Bradford West Parliamentary By-Election : Date to be confirmed

[Harry Hayfield]

The Labour MP for Bradford West, Marsha Singh, has announced that he intends to resign his seat in Parliament due to "serious health problems". Michael Crick is reporting that Labour are not going to wait for the local elections to hold the by-election but may hold it as early as March 29th. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17218405

[Senator MaxQue]

Well, I think than Al would say than it is too early to make a thread, but...

I wish a good and swift recovery to Mr. Singh.

[Harry Hayfield]

Well, I think than Al would say than it is too early to make a thread, but...

I wish a good and swift recovery to Mr. Singh.

If he had died, then yes, I agree, but this is a resignation from Parliament (just as the Labour MP for Leicester South resigned from Parliament) and when an MP resigns then I believe a thread can be started straight away (especially in this case as the by-election could be held in four weeks time)

[Andrea]

Good luck to Marsha Singh

Crick has changed his mind and he now says it will likely be on May 3 but Craig from SKY says it will be March 29th

Bradford West was one of the very few constituencies to have a Lab to Con swing in 1997 GE (the other being Bethnal Green and Bow). The NEC selection panel can have a tricky job to do. A local name already reported to be in the race is Cllr Imran Hussain.
It has also been suggested that Manchester Cllr Afzal Khan has been working the CLP for some time waiting for the selection to come up. I think Khan has spent years waiting for Gerald Kaufman's retirement in Manchester Gorton ...I don't know if the likely upcoming vacancy in Manchester Central will change his plans.

[Sibboleth]

This has been on the cards for a while. A shame as I've always quite liked Marsha Singh. Hope he gets better.

Anyway, I'll write up the usual by-election special post at the weekend.

[You kip if you want to...]

LAB hold.

[YL]

Let's hope he gets better.

This constituency has a slightly odd recent history.  As Andrea says, it had a pro-Tory swing in 1997, and it also had a pro-Labour swing in 2010.  (If the national swing from 2005 had applied, I think it would have gone Tory.  But national swings and Bradford West don't appear to mix.)  In between, the Lib Dem vote collapsed in 2001 and then had a big increase in 2005 (Iraq may well have been a factor in the latter).

[State Comptroller Atkins]

That's a shame. Best wishes to him.

[YL]

2011 Bradford Council election results in the constituency (from the Council website):

City: Lab 64%, Con 28%, Green 5%, LD 3%

Clayton & Fairweather Green: Lab 56%, Con 30%, Green 8%, LD 6%

Heaton: Lab 48%, Con 26%, Green 21%, LD 4%

Manningham: Lab 72%, LD 20%, Green 5%, Con 3%

Thornton & Allerton: Con 47%, Lab 38%, Green 12%, LD 3%

Toller: Lab 81%, Con 12%, Green 5%, LD 2%

[Sibboleth]

Ah, Toller ward.

[Leftbehind]

Those wards look like far stronger Labour than their constituency's recent results would suggest.

[YL]

Those wards look like far stronger Labour than their constituency's recent results would suggest.

... and indeed than their own recent results would suggest.  In 2004 (see Andrew Teale's website) every one of them elected at least one Tory.  As recently as 2008 (link to Andrew's site again) four of them voted Tory, including Toller.

[crypto-fascist superhero]

Those wards look like far stronger Labour than their constituency's recent results would suggest.

... and indeed than their own recent results would suggest.  In 2004 (see Andrew Teale's website) every one of them elected at least one Tory.  As recently as 2008 (link to Andrew's site again) four of them voted Tory, including Toller.

So are they something like those Hasidic Jewish wards in NYC, or the polygamous Mormon town in Texas?

[Die-hard Clockworkfan]

I wonder if Norman Scarth will stand.  That would liven things up.

[Vasall des Midas]

I somehow thought Marsha Singh was ancient, but I've just looked it up and he's not even 60. Who am I confusing him with?

[YL]

I somehow thought Marsha Singh was ancient, but I've just looked it up and he's not even 60. Who am I confusing him with?

The late Piara Khabra?

[doktorb]

I wonder if Norman Scarth will stand.  That would liven things up.

Thomas Darwood would do that and more. Never has "Independent candidate, Barking" been so accurate a description....

http://tomdarwood.com/default.aspx

[Senator MaxQue]

Oh.

I feel confused. It is very strange.

[Sibboleth]

Singh has officially resigned. I'll put together the usual profile (maybe in a new thread; it's easier if that post is the first one) soon. Or most of it. Or something.