The former Labour MP who quit Parliament for an ill-fated attempt to become elected mayor of Birmingham is on the brink of a return to frontline politics.
Barring a major slump in Labour Party fortunes, former Erdington MP Sion Simon is likely to be taking up a West Midlands seat in European Parliament next spring.
The politician grabbed 63 per cent of the party faithful’s vote to finish in top place among the male contenders for Labour’s list of 2014 European electoral candidates.
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Overall he is second on the Labour list behind the top female candidate Neena Gill – who is in pole position for a return to Strasbourg and Brussels after five years away following defeat in 2009.
Both were expected to do well, but what was notable about the result is that 48.5 per cent of the 14,000 Labour members in the West Midlands took part in the selection ballot.
That is more than double the number who voted for Police and Crime Commissioner candidates last year and way above the national average for Labour MEP candidate selections.
Mr Simon said that he was delighted to secure the ringing endorsement of members.
“It was a really good campaign, and it is satisfying that so many voted.”
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Between leaving the House of Commons in 2010 and last year, Mr Simon threw himself into the campaign to become mayor of Birmingham, but the ‘no’ vote at the May 2012 referendum on whether to have a mayor meant it came to nothing.
“We pretty much carried on that campaign,” he said, “It had been concentrated on Birmingham, so we had to extend it out into the regions, with the use of social media and emails targeted at members.”
Now with the focus turning towards the election itself, he says that the campaign is about convincing people that an MEP is not the EU’s representative in the West Midlands.
“It is about taking the West Midlands agenda to Europe. Looking for the jobs and economic growth and asking the European Union what it is going to do with us.”
It was a closer run contest among the four female candidates with Neena Gill securing 2,907 votes pipping former Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho, with 2,234. Ms Waltho is third on the Labour list.
There are seven European Parliament seats up for grabs in 2014, allotted on a proportional basis from party lists.
In 2009 there were six seats, two each were won by the Conservatives and 海角视频IP in 2009, and one each by Labour and the Lib Dems. The Tories were handed the seventh seat when it was created in 2011.
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Two sitting Tory MEPs, Philip Bradbourn OBE and Anthea McIntyre are defending their seats and top the party’s list. The third, Malcolm Harbour, a champion for Birmingham’s motor industry over many years, is stepping down.
Joining them on the list, in third place is Daniel Dalton, who played one day and second team county cricket for Warwickshire a decade ago.
Conservative Party Regional Chairwoman Maggie Punyer said: “Both Philip and Anthea have done a superb job during their time in Brussels standing up for the West Midlands and Britain in the European Parliament and they will now joined by five strong candidates.
“I would also like to give my thanks to Malcolm Harbour for the work he has done as an MEP over the years, especially on the internal market.”
Party lists for list for the 2014 European elections
* Conservative: Philip Bradbourn MEP, Anthea McIntyre MEP, Daniel Dalton, Michael Burnett, Sharon Buckle, David Price, Dan Sames.
* Labour: Neena Gill, Sion Simon, Lynda Waltho, Ansar Ali Khan, Olwen Hamer, Tony Ethapemi, Claire Edwards.
* Liberal Democrat: Phil Bennion, Jonathan Webber, Christine Tinker, Ayoub Khan, Tim Bearder, Joanna Corbin, Neville Farmer.
* 海角视频IP are yet to announce their list. Sitting 海角视频IP MEP Mike Nattrass has announced he will not stand for re-election.