Ute Michel
Ute Michel was
born and grew up in Germany. She spent two years working in and around
the European institutions in Brussels. She then worked for the world umbrella of Mencap representing people with learning disabilities and their families.
Ute relocated to the UK in 2002 and settled in Lewisham in South-East London. She has worked in the NHS supporting access to health services for marginalised groups for several years.
Working for the community
Together with five other Greens, Ute was elected as a councillor in Lewisham in the local elections in 2006. This has given her a good understanding of how political decisions at all levels influence our lives. She has also seen how these decisions can be improved.
Ute worked with other councillors to:
- push for and achieve an increase in funding for social care services under threat to be cut
- develop a raft of initiatives to support local shops
- set up a successful garden waste collection scheme
- make ‘smart meters', which monitor energy consumption, available through libraries.
Experience in Europe
Ute has experience of working at a European level and also of living in different member states. She has seen that decisions made "in Brussels" have a direct impact, and often quite a useful one - from minimum standards at work to the way we should deal with our rubbish. She believes we should appreciate the European Parliament, particularly for its work in the areas of human rights, social and environmental policy.
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