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Who is Tom Aditya?
Excerpts adapted from articles published in the Bristol Post, Asian Voice, British South Indians, and other newspapers
Mayor Emeritus Councillor Tom Aditya is a distinguished civic leader, social justice advocate, and management consultant in the United Kingdom. He has long been a bridge-builder—between communities, cultures, and nations. His life’s work has been guided by a simple belief: that service to others is the highest calling. Over the years, he has become widely recognised for his dedication to fostering community cohesion, interfaith understanding, and lifesaving health initiatives across the UK and beyond. Tom Aditya is a trailblazer in public life, breaking many barriers.
A Social Justice Advocate who has been a trailblazer breaking barriers
Cllr. Tom Aditya holds many “firsts.” He was the first person of Indian origin elected Mayor in South West England, the first South Indian origin councillor in the UK outside London, and the first Asian elected to civic office in South Gloucestershire. He also made history as the first South Indian elected in the UK on the Conservative Party ticket.
Since 2007, Tom has been part of the South Gloucestershire Council’s Equalities Panel, and his civic career has included serving as Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Council Spokesperson, and Chairman of multiple committees including Finance, Planning, Environment, Youth and Amenities.
Alongside this, he serves as a member of the UK Police Scrutiny Panel for the Avon and Somerset Police, sits on the Bristol University Court, and is a coordinator of the Bristol Multi-Faith Forum (BMFF), Bristol City Council’s initiative for interfaith harmony and community well-being.
A servant leader dedicated to unity, compassion, and hope.
As Mayor of Bristol-Bradley Stoke and later as Mayor Emeritus, Cllr Tom spearheaded several impactful initiatives aimed at building bridges between diverse communities, encouraging respect, dialogue, and cooperation across faiths and cultures. His leadership has been marked by a consistent emphasis on unity in diversity, ensuring that people from all backgrounds feel included and valued. Through his work with interfaith forums, cultural organisations, and civic events, he has cultivated a climate of mutual trust and harmony, strengthening social bonds at both the local and regional level.
A key aspect of Cllr Tom’s public service has been his campaign for blood and organ donation awareness. Understanding the lifesaving potential of these donations, he has tirelessly promoted the cause through community outreach, awareness drives, and partnerships with charities, health bodies, and faith groups. By addressing misconceptions and cultural sensitivities, he has encouraged people—particularly from underrepresented ethnic communities—to register as donors. His efforts have not only saved lives but also set a compassionate example of civic responsibility.
Cllr Tom Aditya’s contribution to society reflects a blend of visionary leadership, empathy, and practical action. He continues to inspire others by showing how civic engagement can uplift communities, improve health outcomes, and foster peace and understanding among people of all faiths and walks of life. His legacy is one of service, solidarity, and a steadfast commitment to the common good.
A Champion for Communities: "Building Bridges, Saving Lives"
'Tomji' as he is generally called by his South Asian friends has built a reputation as a social justice advocate and community bridge-builder. Over the years, he has championed campaigns to improve community cohesion, tackle poverty, reduce loneliness, and celebrate diversity. Widely respected for his warmth and vision, Tom has championed two causes close to his heart: interfaith harmony and blood and organ donation awareness.
He believes true leadership lies in bringing people together. Through countless interfaith initiatives, he has built bridges across cultures and faiths, showing that diversity is a strength when united by respect and understanding. At the same time, Tom has led tireless campaigns encouraging blood and organ donation, especially within communities where hesitation or misconceptions can hold people back. His message is simple yet powerful: the gift of life is the greatest gift one can give.
Whether inspiring neighbours to talk across divides or urging individuals to sign up as donors, Tom’s work carries a common thread—hope, humanity, and harmony. His legacy as Mayor and beyond is not just in titles, but in the lives touched and communities strengthened by his service.
One of his modest step whilst serving as Trustee of the Community Partnership was helping to set up a community radio station in 2010. He was also part of a local church's initiative to arrange Coffee Morning Breakfast Fellowships for the elderly and lonely. Internationally, his voice has carried weight as well: in 2015, he played a key role in securing the release of expatriate housemaids enslaved in Saudi Arabia, and in lobbying for the freedom of an innocent man facing the death penalty in the UAE. During the pandemic, he coordinated COVID-19 repatriations and vaccination outreach programmes, while also advocating for the preservation of heritage languages during the 2021 UK Census. “Giving hope, building peace. Every life is precious, every culture has meaning" he explains. “My job is to make sure no one feels invisible. Where compassion leads, harmony follows.”
When asked to describe his philosophy in one sentence, Councillor Tom Aditya replies without hesitation: “Many faiths and diverse cultures, one humanity” That phrase sums up his journey from his roots in Kerala, India, to becoming one of the most recognisable civic leaders in South West England.
Roots and Education
Born Tom Prabin Mathew Aditya into a traditional Christian family in Kerala, Tom’s values were shaped by family legacies of service. His father, Thomas Mathew, was active in local social causes, while his illustrious maternal grandfather, Mr Mani K Vettom, who passed away in 1954, was an Indian freedom fighter, civic leader and leader of the national movement in the erstwhile State of Travancore.
