Labour select in The Wrekin and Birmingham selections look to be fun

9.44.30am GMT Fri 3rd Nov 2006

The Wrekin Labour Party has selected Alison Wedgwood as its candidate for the next election. According to the Labour Party Alison is a 36 year old mother of two from Staffordshire, the daughter of a Staffordshire coal miner who became a mining engineer. She is married to Tom and has two daughters and another child due in December. A Cambridge graduate, she is an international expert on environmental and economic development and has worked on forestry and water projects for the World Bank and Water Aid, in many countries across the globe.

News has also appeared this week of a battle royale brewing in Birmingham. As you may be aware Birmingham loses a Parliamentary seat due to boundary changes - it is effectively Sparkbrook and Small Heath, this has led to a situation in South Birmingham where there will be two seats but three current Labour MPs. It appears that Lynne Jones (currently Selly Oak) and Steve McCabe (currently Hall Green) will be fighting it out for the new Selly Oak (containing part of both their old constituencies) and that Lynne Jones (again) and Roger Godsiff (currently Sparkbrook and Small Heath) will be fighting it out for the new Hall Green (which has bits of all three seats in it. Lynne looks a bit indecisive here and could be seen as playing a strange game. Of course, will Clare Short not re-standing in Ladywood for the Labour Party that leaves another seat for the 'loser' I have heard from a source in the Labour Party that Lynne will lose both Selly Oak and Hall Green and end up in Ladywood.

Birmingham politics is always interesting but the next General Election will be especially so, Labour could lose a large number of seats. The Liberal Democrats will hold Birmingham Yardley, I think could win another two (and come close in a third and possibly a fourth). The Conservatives will hold Sutton Coldfield (if you call that Birmingham) and could pick up another two (one of which I would say is in the bag).