Candidates:

Mark Anthony France (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU)
Nominated by Leamington Spa LU, Noel Kennedy (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU), Jackie Owen (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU), Andy Morgan (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU)

Lynn Gregory (Birmingham LU)
Nominated by Birmingham LU

Ally MacGregor (Leamington Spa LU)
Nominated by Leamington Spa LU, Coventry LU

Bob Williams-Findlay (Birmingham LU)
Nominated by Birmingham LU

Statements:

Mark Anthony France (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU)
Nominated by Leamington Spa LU, Noel Kennedy (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU), Jackie Owen (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU), Andy Morgan (Worcestershire and Herefordshire LU)

Active in the Labour Movement since 1974, I come from a family of industrial workers, active trade unionists of Irish and Welsh heritage based in south Birmingham. Inspired by the School Student Uprising in SOWETO in June 1976 I became a committed socialist, anti-racist, anti-imperialist activist and champion of the self organisation of the oppressed.

Over the past 4 decades I have played a role in building:Troops Out Movement, YouthCND and Anti-Apartheid, solidarity with the NUM during the Great Strike of ’84/’85, Palestine Solidarity and StopTheWar. In 2009 I led the mass campaign in Bromsgrove that successfully forced the resignation of the Tory MP Julie Kirkbride. I have  suffered victimisation and blacklisting by employers as a result of my trade union and campaigning activities.

Organisationally, I have been a member of: Labour Party, Big Flame, Revolution Youth, International Marxist Group, Socialist Action, Socialist Labour Party, RESPECT and the Green Party.  I have lived and worked in Birmingham, Belfast, London Wolverhampton, Havana, Huddersfield and Bromsgrove. Today I am a Unite Community Activist and Branch Organiser of Left Unity in Worcestershire. I work as a Pizza Delivery Driver I am married with 3 kids, 2 grandkids we keep rabbits and chickens in our garden. I am a supporter of the Left Unity Republican Socialist Tendency.

The political history of the West Midlands includes, its role as a hub of the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of a Labour Movement dominated by a right wing bureaucracy. Today, this bureaucracy is fragmenting and weakened presenting tremendous opportunities to build a more inclusive, democratic and radical working class movement in the West Midlands.

As a West Midlands member of  the National Council of Left Unity I will make a positive contribution to building a new radical party of the Working Class and to help ensure that it become a safe, democratic and inclusive home for many thousands of people from diverse backgrounds. I will ensure that political insights and experiences of West Midlands Left Unity branches and individual members are shared with the rest of our party.

Lynn Gregory (Birmingham LU)
Nominated by Birmingham LU

I helped to establish the Bham branch of Left Unity and am currently the Secretary. I have been an active socialist and feminist since I was 17. I left the Labour Party after the Iraq War and am committed to building a new broad party of the left. I was a supporter of the Left Party Platform because I thought that gave us the best chance of winning a broad section of working class support.

In Birmingham I have been active in the successful campaign to prevent the private running of the Central Library and I am now the Chair of the ongoing campaign to stop the closure of the Community Libraries. I am currently involved in the Trades Council’s Health Committee which is raising the issue of the selling off of parts of the NHS.

Having brought up four children I feel strongly about the problems of education, housing and employment faced by young adults and their complete exclusion from political life.

As a woman I want to contribute to making Left Unity relevant and attractive to working class women who are also largely excluded from political life.

I think that regional representation is crucial if Left Unity is to grow as a truly representative organisation with political decisions informed by the practical political activity going on in the regions.

Ally MacGregor (Leamington Spa LU)
Nominated by Leamington Spa LU, Coventry LU

First and foremost I am a Socialist.

I supported and was signatory to the Socialist Platform and remain committed to the Socialist principles contained therein. However, I am also a founding member of Left Unity and am committed to working within its scope to mount a challenge both to the usual rascals – Con, Lab, Lib, BNP etc and also to newcomers such as UKIP and EDF.

Further, I wish not only to carry forward ideas but also concerns from West Midlands branches/members whilst at the same time uniting the branches, promoting collective actions, campaigns and shared social activities, such that we not only work together but breathe the same air.

I would like to see the West Midlands region become a strong, cohesive, integral part of Left Unity that is flexible enough to work with and even support others when the need arises; as well as to stand our own ground, both locally and nationally, even internationally.

I think as a region working together we can support each other as we go out into our communities to build Left Unity as a party of the Working Class, a party that is firmly to the left of the political spectrum, to argue a case and campaign for a Socialist alternative to boom (for few) and bust (for many) economics and the resulting austerity measures for the 99%.

Bob Williams-Findlay (Birmingham LU)
Nominated by Birmingham LU

I believe I can make a contribution to Left Unity as a West Midlands representative on the National Council.

What I can bring to the table is forty years of experience as a political activist, trade unionist and as an academic. I joined the struggle for socialism in the 1970s when I was a student at Essex and believe Left Unity offers us the best opportunity to build a party to the left of Labour. For three decades I was an active Trotskyist involved in campaigns across the board, but in particular around race and disability.

I am a co-author of ‘The Empire Strikes Back: Race and Racism in 1970s Britain’ and a former Chair of the British Council of Disabled People. Through BCODP and activity in MSF I co-founded the Trade Union Disability Alliance and actively influenced TUC policy on disability related issues. I was an active member of Birmingham Trades Council for many years as well as playing leading roles in the Anti-Nazi League, anti-deportation campaigns and Labour Briefing.

More recently I was a co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts and have been at the forefront of presenting theoretical arguments against the neoliberal attack upon the Welfare State. My grass-roots activities are limited due to personal circumstances however I am on the steering group of the Social Work Action Network and a regular contributor to political discussions and education through social media blogging. Locally I am involved with the Black Country People’s Assembly and Birmingham Left Unity branch. Inside Left Unity I participate in the disabled members’ caucus where I advocate an intersectionality approach to addressing inequality.

Currently I am an Equality Training Officer at the University of Wolverhampton and a member of UNISON. With a history of thirty six years engagement inside West Midlands’ politics, a background in campaigning and developing anti-oppressive strategies, I believe my knowledge and experience would be an asset to Left Unity. My activism includes holding a variety of leadership roles at local, regional and national levels and therefore I understand the significance of being a representative in a political movement.