Tom recalls that he faced many challenges in life, but he feels that such ordeals provided him with the experience to comprehend the world from a realistic perspective. He cites his parents, siblings and friends as providing the support that laid the foundations of his development.
From a young age, Tom was active in debates, student unions, and public speaking. He studied Law and Economics, earned a Master’s in Management, pursued academic programmes in the USA and UK, and embarked on a PhD in Public Administration.
Career in Business and Service
Tomji began his career in banking in 1995, later serving as Projects Director overseeing initiatives such as the Amal Jyothi College of Engineering and the Sahyadri Co-operative Bank. He also contributed to strengthening the indigenous manufacturing facilities of the Malanadu Development Society, the Organic Farmer’s Consortium and the International Exports Division of Peerumedu Development Society under the Diocese. He fulfilled his responsibilities meticulously as an effective hand behind the Diocesean Administration for the development of Marian College Kuttikanam, MMT Hospital Mundakayam and various other schools, infirmaries and institutions.
During the turn of the millennium, he moved to the UK, establishing a successful management consultancy and financial services firm. His work earned him the title of the UK’s Most Productive Financial Consultant (2006). He has also authored articles on governance, including 'The flaws of Indian democracy', 'Local Governments – The Cradle of Democracy' and 'The Localism Act 2011 and Its Implications'. Yet, despite his corporate success, Tom insists: “Community service is my vocation. Business gave me skills, but service gave me purpose.”
A voice for the Voiceless
As a councillor, Tomji is known for his high attendance record and relentless advocacy. He has campaigned for better school funding, improved public transport, biodiversity initiatives, youth democracy, and elderly well-being. He helped create wildflower conservation areas, supported youth facilities such as the local skate park, and initiated older people's tea parties to reduce social isolation among older residents.
In his role on the Police Scrutiny Panel, he provides oversight on the use of police powers, safeguarding civil rights while representing community concerns.
An Ambassador for Harmony
Beyond politics, Tomji is deeply engaged in cultural and interfaith initiatives. “Celebrating diversity, inspiring humanity.” He leads BMFF’s NHS Blood and Organ Donation campaign, organises memorials for reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, and ensures recognition of Commonwealth soldiers who fought for Britain in the World Wars.
He also spearheaded the “Love Your Neighbour” Awards with Bristol Rovers Football Club — celebrating acts of kindness across communities. Tom summarized all those activities in one line “Uniting hearts, uplifting lives.”
A Reliable Friend
Despite his many roles, those who know him describe Tom as approachable, sincere, and grounded. “I see myself first as a neighbour and friend” he says. “People need someone who will listen, not just someone who talks.”
His story is one of resilience, conviction, and bridge-building — a leader who continues to bring people together, across cultures and faiths, under the banner of one shared humanity.
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2020 version: Tomji has been part of a community partnership team that builds up sustainable communities by improving community cohesion, promoting health and well-being, enhancing people's skills and learning, eradicating poverty, reducing loneliness and isolation, advocating equality, and celebrating diversity. He was involved in community engagement projects and instrumental in establishing a community radio for the neighbourhood in 2010. Cllr Tom’s service was extended internationally as a human-rights campaigner, and he was successful in the campaign to liberate expatriate housemaids enslaved in Saudi Arabia (2015) and to release an innocent man sentenced to the death penalty in the UAE. He facilitated the Indian High Commission’s Consular Camps in Bristol and has also been an inspiration for organising such consular camps for other nationalities in the region. He acts as a bridge between various communities. Cllr Aditya was at the forefront of establishing direct flight services between London and Cochin in 2020, repatriating seriously ill patients and stranded people during the COVID lockdown, and putting up vaccination awareness campaigns and outreach clinics for the community during 2020 and 2021. Since 2011, he has been a champion of the NHS Blood and Organ Donation campaign. During the 2021 UK census, he initiated the campaign to preserve and enumerate the heritage languages of the ethnic minority communities in the UK, and that campaign turned out to be very popular amongst various communities. Being a civic representative, he relentlessly raises his voice for people’s needs and concerns and contributes to various streams of society, profoundly.
Community service has been very close to Tom's heart, and he considers it his vocation. He was always involved in social activities and was ready to help others. In 2007, Tom Aditya was selected to the South Gloucestershire Council's Equalities Forum, representing the ethnic minority community organisations. The Equalities Forum (which got representatives from the senior citizens, women’s guilds, youth clubs, disability forums, voluntary organisations, faith congregations, family partnerships, LGBT groups, various ethnic and language communities as well as spokespersons of the police, fire and rescue, National Health Service, primary care trust, education service and the local authority) gave Tom an extended platform to serve the wider society. During the interim, he served as Chairman of the South Glos Equalities Forum and used that opportunity resourcefully to help the marginalised in their human rights and equality issues and to serve as a voice for the voiceless.
