Shortlist for Middlesbrough selection announced

With the Middlesbrough by-election expected on November 29th after the sad death of Sir Stuart Bell, the local party will be selecting their candidate on Sunday. The following candidates have been shortlisted – on an unusually long shortlist of 6:

Amina Ali is a Middlesbrough born Somali, a single mother of two children and a Muslim. She is a long-standing activist, a member of the Fabian Women’s Network and on the Fabian Women mentoring programme. She founded the Somali Friends of Labour and is the Vice-Chair of the Tower Hamlets CLP. She works as a welfare advisor for Tower Hamlets Law Centre and was previously a journalist for BBC News. Her campaign website is here.

Joe Docherty is the former chief executive of Tees Valley Regeneration and chair of Arts Council North East. Joe is currently a Trustee and Member of Council of the University of Durham as well as being Chair of the Council of George Stephenson College at the University’s Queen’s Campus, Stockton on Tees. He was previously Director of the corporate banking division within Barclays Bank.

Emma France grew up in Teesside the daughter of two Redcar GPs. Emma works as the European Director of an HIV charity and before that worked as a consultant with charities and social enterprises focussing particularly on life chances, social exclusion and youth justice. Before that she was a project finance lawyer working for an international law firm, Allen & Overy. Emma was long listed for Middlesbrough South in 2010 and has campaigned actively in London, standing as a councillor in 2010 and Teesside, working hard in Gresham Ward in Middlesbrough in 2007. Until recently Emma was Vice-Chair of Amnesty International UK. She is Chair of Mo Mo Helps, her godmother Mo Mowlam’s grant making charity. She is also a local authority governor of a primary school. Emma lives in London with her husband and sons but continues to spend time in her family home in Skelton in the Middlesbrough South constituency.

Mahroof Hussain is a councillor in Rotherham and has served on the council for the past 10 years.He worked with the Minister for Europe, Rt. Hon Denis MacShane MP as an advisor on Equality in Europe and stood in the 2005 General Election in the Constituency of Sheffield Hallam against Nick Clegg. Hussain is an active member of Unite, and sits on the NPF. He was awarded an MBE for services to local government in 2008.

Ed Malcolm worked as a miner from the age of 16 and as an active trade unionist eventually became Secretary of Westoe Miners Lodge, one of the largest NUM branches. He is now a senior activist in Unite. Following the pit closures he returned to education and attained degrees including a Masters. He has worked as a welfare rights advisor for Middlesbrough CAB for 14 years, helping thousands of local people. He was also elected to South Tyneside Council and is now the Cabinet Member for Resources and Innovation, where he has started negotiations on a Living Wage. As the borough agent in the local elections, he ran a campaign that saw Labour take 10 opposition seats.

Andy McDonald is a solicitor for a trade union law firm Thompsons, a former Middlesbrough Councillor, chair of the party Local Government Committee and a governor of Middlesbrough college. Andy was shortlisted for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland in 2010.

If you have any further information on any of the candidates – or think we’ve missed something – please email us.