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With his family in Mangualda, in the Viseu region, he currently represents the Portuguese-speaking community, which includes thousands of Portuguese, in the Oval region.

Diogo Costa, 23, is of Portuguese descent and is linked to Lambeth in London. On 5 May 2022, the election vote was dictated by Diogo Costa as Councilor for the Municipality of Lambeth (South London) for the Labor Party. With family in Mangualda, in the Viseu region, he now represents the Portuguese-speaking community, which includes thousands of Portuguese living in the Oval region. About 326 thousand people live in Lambeth, of which the second most representative community is the Portuguese. Jornal do Centro found a young man who talks about his political life

How did the desire to get involved in the political system arise? Did your childhood and youth in Lambeth influence this decision?
Yes, from a young age I was interested in politics, because at the age of 16 I studied political science in the 11th and 12th grades here in the UK. And then I saw some political events take place like Scottish independence, Brexit and the 2015 elections where I saw the British people vote. All this interested me, and I wanted to be part of something that could change the state of the country. With the support of my teachers, I ran for Lambeth Youth Mayor, applied and won. I had a two year term and enjoyed the experience. So, when I became a member of the party and achieved certain functions in this party, when the opportunity arose to run for the post of councilor in the Oval, I decided to run.

In your opinion, at what age does political consciousness begin in people?
I think I am one of the few cases where young people are interested in politics. Young people should have an interest in this area, but school and parents’ education can be factors that compromise this interest as they do not teach politics. At my school I also had citizenship classes and at that time I was very curious to understand the rights and obligations of citizens. So I began to study the political and state system and realized that everything is politics. When we are born, we already have policies that affect our lives. Health care and education, for example, are subject to the political system. The lack, especially in the UK, of trying to educate and educate about the political system and encourage young people, because young people think it doesn’t concern them and therefore they stay away from politics. The same thing happens with older people.

What is your professional experience and how does this affect your work in the Chamber to which you have been elected?
I took a computer science course and a software engineering course because computers were another of my interests in elementary school. I knew from a very young age that I didn’t want to study politics because people don’t need to study politics to be in politics. Computing is an area in which I help people, and therefore my work is not related to politics. I don’t like to say that I have a political career, I just do it in my spare time. The adviser does not receive a salary, so he will not be able to live as an adviser. I work as a computer engineer in the financial center of London, my job is full time from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. The work of an adviser is carried out at night or on weekends, with meetings in committees of the House.

What does politics mean to you?
Politics for me is making decisions and solving issues and problems that exist in society. In my area, as an advisor, I see issues such as garbage collection, roads, parking, or company permits, such as longer working hours. Having an opinion and a desire to change social problems are political.

Does the Lambeth community have social or other needs that need to change?
Lambeth has a large community of Portuguese descendants from Madeira and Mangualdens, and the biggest problem is integration. Emigration to Lambeth took place in the 70s, 80s and 90s, people who emigrated in search of jobs that did not require high qualifications. One of the problems is that expats do not speak English well. Those who want to see a doctor ask, for example, to be accompanied by family members who were born in the United Kingdom. Another problem is low wages and high rents. There is an internal emigration of Portuguese descendants to the south of the municipality because the rent is cheaper.

What fundamental role do citizens play in political life?
Unfortunately, there are not many representatives of the Portuguese language in the neighborhood, although Portuguese is the second most spoken language after English. The Portuguese can vote locally, but there is no system to link knowledge about the political system and how it can help the Portuguese. They have the right to vote, but many do not vote because they think that politicians are all the same and there are still many comparisons with the Portuguese political system. There are others who do not want to vote, but I believe that those who were born here after the dictatorship are more interested. The latest migrants to follow the troika are people with advanced degrees who have been unable to find work in Portugal, and although many of them are not in Lambeth, they vote in British elections.

What projects does the Lambeth Chamber have to help with integration?
Lambeth City Council has already launched the Somos Lamnbeth program to identify the problem and try to solve it by intervening in schools and supporting Portuguese students. We already have a school that is doing well since the introduction of this program and therefore we want to continue to place it in other elementary schools.”

What is the weight and importance of the representativeness of the Portuguese-speaking community in English politics?
If we look at the statistics of permanent residence in the European Union, the Portuguese community is in 5th or 6th place with over 300,000 applications for permanent residence, so it is a large Portuguese community.

What do you think is the most different from English politics compared to Portuguese?
In the UK, when we vote, we are not voting for a party, but for an individual candidate. Of course, the party is on the ballot along with the name of the candidate, but this is a one-man election. During the campaign, candidates serve the public, meaning citizens can consult with the candidate to raise concerns, leave complaints, or ask questions. You can also consult by e-mail or by phone. I represent the Oval area and there are three advisors and I am one of them. In elections, citizens can vote for no more than three separate candidates. Thus, there is a connection between the politician and the reader.

How can politics create better conditions for the Portuguese-speaking population of Lambeth?
We are always trying to have a policy that is favorable to the workers and the working class, because this is an area controlled by the Labor Party. In addition, we are in a climate crisis with terrible air pollution and we are already making changes to our streets to reduce car use and increase bike use, public transport and encourage walking. There are already children in the UK who were born with asthma, so we want to work together for the health of the local people and the well-being of future generations. Living in a clean area is one of the great goals we strive for.

What do you think a good politician should be like?
A good politician should be honest with the people and try to do everything possible to change the lives of citizens. There are things I would like to do, but I don’t make promises that I know I can’t keep.

Projects for the future?
I have been working since the age of 19 and my engineering career has just started, so I am focused on gaining more experience in the field of programming. Politically, we’ll see how these four years in office play out, but I always want to help the people of Lambeth.