Saturday 8 August 2009

"Too white" Council candidate vows to fight on

Birmingham Council Buildings

A Labour Party campaigner who claims she was prevented from standing in an inner city council seat because she is white and Jewish has vowed to fight on after her complaints were thrown out.

Both the Labour Party and Birmingham City Council have decided not to follow up the complaint from Elaina Cohen after she failed to make the shortlist of candidates for the East Handsworth and Lozells council by-election in May.

Ms Cohen, backed by a witness, claims she was told by local party chairman, city councillor and former Lord Mayor of Birmingham Mahmood Hussain that he would not support her nomination as she is white and Jewish. It is a claim he strongly denies.

But believing both complaints have been brushed away, without giving her a chance to speak to either inquiry, Ms Cohen, who is currently researcher for Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood, has vowed to take legal action.

Firstly, the council’s Standards Committee ruled that Coun Hussain was acting in his Labour Party capacity and not as a councillor so it has no interest in the case.

Secondly, the Labour Party suggested that as it was a case of Ms Cohen’s word against Coun Hussain’s.

Source

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Hat Tip Green Arrow


2 comments:

Dr.D said...

Seems like maybe this would be a good time to ignore the party system and elect this woman anyway. She could be a good counterweight to the muzlim influence in the city, and a corrective to the unresponsive party system. Here is a chance for the "little people," the ordinary folks to back someone who might represent them instead of the party. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Anonymous said...

so Labour Birmingham council are anti-Semitic, anti - white racists