Six candidates are standing in the West Midlands: John Tyrrell (myself); Satbir Singh Johal (known as Sheera); Rajinder Claire; Bhagwant Singh; Surinder Pal Virdee and Shangara Singh Bhatoe.
Voting in the European elections is by party so the order of the candidates on the paper is of importance. Allocation of seats is by proportional representation rather than the “first past the post” that we’re used to.
Briefly I was a councillor on Birmingham City Council for 9 years and held office including Cabinet Member for Transportation, Chair of Best Value Scrutiny and a Contract Services Committee. I fought against the privatisation of public services and took part is a cross-European group to look at progress in sustainability. I have recently been involved in mental health projects including one across the West Midlands. I am a member of the NUT.
Satbir Singh Johal has been active with the Indian Workers’ Association in Birmingham and is a member of the Shaheed Udham Singh Community Centre. He has been a candidate for the SLP regularly.
Rajinder Clair is a lawyer who is active in the West Midlands Unite Against Fascism (WMUAF) (as are all of us).
Bhagwant Singh is a community activist, a member of the Asian Rationalist Society, Britain and a leading member of WMUAF. He worked for Rover before being made redundant.
Surinder Pal Virdee is a convenor for his union Unite and took part in the organisation of the March for Jobs held in Birmingham in May 2009.
Shangara Singh Bhatoe worked for the Handsworth Law Centre and has stood for SLP on several occasions.

The SLP Policy can be seen on their website