LABOUR CANDIDATE - HODGE HILL

LABOUR NAME CANDIDATE

Labour has named a city computer company boss as its candidate to succeed Terry Davis.

Liam Byrne, founder of EGS Group, won the backing of the Labour Party after beating scores of rivals for the right to defend Davis' 11,000 vote majority.

Following his selection, Liam Byrne, who is married with two children, vowed to tackle the teen gangs who plague local residents.

He said: "These yobs hang around shops and street corners, intimidating good, law abiding residents.

"There should not be no go areas for local people. It's time to get tough."

RESPECT CANDIDATE - HODGE HILL

Respect selects candidate

Respect have selected John Rees as their candidate to contest the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election.

John was a founder of the Stop The War Coalition and was the Respect West Midlands candidate for the Euro elections.

20,000 voters in Birmingham supported Respect in the Euro elections. In inner city Birmingham Respect won 24 percent of the vote.

You can see the first leaflet of their campaign HERE.

RESPECT CANDIDATE - LEICESTER SOUTH

RESPECT NAME CANDIDATE

A journalist held hostage by the Taleban in Afghanistan has been announced today as the latest candidate to stand in the Leicester South by-election.

Yvonne Ridley will represent Respect - the anti-war party founded by former Labour MP George Galloway - in the by-election on July 15.

The former Sunday Express journalist has converted to Islam since being held by the Taleban in September 2001. She was released after 10 days.

Ms Ridley said: "I'm delighted to be selected. As a party, we won over 8,000 votes in Leicester in the European elections.I'm not just fighting this seat to compete, I'm fighting it to win and I believe we can win."

Respect Party founder George Galloway said: "This is going to be the tightest and one of the most important by-elections in recent history.

You can see the first leaflet of their campaign HERE

LEICESTER SOUTH BY-ELECTION WEBSITES

Leicester Liberal Democrats

Leicester South Conservatives

WHAT ABOUT HARTLEPOOL?

Tony Blair is about to shatter Peter Mandelson’s European dreams by ruling out sending the twice-sacked former minister to Brussels as Britain’s European commissioner.

Party insiders are already worried about losing Leicester South next month, and are braced for a tough fight in Hodge Hill in Birmingham.

Parliamentary rules mean that at least 16 days must pass between a member resigning a Commons seat and a by-election being held. That would mean that Mr Mandelson would have to be confirmed in the Brussels job by Tuesday in order for Hartlepool to vote on the same day as Leicester South and Hodge Hill.

Although the Prime Minister is understood to be holding off on making a final decision about the commission nomination, Downing Street advisers have recommended that he seek a less controversial candidate than the former Northern Ireland secretary from outside the Commons.

By-election campaigns turn dirty

Labour's attempts to fend off the Liberal Democrats and the prospect of humiliating defeat in two Midlands by-elections have become mired in personal accusations.

A Labour leaflet issued this weekend in the Birmingham constituency of Hodge Hill attacks the Liberal Democrat candidate for her alleged role in helping to get mobile phone masts built.

Labour activists will see the personal tone of the attack as retaliation for the way Liberal Democrats criticised their candidate in Leicester South, Sir Peter Soulsby, a week earlier. Sir Peter was denounced as "the person most noted for awarding himself fat cat pay rises when he was the top Labour man on Leicester council and for the massive council tax rises he inflicted on local residents".

HODGE HILL NEWS

Take a look at the latest leaflet from the Lib Dems in Hodge Hill

East Birmingham News

Hodge Hill News

Nicola Davies selected by Hodge Hill Liberal Democrats to fight the by-election

Hodge Hill Liberal Democrats selected Nicola Davies to be their candidate for the impending by-election. Nicola stood in the 2001 General Election in Birmingham and in this year's European Elections on the West Midlands list.

Leicester South News

Pat Kennedy is raising cash so he can challenge for the late Jim Marshall's Leicester South seat.

Pat, 48, wants to stand as independent candidate on a Save Our Schools ticket for the by-election on July 15.

Labour, Conservative, Lib Dems and the Socialist Labour Party are also contesting this by-election.

You can find out more about their campaign HERE

HODGE HILL BY-ELECTION WEBSITES

Hodge Hill by-election

Hodge Hill Liberal Democrats

Websites for by-election nuts

Some websites you might want to look at.

British Parliamentary By Elections Since 1945

RESULTS OF BYELECTIONS TO THE 53rd UK PARLIAMENT

A BIG WELCOME TO ALL BY-ELECTION NUTS

If you have any interest or involvement in any current or past by-election, then this is the place for you.

Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South are in full swing and we want to hear from anyone who can tell us first-hand what is going on in these two contests.

We also want your archive stories from any Parliamentary by-election in the last 60 years.

So come on all you political surfers.... get typing.