Mayor visits resident shortlisted for national award

Cllr Margi O'Callaghan, Mayor of Hastings, has made a surprise doorstep visit to Victoria Oldman, who has been nominated in the Positive Role Model Award: Gender at the National Diversity Awards.

Cllr O'Callaghan said: "Victoria has been nominated for her work with Hastings Trans pride and her service to the community in terms of equality. I wanted to visit her to wish her luck from me as Mayor and from the whole of Hastings, and to thank her for all her work in the community - I told her we are all rooting for her."

Victoria said: "I'm thrilled to have been shortlisted for a national diversity award - not for me, or the work I do, but for the chance to further shine a light on the needs of my community.

"I'm enormously grateful for the support I've received from the town and allies in this area, and the recognition of the enormous amount of progress needed to ensure trans, non-binary and gender diverse people, like anyone else, have access to healthcare, services and rights they need in order to live their lives in comfort, in control, and in safety.

"Diversity is always what has made Hastings great, and as we celebrate, welcome and provide for it with solidarity, we have every reason to be proud."

Victoria will be travelling to Liverpool for the awards on Friday 15 September to find out if she has won.