KENNEDY BACKS NORTH WEST DREAM TEAM FOR EURO ELECTIONS

Charles Kennedy has given his personal pledge of support to the man tipped to become the Party's first non-white elected parliamentarian this June.

Lancastrian solicitor Sajjad Karim aims to become a Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West of England in June 2004. With existing MEP Chris Davies standing for re-election, LibDem campaign managers are setting their sights on gaining at least two of the nine seats up for grabs. There are thought to be some 160,000 Muslim voters in the region, many of whom say they are disillusioned with Labour and have no faith in the Conservatives. The failure of the other main parties to adopt a non-white candidate in a winnable position is expected to boost the chances for Mr Karim.

Charles Kennedy will be visiting the North West next month to lend his support to Chris Davies and Sajjad Karim. Mr Kennedy visited the neighbouring mill town of Nelson before Christmas. Chris Davies, elected an MEP in 1999, described Mr Karim as a successful young professional who represented all that was best about multicultural Britain.

Mr Davies said:

"Sajjad has all the attributes of an excellent MEP and I am sure, if elected, he will serve the people of the North West very capably.

"I was born and bred in the North West. So often the concerns of Londoners and the South East get prominence. We need strong voices in Europe to represent the needs of people who live in a very different world to the South East of England.

"We also need someone who can represent the views and concerns of many ethnic minority communities in the North West as well as whites.

"The problems that face us - poor housing, a declining manufacturing industry, declining rural communities, high council taxes, poor public transport- are all issues that the Liberal Democrats care about deeply. Whether in Brussels or Westminster, the Liberal Democrats will keep championing the real needs of ordinary people.

"But to say that everything is doom and gloom in the North West would be wrong. We have a fantastic heritage, a fantastic culture and a fantastic spirit that should be celebrated and cherished. In addition to solving the real problems that we have in the North West, Sajjad and I will be real ambassadors for our region in Europe."

Sajjad Karim added:

"Labour has broken its promises to the public too many times. It even seems that Tony Blair took us into war in Iraq without any firm evidence of there being a real threat to Britain. The public are right to view Labour with distrust and dismay.

"The Conservatives failed to properly question the Government before we went to war - sending British soldiers to their deaths without the right equipment and without good reason. Thousands of Iraqis died. Iraq is still in turmoil. There is no end in sight. There is no sign that the terrorist attacks and suicide bombings will end. Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are still on the loose. And the Government's anti-terrorist legislation has left British Muslims in fear of losing their basic human rights to privacy, protection against unfair arrest and prosecution and a fair trial if charged by the police.

"The Liberal Democrats, in contrast, have always opposed the reasons for Britain going to war. We were the only political party to do so at the time. And we are the only political party with the credibility to question the Government now. In Europe, in Britain, in the North West, the Liberal Democrats are the only real alternative to a failing and mistrusted Labour Government."