Biography

A naturalised British citizen since 1992, Gene Alcantara was born in San Pablo City in The Philippines. He has lived in the United Kingdom since 1981, with many years spent in the East End of London (Stepney Green, Bethnal Green and West Ham), followed by a brief period in Kensington. He has now been a resident of Westminster (Bayswater ward) for 17 years.

He ran for Westminster Council in 1998, and was pipped to an elected position by 200+ votes. He stood for Parliament in West Ham in May 2005. Gene garnered votes, but unfortunately, most of the voters he was relying on had not previously registered and their votes could therefore not be relied on. Hence Gene's current campaign to raise awareness amongst all communities to Register to Vote and to ensure that everybody exercises their right to use their vote to improve their current lives. Although Gene was not elected, he felt he had raised awareness in communities across London on the importance of participating in the electoral process in Britain.

He worked for the British Council at its HQ in London for 21 years promoting British culture and education overseas, and worked briefly in the Czech Republic and for almost four years in Poland.

He has since been working as an OISC-Registered Immigration Adviser/Caseworker, dealing with various immigration matters of migrants in the UK and their families. He has dealt with cases involving Filipino, Thai, Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Turkish, French, Algerian, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Zimbabwean, Sierra Leonean, Portuguese, Spanish, Canadian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian and of course British nationalities.

He thought he would simply serve the needs of his clients and the community through his immigration and journalism work, but realized that he would be of greater service and impact if he was in an elected position to give voice to the many who are not heard. Hence, Gene is standing for the the UK Parliament for Hampstead and Kilburn on 6 May 2010.

He is married with 3 children.