Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005. Political career: London Assembly representing Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest; London watchdog on sports and culture issues. Special political interests: Housing issues, transport, childcare, education, employment. Profession/Trade: Former journalist. Affiliations: Trustee, War Memorials Trust.

2005				2001
LAB HOLD	Votes	%	+/- %	Votes	%
Labour Co-op	17,048	52.9	-11.3	19,471	64.2
Lib Dem	6,844	21.2	6.7	4,422	14.6
Conservative	4,524	14	0.3	4,180	13.8
Green	1,779	5.5	-	-	-
Respect the Unity Coalition	1,437	4.5	-	-	-
Liberal	313	1	-	-	-
Communist	200	0.6	-0.2	259-	0.9
Workers Rev	92	0.3	-0.2	143	0.5
Soc Alliance	-	-	-	1,401	4.6
Reform 2000	-	-	-	471	1.6
Majority	10,204	31.7	-	15,049	49.6
Turnout	32,237	49.7	2.3	30,347	47.4