Taking account of Tom’s community involvement and understanding, he was chosen as the Trustee of Southern Brooks Community Partnership, a renowned non-governmental organisation, which helps people to make a positive difference in their lives and neighbourhood. He was also at the forefront of the campaigns for faster broadband and a full-fledged post office in Bradley Stoke. Tom’s sincere efforts for such causes prompted the residents to nominate him to the Council. Cutting across political differences and cultural diversities, he secured two-thirds of the polled votes in the ward, which had never been won by his party earlier. Considering the sparse Asian population in the area, his election victory revealed the town’s vibrancy to recognise talented individuals irrespective of their race or colour and its solidarity with the underrepresented sections of society. Interestingly, this created news headlines in the international media.
At the local authority, within a short time, Tom has been regarded as an enthusiastic and proactive councillor, acknowledged even by his political opponents. Whilst serving as an elected councillor, he served in various committees of the Council and was later elected to serve as the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the Conservative Group Leader, the Council Spokesperson, and the Chairman of the Finance and Planning Committees. He holds high attendance records in all council meetings and civic programmes and relentlessly raises his voice for people’s needs and concerns. He always voted against the council tax increase and helped the council to keep the council precept frozen for many decades, whilst zealously applying the concept of financial prudence in public transactions. He was effective in bringing more transparency and accountability to the administration.
Whilst Tom served as chairman of the planning and transport committee, he drove up arrangements for the upkeep of the town’s highway verges when SGC axed that service. He also provided leadership for the town’s beautification and conservation, as well as on various community issues. To restore and enhance the ecosystem, he proposed the plan for the creation of wildflower areas on highway verges and to identify open spaces to preserve biodiversity and to provide habitat for pollinating insects, as part of the Council's Biodiversity Initiative. Also, he represented the Council at the International Twinnings Committee, Avon Local Councils Association Committee, the Bradley Stoke Library Committee, the Anti-Hate Crime Board, and others, without taking a penny from the council funds. Being the town council’s ambassador for international twinnings, he devotedly partakes in and encourages twinning visits and intercultural programmes to twinned cities, to local schools, as well as in the neighbourhood.
Furthermore, as a Member of the Avon and Somerset Police Scrutiny Panel, Cllr Aditya partakes in scrutinising the police actions in Greater Bristol and the West of England counties, whilst communicating local people’s perspectives on the use of police powers and safeguarding civil rights, and acts as a ‘critical friend’ of the Police. The Avon and Somerset Constabulary area covers 4805 square kilometres and has a population of over 1.6 million people and more than 679,000 households. Simultaneously, Tom serves as Co-ordinator of Bristol Multi-Faith Forum, which is an equalities organisation instituted by the Bristol City Council for inter-faith and inter-cultural cohesion and social harmony, and to promote the health and well-being of the communities. He steered the Bristol Multi-Faith Forum in organising the 'Love your Neighbour' Award programme in partnership with the Bristol Rovers Football Club. Tom also leads the NHS Blood and Organ Donation campaign in the West of England. The Bristol metropolitan area has a population of over 1.2 million, and he was involved in its community cohesion projects. Tom works at the forefront to organise the annual memorial services that pay tributes to the famous social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who was laid to rest in Bristol in 1833. Tom has also been eager to incorporate the memories of the Commonwealth soldiers, who fought and died, helping the British during the two World Wars.
Bradley Stoke, which he represents, has the record of the lowest crime rate in the region. Nevertheless, when signs of burglaries and anti-social activities by miscreants came up in the neighbourhood, Tom Aditya was at the forefront to call the attention of the police against burglaries and anti-social activities, and urged strong action. He called public meetings with the top officials of the Police and put up solutions to fight against it, and brought things under control. He took the initiative to bring new public transport links connecting the Bristol city centre and hospitals with Bradley Stoke. He has been involved in the youth activities of the council and urged fervently to enhance youth democracy. He has actively been part of building up the skate park in the neighbourhood and was also instrumental in organising social networking tea parties for the elderly in the town to reduce social isolation and loneliness. Through the Community Engagement Forum, he engaged with the local health centre to streamline telephone and online appointments for patients, which helped many members of the community. He always helped the community groups in their activities and supported them in giving council grants to local community groups. As a volunteer, he has been involved in many community activities such as the Community Festival, the Carnival, the Fireworks, the neighbourhood cleaning missions, the green gyms, etc. He actively lobbies with the higher authorities and stakeholders to improve and maintain the quality of life for all residents. He advocates reducing traffic congestion and parking problems through better planning and infrastructure development. He also stands up for better school funding. He wishes to establish a crown post office in the neighbourhood and clean up the lake in the nature reserve.
Councillor Tom Aditya currently wears various other hats. He is Chairman of the Council's Community Engagement Forum, South Glos Equalities Forum, the West of England Community Transport Network Committee and the Local Authority's School Governor. He is distinguished by his trademarks: sincerity, conviction and courage. He smoothly blends the roles of a people’s advocate and management consultant. His passionate interest in civic subjects and sustainable community development projects is illustrious, and his comprehension of such themes is inspiring. He is an asset to society.
To summarise, Tom is a reliable and approachable friend who is ready to listen and also has the experience, knowledge and energy to put things into action. He strived to spread goodwill and harmony among all sections of society and had a positive attitude and universal values. Tom feels that people should resolve political differences and cultural diversities to work together for the holistic development of the nation.