ELECTION NEWS: Erdington to vote for next MP as by-election date set for 3 March

By Erdington Local election news team

The upcoming by-election to decide who will be Erdington’s next Member of Parliament has been set for Thursday, 3 March.

A tweet made by the Labour Party whips office on Monday, 31 January, stated:

“First item of business today in @HouseofCommons – Opposition Chief Whip @alancampbellmp moving the writ for the Birmingham Erdington By-election. Polling Day 3 March 2022.”

The by-election follows the sudden death of Jack Dromey MP, who was found dead at his constituency residence on Friday, 7 January.

Candidates from parties across the political spectrum are expected to contest the seat, with Cllr Paulette Hamilton (Lab, Holyhead) already announcing her intention to run as Labour’s sucessor to Jack Dromey – after being selected by local party members via an online vote on Wednesday, 26 January.

Currently the Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, Cllr. Hamilton was the first candidate to publicly declare their intention to stand for the Erdington seat – which if successful, would make her Birmingham first ever black Member of Parliament.

Addressing local Labour Party members at her official campaign launch, at Highcroft Community Centre on Saturday, 29 January, Paulette Hamilton told the crowd: “Can I thank you all for your support. I cannot believe it, the overwhelming support I have had from people throughout the constituency.

“We have got a lot of work to do. We are going to run a clean campaign; we are going to fight at the doorsteps to take the Labour message to the people.”

Also currently in the running is Dave Nellist, the one time Labour MP for Coventry South, who has declared his intention to run for Erdington MP as the official candidate for the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

A longstanding supporter of worker’s right – who famously donated 60% of his MP’s salary to the Labour movement, trade unionists, and community campaigners – Mr Nellist is expected to take a strong anti-austerity stance and champion support from Erdington’s industrial community and factory workforces.

Following his announcement on Thursday, 27 January, Mr Nellist posted on social media:

“With Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour welcoming a Tory MP into the parliamentary party last week – while confirming Jeremy Corbyn’s exclusion from the PLP at its national executive committee meeting on January 25th – it couldn’t be clearer that the interests of Britain’s wealthy establishment will be in safe hands if and when they decide to move on from Boris Johnson’s disintegrating premiership. Starmer is so obviously not on our side.

“That is why I am proud to represent TUSC in the Birmingham Erdington by-election and would urge other trade unionists, socialists and community campaigners to also consider standing for TUSC in the forthcoming local council elections in May.

“Red Tories, Blue Tories or Yellow Tories carrying out policies against the interests of the working class majority cannot expect to be unchallenged at the ballot box”.

Since announcing their respective candidacies, both Paulette Hamilton and Dave Nellist have been canvassing across the constituency and receiving strong online support – although response has favoured those with strong links to the area.

There is also growing concern that Dave Nellist’s candidacy could split the Labour vote, adding pressure to the party that has consistently held the Erdington seat since 1974.

At the time of writing, no other parties have proposed a candidate for the Erdington by-election – however many are speculating Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington) will stand again for MP, having contested the Erdington seat in the last four General Elections,

Cllr Alden, who has narrowed the gap between Conservatives and Labour in the last two General Elections, also lives locally – which could work well for voters who are keen to see a familiar face represent them in Parliament.

ELECTION NEWS: Dave Nellist to run for Erdington MP as Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate in upcoming by-election

By Erdington Local election news team

On Thursday 27 January, Dave Nellist declared his intention to run for Erdington MP in the upcoming by-election – standing as the official candidate for the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

Having previously been a Member of Parliament for Coventry South East, a seat he held for the Labour Party for nine years, Mr Nellist is a longstanding supporter of worker’s right – famously donating 60% of his MP’s salary to the Labour movement, trade unionists, and community campaigners.

It is expected his campaign will take a strong anti-austerity stance, challenge Government cuts, and put the plight of workers at the heart of its manifesto.

Accepting the TUSC nomination, Nellist commented: “With Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour welcoming a Tory MP into the parliamentary party last week – while confirming Jeremy Corbyn’s exclusion from the PLP at its national executive committee meeting on January 25th – it couldn’t be clearer that the interests of Britain’s wealthy establishment will be in safe hands if and when they decide to move on from Boris Johnson’s disintegrating premiership. Starmer is so obviously not on our side.

“That is why I am proud to represent TUSC in the Birmingham Erdington by-election and would urge other trade unionists, socialists and community campaigners to also consider standing for TUSC in the forthcoming local council elections in May.

“Red Tories, Blue Tories or Yellow Tories carrying out policies against the interests of the working class majority cannot expect to be unchallenged at the ballot box”.

With people already taking to social media to demand a ‘union man’ to replace the late Jack Dromey MP, Dave Nellist’s campaign could find a welcome voice in the Erdington constituency – home of the ill fated GKN Chester Road factory and long suffering Jaguar Land Rover Castle Bromwich plant.

Having once shared an acrimonious office with Tony Blair, when both men were entered the House in 1983, Dave Nellist has been a longstanding supporter of Militant – an internal Labour Party born movement that became the Socialist Party in 1997.

Expelled from the Labour Party for his affiliation with Militant, ahead of the 1992 General Election, Dave Nellist was continuously voted in as a Coventry City councillor between 1998 and 2012.

After announcing his nomination for the Erdington by-election, the Socialist Party went on to state:

‘Former socialist MP Dave Nellist will be standing to put forward an anti-austerity, pro-worker alternative’ – hoping to regain a place in the House ‘to give a voice to the struggles of working class people in Erdington fighting attacks on public services, for decent pay and working conditions and for urgent action to deal with the cost of living crisis.’

Dave Nellist is the second candidate to announce their intention to run for MP in the upcoming Erdington by-election, following the Labour Party’s selection of Cllr. Paulette Hamilton – who was nominated by local party members on Wednesday, 26 January.

Although with a date yet to be set, and many other parties expected to put forward a candidate, the political race for Erdington’s next Member of Parliament has only just begun.

For more from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition visit www.tusc.org.uk

For more from the Socialist Party visit www.socialistparty.org.uk