Parliamentary Prospects

Principles of fair and balanced reporting notwithstanding, Prospect is proud to note that several past and present contributors are standing in today’s parliamentary elections:

As well as being one of only three female Asian parliamentary candidates, Rushanara Ali, Labour candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow, has written for us on racial segregation and the far-right, and the 7/7 bombings one year on.

Rory Stewart, who famously walked across Afghanistan in the winter of 2001, is standing for the Tories in the constituency of Penrith and the border. He has debated on the future of the Afghan war and written about his experiences as a governor in Iraq.

Historian Tristram Hunt, picked (amid some controversy) to stand for Labour in Stoke-on-Trent Central, has spoken up for Frederich Engels and the possibly troubling ramifications of a third King Charles.

And finally, Philippa Stroud, who in spite of being the subject of a not-so-flattering front-page article in last week’s Observer, was last November in an excellent position to write about the difficulty of policing gang violence, in her capacity as head of the think tank the Centre for Social Justice.

If successful, they will join the ranks of esteemed contributors like David "two brains" Willetts (Tory) and Labour peer Andrew Adonis—who may well prove a key figure in any hung parliament negotiations. You heard it here first.