up

The Shake It Up coalition was born from a very public campaign to highlight street-homelessness across the borough last year, spearheaded by the charismatic XR co-founder Roger Hallam. The movement …

May 8, 2026 - 06:49

The Shake It Up coalition was born from a very public campaign to highlight street-homelessness across the borough last year, spearheaded by the charismatic XR co-founder Roger Hallam.

The movement initially known as Community Assemblies Project (CAP) attracted widespread attention from residents, campaigners and councillors before settling on the Shake It Up title and basing themselves in Interntional House, with the popular Ruby Bukhari as the group’s figurehead.

The core SIU position is to democratise decision making through citizen’s assemblies where residents voices form policy, as opposed to top down imposition from councils and Westminster.

What’s not to be liked about listening, it’s a long term project and they’ve laid good groundwork.

SIU ran a particularly successful campaign to highlight the plight of traders at Brixton Plaza at the hands of off-shore corporate landlords, and are vocal on Palestinian solidarity.

Neila Baiguzhanova, Stockwell West & Larkhall

Shake It Up offers what established parties don’t: a neighbour who’s actually knocked and listened on your door step, not career politicians parachuted in with party lines.

Mainstream parties make promises from Westminster; I make commitments from Lansdowne Estate to Larkhall Rise. No Whip telling me how to vote, no national agendas. Just results: affordable housing on empty council land, real estate safety with addiction-informed policing, and family support for bills and kids’ services.

I’ve counselled addiction and prison rehab here; I know our struggles. You get an independent who delivers, not another suit who disappears after election day.

If elected as your independent councillor for Stockwell West & Larkhall, the gateway to Brixton’s vibrant heart, my top priorities come straight from knocking on 70%+ of your doors: housing you can afford, safety on our estates, and support for families under cost-of-living pressure.

Housing first. I’ll fight for truly affordable council homes on estates like Lansdowne and Larkhall, not luxury flats that price locals out. No more empty council land while families sofa-surf.

Safety second. Cleaner streets, fixed lighting, and real community cohesion, not statistics.

Families third. Cheaper parking permits, better children’s services, and practical help with bills. As your addiction counselor neighbor who’s actually listened, I’ll deliver results, not promises.

– Neila Baiguzhanova, Shake it Up, independent candidate, Stockwell West & Larkhall

Joanna Scott, Brixton Windrush

If elected, I would be visible, accessible, and accountable to residents, ensuring their voices guide local action.

My priorities include opening community spaces for young people, expanding creative and safe activities, and improving political education.

I would push for urgent housing repairs, better support for SEN families, and a review of service charges, alongside renewed dialogue on LTNs.

Collaboration with independents and other parties is essential. Community assemblies require investment but build trust, strengthen decisions, and create more connected neighbourhoods.

– Joanna Scott, Shake it Up, independent candidate, Brixton Windrush

Eduardo Salgado, Brixton North

Eduardo Salgado is a bus driver by trade, he brings a grassroots perspective rooted in the daily realities of working life in Lambeth.

He advocates that Citizens’ Assemblies should have binding authority over local budgets and services, and the power of total recall over elected councillors.

SIU, he says, represents “a fundamentally different vision of local, community-based democracy” not a tweak to the current system but “accountable, participatory power from below.”

His campaign centres on housing conditions, support for local businesses, and opposition to war and colonisation.

Harry O’Donoghue, Clapham Park

An Irish immigrant who has lived and worked in Lambeth for several years, he is active in the Irish community and in Palestinian solidarity campaigns.

A founder of Irish in Britain Against Political Policing, he believes Lambeth deserves better than what he calls “this incompetent Labour one-party state.”

Drawing on Ireland’s experience of citizens’ assemblies, he sees community assemblies as the best tool for holding local representatives to account.

Ruby Bukhario, Brixton Acre Lane

Ruby Bukhari co-organised the protest against the eviction of over 70 traders from Brixton Plaza in March, where she wrote: “We will not stay silent. We will stand with our local businesses. We will fight for the justice they deserve.”

A community organiser with a focus on housing, small business protections, and Palestinian solidarity, she has been a visible presence on Lambeth’s streets throughout the campaign.