Greens name Spitalfields and Banglatown by-election candidate

The Green party has named its candidate to fight the by-election caused by the election of mayor Lutfur Rahman.

Independent Mr Rahman was a councillor for Spitalfields and Banglatown and his election to the �65,000 a year job as mayor in October created a vacancy in the ward.

The election on Thursday December 16 is likely to be hotly contested.

Community health worker and campaigner Maggie Crosbie will fight the seat for the Greens.

She said: “As Banglatown and Spitalfields’ councillor, I will fight for the whole community in the face of unprecedented government cuts to public services. We all need to stand up to the threats facing us, and mobilise to save our vital health services.

“As a health visitor you get to see families in their own homes, so you understand people and their problems a lot better. We are facing a crisis in housing with chronic overcrowding and damp posing serious health risks. I want to make sure that tackling our housing problems is a budgetary priority.”

Ms Crosbie set up a health visitors group for the homeless in Spitalfields and sat on the Tower Hamlets Health Authority’s Equal Opportunities Committee.

She has also set up an advocacy scheme in the health service and a support group for battered and separated Asian women. She was co-ordinator of Subtext, an arts organisation based at East Side Books in Brick Lane, and ran an open mic event for young people at Rich Mix.

She is supporting students campaigning against university fees and is involved in a dyslexia support group and organising a major ‘Learning with Difference’ conference in February 2011.

Labour’s candidate is Abdul Alim, the Conservative candidate is Matthew Smith, and Fozol Miah is standing for the Respect party.

The Liberal Democrats candidate is Fernando North and Jewel Choudhary will run as an Independent.