The new leader of Bolton Tories on his upbringing, politics and Margaret Thatcher

After being unanimously elected as the new leader of Bolton's opposition party, Cllr Nadim Muslim has spoken to the Bolton News about his upbringing, his political inspiration and what he sees for the borough's future.'So, I first became interested in politics from a young age, I would say when I was a pupil at Turton School around the 2010 election time. I remember researching the different political parties, weighing up my options and the Conservative Party was the one that resonated the most with my values.
'After coming back to Bolton from uni, I began to get more involved in local politics and eventually stood at the 2015 election as a councillor for Crompton ward, as it was known back then. I didn't get it, I stood again in 2016 and eventually in 2018 I was elected to Bromley Cross.''A lot of it was from my father, he came to England from Pakistan when I was little. He owned a small business, be believed in family and family values, he was trying to achieve the best that he could in every way. I learned a lot from his work ethic and drew inspiration politically from his approach.
'These Conservative values of enterprise, faith, tradition, law and order – these are all things that I was raised with.'
READ MORE:'I would definitely say the most prominent political figure that helped shape my own position was Margaret Thatcher. She did a lot of good for the country to make people richer and re-wired England to make it a better place. She was truly an inspirational politician.
'This is something that I believe we could benefit from today, it's not seen often enough – I would definitely say some of her policies helped shape my own view and the way I navigate politics.''Yes definitely, I think the key is a Bolton-first approach. I've noticed a lot of the discussion at the moment is wasting time talking about issues in America, or overseas. These things don't necessarily affect Bolton, and these aren't discussions that people here necessarily feel moved by.
'An obvious alternative to this is a Bolton approach. We want to broach topics that are relevant to the people of Bolton and can make a different to daily lives. Our party is also unified, we are a united group that is ready to do what is right for Bolton.
'Going forward, we will solely be focused on delivering for Bolton residents. That means we will table motions at Full Council that are specific to Bolton and not international disputes.
"Our time in council should be used to affect change on issues we can control domestically.'

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