Labour Make Choice for Ealing Central & Acton

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Bassam Mahfouz to contest new constituency at next election

Bassam Mahfouz has been selected as Labour Candidate for the new Ealing Central and Acton Constituency.

Over 200 members (over 40% of the local membership) voted in a selection where the candidate was chosen from from a shortlist of six. Ealing Central and Acton, which also covers the part of Chiswick in Ealing borough, will be one of the tightest Labour marginal seats in the country - the BBC/ITN estimates have it as a 800 vote notional Labour majority if it had been fought in 2005.

Mr. Mahfouz, who is aged 26, has lived in Ealing since the age of 4, and is currently the Shadow Cabinet member for Transport, Environment and Climate Change on Ealing Council. He is currently a Councillor for the Northolt West End ward in the borough. If elected he will be the first Labour MP of Arab heritage, and the youngest MP ever in the Borough.

The Conservatives have already selected Angie Bray as their candidate for the constituency.

Andy Slaughter (MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherds Bush) said : "Bassam is an ideal choice for Ealing Central and Acton. He has a real understanding of the constituency and local issues. I look forward to working closely with Bas in the run up to the general election. I know he has boundless energy and enthusiam and will be an inspiring and popular choice as the next MP." CLP Chair John Delaney said : "In Bassam, we have a young, inspiring and campaigning voice for our constituency - an MP for the 21st century - and a local party renewed by our open selection process into a real fighting force to make Bassam our next Labour MP."

The Ealing Central and Acton constituency is being created from parts of the current Labour seats of Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush, Ealing Southall and Ealing North - and all three Labour MPs attended the count at their first joint appearence since Virendra Sharma's recent victory in the Ealing Southall by-election.

July 29, 2007