News was abuzz in Bradford as Labour announced Coun Imran Hussain as their PPC candidate for Bradford East. Coun Imran Hussain previously lost in a By-election against George Galloway to take the MP seat for Bradford West.
Many say it was a protest vote against Labour, however returned their support for the Deputy Leader in the local elections with a majority win for the Toller Ward.
We spoke to residents in East on what their views were of Imran Hussain, whether they would vote for him and whether they thought he had a chance of winning:
Manjit Kaur,Revenue Protection Officer – “I have not really heard much about Imran Hussain but if he is going to stand for the labour party then I am certain that he will win. I always vote labour but I am not sure what he is standing for. I have no idea what he is going to do in the area and that is something that I would like to know and that he can inform us on.
Imran Hussain needs to tell the public what he has achieved as an elected candidate like David Ward does. David sends us letters and keeps us informed. He needs to ask the public what he can do for them and that way he can stand as the Labour MP for Bradford East.”
Abtar Singh, Sales Assistant– “Well, the elections are not until May next year so we haven’t really heard much about him in the area. As he is standing for labour, I will definitely be voting for him. I hope that he stands as a good representative and that he can get on the public’s side, which I am sure he will.”
Jas Dhesi, Pathway Co-ordinator– “I hope that Imran Hussain does win so that he can start making improvements in the area especially with the development of Westfield which will be a good boost for the city and hopefully Alhambra as well. Labour has a strong hold in Bradford because it’s a working class city. I have always voted Labour and always will.”
Ralph Priestley, pensioner– “Last time I voted I voted for the Asian MEP for Labour. It’s more about the party that they are representing rather than the person they are.
I would vote for Imran and his chances of winning are very good because Bradford is so multicultural. We don’t look at Asian people and think we are not going to vote for them because of their background or birth place or the colour of their skin. We accept people as they are here in Bradford.”
Jubbair Khan, Taxi Driver– “I would vote for him. Everyone in this area will vote for him because they know him. His chances of winning in the Bradford East area are very high. He will definitely win around here.”
