The Labour Party this week announced the shortlist for the selection of a new parliamentary candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow to succeed the last candidate there, Oona King. King famously lost to the current incumbent Respect MP, “Gorgeous” George Galloway (pictured). The selection vote takes place on Saturday 28th April. With five of the six candidates being of Bangladeshi origin, there is a good chance that an ethnic minority candidate will be selected. The question is whether Labour can beat Respect to add to their tally of ethnic minority MPs?

Here are some details of the short listed contenders:

Cllr Helal Abbas: Tower Hamlets local councillor; has lived, worked and run businesses in Spitalfields & Banglatown for many years; he serves as a school governor at Cannon Barnett and Osmaini School and works for a London charity.

Rushanara Ali: an Associate Director of the Young Foundation; she is responsible for research, international work and external relations there and joined the Foundation in March 2005.

John Biggs AM: London Assembly Member for the City and East London since 2004; formerly Leader of Tower Hamlets Council and prior to this its opposition; previously worked variously as a laboratory technician, as a systems analyst in the City of London and as the Director of the Socialist Health Association, graduate of Chemistry and Law; he is also a non practising lawyer.

Rupa Huq: a senior lecturer in sociology at Kingston University where she specialises in youth culture and politics; she is a columnist for Bangla Mirror and appears regularly in the Times Higher Education Supplement and other media; Labour parliamentary candidate in Chesham and Amersham in the 2005 general election and European parliamentary candidate in the North West in 2004 European.

Cllr Shiria Khatun: a Tower Hamlets local councillor; she is a married young mum and has lived in Tower Hamlets for almost thirty years; she is a local school governor and has held a number of voluntary community roles including serving as Vice Chair of Lansbury Estate Board and a school governor.

Cllr Lutfur Rahman: a Tower Hamlets local councillor; he has lived in Tower Hamlets well over thirty years and attended local schools; he is a solicitor and led the award-winning education and youth services for Tower Hamlets for two years.