The sister of British MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in a terrorist attack, is hoping to stand in a by-election in her former constituency.
Kim Leadbeater announced her wish to be considered as a Labour Party candidate ahead of the fifth anniversary of her sister's death.
Ms Cox was murdered by right-wing extremist Thomas Mair as she left her constituency office in Birstall, near Leeds, in the north of England in June 2016.
Cox, 41, was shot and stabbed to death a week before the 2016 Brexit referendum.
A by-election is expected in July for the Batley and Spen Valley seat after opposition Labour Party MP Tracy Brabin stepped down after her recent appointment as West Yorkshire mayor.
Ms Leadbeater, 44, said it would be an honour to "give the people of Batley and Spen the opportunity to put their trust in me".
“I care deeply about the area where I was born and have always lived, and where the people are second to none," she said.
“Through all the work I have done with Jo’s foundation over the past five years I have met so many truly fantastic people from across this area, some of them Labour, many not involved in party politics at all.
“This community picked me up when I needed it most and I will be forever grateful.”
The by-election is expected to be hotly contested on the back of the recent Hartlepool by-election in which Labour lost its seat for the first time to Boris Johnson's Conservatives.
The Batley and Spen seat has been held by Labour since 1997 and the party clung on by a slender majority of 3,525 votes at the last general election in 2019.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is already facing mounting pressure after defeat in Hartlepool and the loss of another "red wall" seat in a northern heartland would fuel criticism.
Ms Leadbeater will be considered among a number of potential Labour candidates by local members in the coming weeks.
George Galloway, who lost his Bradford West seat to Labour’s Naz Shah at the 2015 general election, announced his Workers Party of Britain would be putting forward a candidate as an alternative to Labour.
"The Workers Party GB will be contesting the Batley and Spen parliamentary by-election as the patriotic working-class alternative to #StarmerMustGo," he tweeted.
"We fought for Brexit we fought for the Union. We will fight to unite all communities, for the working people of all backgrounds."
Former Ukip candidate Aleks Lukic announced his Heavy Woollen District Independents party would also field a candidate.
He said his party, which received 12.2 per cent of the vote in 2019, would "openly discuss sensitive issues".
"We take the position that religious and cultural beliefs must remain open to challenge and debate in a democratic society," he wrote on the party's webpage.
"We condemn hatred against any religion or race without exception."
The area faced problems with racial tensions in recent years.
Last month, a schoolteacher was suspended after showing pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed during a lesson, leading to protests from the community outside the school gates.
An independent investigation into the incident is due to report at the end of the month.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
