Candidates & Parties

Lindsey German was born in 1951 in London and educated in Hillingdon. She is a law graduate from the London School of Economics, which is where she first become an active socialist and campaigner. She currently lives in hackney with her partner.

Lindsey German has written several books on women, most recently Material Girls (2007), which argues that women are still a long way from liberation. In addition, to her writing, Lindsey is a prominent speaker and activist in left-wing circles.

She was part of the original National Abortion campaign in 1975, as well as the fight for equal pay. She was also one of the tens of thousands who marched to the Anti-Nazi League Carnival in Victoria Park in 1978.

In an interview with BBC London Lindsey German said:

"The first demonstration I went on was the 'Stop the 70 tour' organised by Peter Hain against the all-white South African rugby team."

"I would have gone on the 1968 Vietnam War march but my mum begged me not to. So I didn't go, which I regret. That was when I was 17."

"I did enjoy it. I grew up in a time when the world was changing, not just for me but for many, many people of my generation."

Respect

Lindsey German is Convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, which she helped found after the events of 11th September 2001. She was also a founder of Respect and in 2004 stood as Respect's mayoral candidate, beating the Greens and the BNP and came close to winning a a seat on the London Assembly.

This year she is running for mayor and the London Assembly, however due to an internal split within the Respect Coalition there is some confusion whether she will be able to do so as the Respect candidate.

The issues central to Lindsey's campaign are:

• Housing – An emergency council housing building programme
• Transport – Cheap public transport to encourage less car use
• Education – Good local schools for every child
• Health – Campaign to stop hospital closures
• Inequality – Close the gap between rich and poor
• Environment – Stop big business putting profits before the planet
• Olympics – Londoners should not have to subsidise the games
• Work – Living wage of £7.20 an hour to be enforced
• War – Make Londoners safer by opposing the "war on terror"
• Respect – Oppose all forms of discrimination

"London contains some of the richest people in the world, but most Londoners see little of the wealth," said Lindsey German.

"London is rightly hailed as one of the most multicultural cities in the world, but there is little acknowledgement that many ethnic minorities suffer disproportionately from poverty. Londoners also pay the most expensive fares for one of the worst transport systems in the world."