Labour’s candidate for Reading West and Mid Berks talks about bullying among other issues, in an interview with our reporter Niki Hinman
Olivia Bailey is Labour’s prospective Parliamentary candidate for Reading West and Mid Berkshire.
Labour says it is one of its ‘battleground’ seats, which means the party will be campaigning hard to get her into Parliament at the next General Election. Our Local Democracy Reporter Niki Hinman went to meet her.
When you first meet Olivia Bailey she seems like a head girl sort. She’s got that calm leader thing about her, is approachable, and certainly gives the impression she could navigate her way to top table discussions on a mandate from her peers.
She’s campaigning on getting more GP appointments, stabilising the economy, more bobbies on the beat etc, and is highly critical and angry at what she terms the Tories’ destruction of public services and the economy. She’s furious about water companies being allowed to pollute waterways and wants Labour to ‘get tough’ here.
But most of all, she wants to make a difference to where she lives. Her earliest inspiration was the former Reading West MP Martin Salter.
"If I can be an MP like him, I'd be delighted," she says, adding she did her first ever work experience with him.
She wants to use whatever influence she has to improve the lot of local people.
Bailey was born in Reading in 1986, lives in the constituency with her wife and has two children attending school locally in West Berkshire.
She has pledged to focus on fixing the NHS, and tackling the cost-of-living crisis. Olivia also plans a shop-front office in the heart of the community.
But does her campaign fall into the dreaded term 'people pleaser', and whether pleasing people leads chiefly to not very much else?
She says not, and firmly points to a raft of polls suggesting Labour is ahead in what she calls a two-horse race between Labour and the Tories.
“The Lib Dems are rather a side show, aren’t they?” she says showing a welcome dose of grit.
Her experiences of being bullied as a young gay person at school took her in the direction of diplomacy and robust argument rather than fist fights, blistering defensive insults and acerbic wit.
This has defined her.
Olivia, or Liv, grew up near Tilehurst, is one of the many LGBT+ people who came of age during the era of Section 28, a law passed in 1988 by a Conservative Government that stopped councils and schools “promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.
Back then, gay people could not be married, nor were they equal in the law. They can now.
“I could never imagine living my life now, back then,” she said.
“I had a hard time at school as many young people do. Homophobic bullying and stuff. I was made to feel different and ashamed of myself. The schools then were not equipped to deal with these things like they are now. It makes it hard to be proud of yourself. I was worried that people don't like me or that they're making fun of me. And I always carry with me the idea that I'm not good enough.”
Last November marked the 20-year anniversary of the repeal of Section 28 in England and Wales.
“My parents [one a police officer and one a teacher] were always community minded and they gave me a sense of if you want to change things then get involved.
“I joined the Labour Party when I was 14. How bad is that! But I met some amazing people who were campaigning for things to be fairer and better.
“I saw unfairness and wanted to fix it. I was getting upset about the difference in schools in my area so I did get involved in student politics, campaigning for a living wage for the cleaner at the college for one.”
That said, Olivia does not seem the sort of girl who’d bunk off physics for a fag and a gossip behind the school bike sheds. Or indeed the sort of girl who would be so disrespectful in the first place.
She appears to be far too nice, and frankly far too clever, for such delinquencies. Perhaps this good behaviour and consistent achievement hails from the impact of that school bullying.
“I always carry with me the idea that I'm not good enough.”
But it turns out she’s more than good enough. It emerges during our chat that she got five A stars and five As in her GCSEs and went on to study history and politics at St Hilda’s in Oxford.
Those head girl-ish talents emerged, as she was elected the head of the Junior Common Room. (That’s the student body representing the interests and welfare of undergrads.)
As an aside, St Hilda’s JCR has Quidditch on the list of sports clubs to join. I didn’t ask if she played. Next time.
She went on to become the women’s officer for the National Union of Students, demonstrating a decade or so ago that she is quite comfortable in the political arena and can take the gloves off when necessary.
Back then, a university vice-chancellor defended his claim that attractive young female students were a "perk" to be enjoyed — at a safe distance — by older male academics.
Writing about "lust" in a light-hearted article on the seven deadly sins of university life, the academic reportedly said: “Most male lecturers know that, most years, there will be a girl in class who flashes her admiration and who asks for advice on her essays. What to do? Enjoy her! She's a perk.”
Olivia Bailey, then the women's officer at the NUS, gave a spirited response, saying the comments showed a lack of respect.
"Regardless of whether this is an attempt at humour, it is completely unacceptable for someone in [his] position to compare a lecture theatre to a lap-dancing club.''
Not pulling her punches there then.
So. She has teeth. But she is careful. She is politically astute enough not to be drawn into a stance on cancel culture, freedom of speech and the current debate raging over antisemitism in the party.
“Politics is how you change a country,” she counters. “But fundamentally you have to be involved in it to make a difference. Progress is made by having arguments in a polite and respectful way.
“Keir Starmer has worked hard to change the Labour Party and I think he has done everything he can to stamp out antisemitism.
“I was very ashamed of what happened to my party and I am glad it has changed.
“Freedom of speech is not straight forward, but we must look at evidence for arguments, and everyone has a right to be heard. But laws exist to prevent this if people are put at harm. They do not have a right to make people feel unsafe.
“If you are organising an event then look to who you are inviting to speak. Would I want a Holocaust denier on a panel I was on? Absolutely not.
“We all have to make our individual choices. Legal and moral frameworks are there to guide us.”
She says doorstepping is “truly humbling”, hearing stories of despair around the time of Covid, and palpable fury at the Number 10 parties.
She also cares for her mother who has Alzheimer’s.
“On the doorsteps you find you have a personal connection with people who have been let down by our social care system.
“It makes me so angry these carers are not given the support they need. We have to sort this out as a country.
“A national conversation needs to happen in a cross party way. There are good people in all parties and we need to do this to deliver for people in whatever way we can.”
She is clearly passionate – but perhaps also rather corporate.
She is a seasoned ‘internal’ political operator in the Labour Party, having been a senior aide to Sir Keir who she clearly holds in high regard. And in senior roles at national policy think tanks.
She knows her way round the party and could well prove an effective operator to ‘get things done’ should Labour win the General Election. She’s been in the thick of it for nearly a quarter of a century.
Olivia Bailey was the Parliamentary candidate in Reading West in 2017 and was only a few thousand votes away from beating Alok Sharma.
She is firmly backed by her mentor and former Reading West Labour MP Martin Salter.
“I’m so pleased that Liv Bailey is going to get another chance to win back my old seat and give local people the hard working representation they deserve," he said.
“The Tories have fiddled the boundaries but Labour are still the only party that can beat them which is why I’m going to be out there working for Liv and persuading people not to waste their votes on the Lib Dems or other minor parties.”
But is she one of those career politicians – a professional life lead in the party and for the party?
Or will she transcend that if elected and deliver on her promises locally?
I hope she does admit to bunking off physics, or at least considering it. Just to make the rest of us feel a possible future MP is also fallible – and up for a bit of a gossip.
