Tag Archives: polish community

The day I met the President of Poland

By Michal Siewniak | Sun 18th January 2026 - 8:30 am

Someone asked: how was it? Sometimes it is difficult to find a clear answer to such simple questions. Honour? Joy? Pride? Or perhaps embarrassment, because the opportunity to meet the President of Poland does not come often. Do we often see eye to eye on key political matters? No, most definitely not.

Despite his very busy schedule, I am glad that President Karol Nawrocki found a few hours to meet with the Polish community on Monday evening. It is a great honour to be able to participate in such an event, although I know that many more invitations could have been sent out, because there are so many fantastic people who do a lot of good work across Britain. I attended the event as a Deputy Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield, and on behalf of my Borough Council.

Poland and the United Kingdom have a lot in common, as the President mentioned in his speech. The Polish migration to Britain after the II World War. It was a very important moment in the history of our country, as London became effectively our capital city in exile. Both countries have been and continue to be allies, and our cooperation brings tangible benefits to both nations. The United Kingdom has become home to a Polish community of almost a million people on the islands, who have not forgotten their roots, their enormous heritage and their cultural background.