We’re deeply saddened to hear of the untimely passing of Cllr Waseem Zaffar MBE, a dedicated social justice campaigner with a particular determination to improve the air quality in Birmingham.
Waseem served Birmingham City Council for many years, leading on projects such as the Birmingham Clean Air Zone, the Birmingham Transport Plan and the Birmingham Clean Air Strategy.
His community work saw him awarded an MBE for services to the voluntary sector.
I met Waseem last September when he was on the Clean Air Justice panel at The Fabian Society’s Festival of Ideas, which ran alongside the Labour Party Conference.
He spoke so passionately that, within minutes of the discussion ending, I had persuaded him to speak at our Air Quality Conference in Manchester this March.
Mums for Lungs paid tribute to Waseem on Bluesky: ‘We are deeply saddened by the passing of Councillor Waseem Zaffar. A stalwart advocate for clean air, social justice and children’s health, Waseem was a true supporter of us and our Birmingham work with Kirsten and Maya. Our thoughts are with his wife, children and family.’
John Munro added: ‘If you take a breath of Birmingham’s air today, give a thought to Waseem Zaffar, an all too rare example of a local politician willing to tackle the problem of car dominance. Our city is greatly diminished by Councillor Zaffar’s shocking passing.’
Laura Laker, author of Potholes and Pavements and cohost of the Streets Ahead Podcast, said: ‘So sad to hear about the death of Waseem Zaffar. He joined us on the podcast’s ninth episode and was a breath of fresh air, literally, campaigning for cleaner air for Birmingham residents. One of the good guys, with a steely resolve to help people; a real loss.’
Leave a Reply