One Kensington
Kensington and Chelsea - one of the wealthiest spots on planet Earth - is also one of the most unequal. A short walk from Harrods, families cannot buy enough food to feed themselves. Desperate overcrowding is found in the shadow of ultraluxury property developments. A 20 minute bus ride across the borough can encompass a 30 year difference in life expectancy.
Emma Dent Coad, a councillor in Kensington and Chelsea since 2006, and has spent her life fighting for those left behind in the Royal Borough. That fight became all the more urgent when, just a few days after she was unexpectedly and triumphantly elected MP for the area, the Grenfell Tower disaster occurred, illustrating to the country and the world just how neglected the most vulnerable members of our society had become.
One Kensington lays bare the appalling degree of mismanagement and neglect that has made Kensington and Chelsea a grim symbol of an ever more divided country: a glimpse of a wider future of hollowed-out local government and cynical corruption. But through the depth of community connections and tireless political organising, it also suggests a potentially hopeful future for a new Britain.
Emma Dent Coad was born in London to an Anglo-Spanish family. She spent 30 years as a journalist writing about design and architecture, specialising in social housing, planning, and the resurgence in Spain.
She is a life-long political activist, involved in numerous campaigns over the years related to social issues. She joined Kensington and Chelsea Council as a Labour Councillor in 2006.
Her surprise election as the first Labour MP for Kensington on 9 June 2017, by 20 votes, overturned a majority of 7,331 and made her a national figure. Four days later the atrocity of the fire at Grenfell Tower, near her home, set the seal on her time in Westminster. She re-stood for the Council in May 2018 and was re-elected with an increased majority - one of numerous MPs who retain their Council seats.
During her time in Westminster Emma was an outspoken advocate for her Kensington constituents, particularly on numerous issues related to Grenfell. She was vice-chair of the Fire Safety and Rescue All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), as well as for London, for Planning and Built Environment, and for CND, speaking on matters relating to the fire services, Council Housing, and Leasehold Reform.