Earlier this month, Salma Yaqoob announced her retirement from Birmingham Council for reasons of ill health. In last year’s general election, standing for Respect in Birmingham Hall Green with the support of the Green Party and retiring Labour MP, Lynne Jones (against whom Labour’s executive decided to take no action), she lost to Roger Godsiff by only 3,799 votes. She is a formidable campaigner, and an articulate, compassionate and enormously effective media spokesperson for progressive causes. She would be an enormous asset to the Labour Party, and we hope that she recovers her health, returns to active politics and will, one day soon, be welcomed into the Labour Party where people with her politics belong. Continue reading →