Sharma campaigns from new office

Virendra Sharma MP was joined by Councillors, Council candidates, Labour Party members and community leaders when he opened his new campaign office at 54 The Broadway, Southall on March 19. The official opening was performed by Deputy Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, Claude Moraes MEP. The office will be open for the duration of the upcoming election campaign for Labour Party supporters to come and help get Virendra Sharma re-elected to Parliament and also to elect Labour candidates to Ealing Council.

Virendra Sharma said: 'I was delighted to see so many supporters turn up for the opening of my new office. These elections are the most important for a generation and it is vital that the Labour message is communicated to the voters. We will be engaging with the electorate through old fashioned door-knocking and leaflets but will also be using new media such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. Labour will ensure that the economic recovery is secured and that jobs, homes and businesses are protected in Ealing Southall. The Tory promise of change is an empty slogan and their plans to slash public spending immediately will plunge us back into recession.'

Speaking at the event Claude Moraes said, 'Virendra Sharma is widely respected in Parliament and amongst his constituents. He has worked tirelessly for the people of Ealing Southall speaking up for them in Parliament and dealing with literally thousands of cases through his regular surgeries and constituency office since being elected nearly three years ago in the by-election. I am honoured to open his campaign office and get his re-election campaign off to a flying start.'

Hospital A&E will not close

Earlier, on March 1, Virendra Sharma met with Ealing Hospital's Chief Executive Julie Lowe and received assurances that Ealing's Accident & Emergency department is not under threat of imminent closure.

After the meeting with Sharma, Ealing Hospital in a joint statement with Ealing Primary Care Trust said, 'Ealing Hospital Trust and NHS Ealing (the local Primary Care Trust) confirm their commitment to emergency services at Ealing Hospital.  Reports that the A&E department is under threat of imminent closure are incorrect.  To the contrary, plans are being advanced to supplement the department with an unscheduled care service to ensure that patients presenting receive the most appropriate care.'

Obituary

Ashok Kumar, Labour MP, was a 'doughty fighter'

India-born Labour MP Ashok Kumar was found dead at his home in Marton on Monday, March 15. He died under 'unexplained' circumstances, police have said. Mr Kumar, who was only 53, had represented Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland since 1997, after becoming MP for the ancestor seat of Langbaurgh in 1991. His office said his death was 'a huge shock' and tributes were paid to him from Westminster and beyond.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Mr Kumar was 'a tenacious campaigner' and 'a warm and incredibly generous man', while David Walsh, Mr Kumar's researcher, called him 'a fine politician who served his constituents with diligence and unswerving commitment'. Chief Constable Sean Price, who knew Mr Kumar well, added that he was dedicated and always greatly supportive of Cleveland Police.

Officers were called to the MP's Middlesbrough home on Monday after his staff was unable to reach him by telephone and raised the alarm. News of his death was announced in the Commons several hours later by Speaker John Bercow.

Born in Uttar Pradesh, India, in May 1956, Mr Kumar moved to the UK as a child. He attended school in Derby before studying chemical engineering at Aston University, and his subsequent career as a research scientist for British Steel eventually brought him to Teesside in 1985, initially for a short-term contract. However, he claimed he quickly 'fell in love' with the northeast and made the area his home.

His career in politics began with his election as a councillor on Middlesbrough Council in 1987. He then became MP for Langbaurgh at a 1991 by-election, but narrowly lost the seat in the 1992 general election. He stood again in 1997, when the constituency was redrawn as Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, and won with a 10,000-plus majority.

Mr Kumar was known as a 'doughty fighter' who held strong views on many issues, including the Iraq war, which he vigorously supported, and he was unequivocal in his backing for gay rights and the ban on hunting and public smoking. He took a special interest in education, and was opposed to the divisive and discriminatory faith schools system, preferring inclusive schools and objective religious education, rather than religious instruction. Over the last decade, he spoke consistently of the dangers of segregation and religious indoctrination, voting against such practices in almost every Education bill.

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