Official Nominations for Barnhill Byelection

Our candidate for the Barnhill by-election, taking place on 3 May 2012 will be Martin Francis (pictured above with a local resident). The full list of nominations appears here, or in shorthand:

Martin Francis, Green Party
Charles Pavey, Labour
Ratna Pindoria, Conservative
Venilal Vaghela, [no description]

My comrade Martin has already commented on the mystery of no duly nominated LibDem candidate. It could be for any number of reasons, ranging from deliberate to accidental, although it is unlikely to have been as a result of a technical reason - for then we would probably have seen a mark against an additional row in the official declaration. However, it is also unusual to see a candidate marked without a description, if only "Independent".

I have only illustrious things to say about Martin, as I have been privileged to work closely alongside him in local campaigns and Green politics. The thought did cross my mind that the LibDems have chosen to stand aside in this by-election, either out of fear or respect for Martin's political stature. He has breadth of local knowledge, political insight and boundless energy. Let the people of Barnhill ward seize this opportunity to elect their first Green councillor for Brent.

By-election voters also face the prospect of being spared the deluge of LibDem literature which has characterised recent by-elections, notably Dollis Hill.