By-elections called for 15th July
By-elections for Hodge Hill in Birmingham and Leicester South will take place on 15th July.
Birmingham Labour MP Terry Davis has been appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern by the Chancellor, which means in effect that he will be resigning from the House of Commons.
Mr Davis has been elected secretary general of the Council of Europe, a non EU body which seeks to bring parliamentarians from across Europe together.
Though Mr Davis’s majority is 11,000, Labour was well down on votes in the corresponding constituencies in the recent European and local elections.
Leicester South is also up for contest following the death of veteran backbencher Jim Marshal.
Both seats have large Muslim electorates, traditional Labour supporters but known to be angry about the decision to invade Iraq- a mood the Liberal Democrats will hope to cash in upon.
Liberal Democrat chief executive Lord Chris Rennard said that the party would be gearing up for the challenge.
Pointing to the Lib Dems second place in the Hodge Hill constituency local elections, he said: “The Liberal Democrats are already clearly established as the challengers to Labour in Leicester South.
“There were no local elections in Leicester South two weeks ago, but the LibDems polled the most votes there in the May 2003 local elections, while the Tories trailed in third place.
“Following the local and European elections it is clear that only the Liberal Democrats can challenge Labour in urban areas and the North of England, where the Conservatives have little relevance.”
Mr Davis will take up his position in Strasbourg in September. For the past few years he has been withdrawing gradually from UK parliamentary politics and taking on increasing responsibilities in the Council of Europe.
Welcoming the result, Mr David said: “It is a great honour to be elected secretary general of the continent’s oldest political organisation by MPs from 45 countries.
“I have a vision of Europe as part of a world where men and women are treated fairly and equally – a Europe where people live in peace on the basis of mutual respect without any discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin or religious belief – a Europe with no borders, no visas, no passports – a Europe where people have the time and opportunity to enjoy not only their own culture but the cultures of other people. The Council of Europe is the best way to turn that vision into reality”.
