Khalid Mahmood Esq, MP

Birmingham Perry Barr

Lab majority 8,753

A former engineer and councillor, England's first Muslim MP, Khalid

Mahmood, was the highly controversial choice to succeed the veteran

Jeff Rooker, who escaped from the maelstrom of Birmingham inner-city

politics to be a minister in the Lords in 2001.

His original selection was challenged by several local Labour

councillors and officials who said there was an unusually high number

of postal votes from one ward, Handsworth - 135 out of a membership of

290. It was alleged in a petition that members were asked to sign blank

forms, which were collected by Mahmood supporters, and that some on the

postal vote list were abroad at the time. One ward passed a vote of no

confidence in him.

Jeff Rooker opposed the selection and backed a rival candidate, a Sikh

woman. But Mahmood denied any wrongdoing, and said his enemies were

motivated by personal grudges. Despite petitions, protests and threats

of legal action alleging ballot rigging, the National Executive

endorsed his selection. There were moves to run independent "anti-

sleaze" candidates in the constituency.

In the election the previous Labour majority of nearly 19,000 was more

than halved with a 9 per cent swing to the Tories on a 52 per cent

turnout.

He represents an area where just under a quarter of the electors are of

Asian origin. He was born in 1961 and moved to Birmingham at the age of

nine. In his maiden speech, delivered on his fortieth birthday, Friday

13 June, he described himself as an "adopted Brummie", like his late

father who had come to the city in the 1940s.

He was secretary and vice-chairman of the local Labour Party, which he

joined in 1982, and is a member of the Socialist Health Association,

Socialist Education Association and the Labour Finance and Industry

Group.

A member of the engineering union AEEU, he was a Birmingham city

councillor for three years in the early 1990s, a member of the equality

scrutiny committee, and chairman of the race relations committee. He is

a former governor of a primary school and further education college,

and on the governing body of a neighbourhood forum and South Birmingham

Community Health Council.

In 1989 he founded the British Kashmiri Association, which received

£200,000 of public money, but collapsed with large debts in 1994. There

were claims that a damning but unpublished report was written on it by

the city council. Mahmood said the difficulties arose after he left in

1991.

He is currently studying for an MBA in business management. He joined

the Commons Broadcasting Committee in July 2001. He has warned against

Islamophobia in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks in

America. He is vice-chairman of the All-Party Group on Kuwait,

treasurer of the group on Afghanistan, and secretary of the one on

further and adult education.

To his credit Khalid voted against the war on Iraq but probably not through choice.