Former BBC and Channel 4 journalist Paul Mason has launched his campaign to stand to become the Labour candidate for Sheffield Central.
The 62-year-old is an alumni of the University of Sheffield and aims to bring a level of urgency to British politics.
He said: “I’m done shouting from the sidelines, what good does it do me to put on a flat jacket and report?
“What I can do is try to change things. We don’t just need to win Sheffield Central, we need to win big.”
Before deciding to stand, Paul was reporting from Ukraine before the war began.
He said: “I wasn’t satisfied with how the political class was responding. I want to bring a level of urgency to British politics, in terms of the economic crisis, the war and above all climate.
“Climate has to be at the centre of everything. In Sheffield, the emergence of the green challenge is sending us a signal. This is the people of the future saying they want the future faster than we’re delivering it.”
Paul has been a Labour Party member since 1979 and has worked as a journalist for over 30 years, including on BBC’s Newsnight and Channel 4 News.
He added: “I do know how to make myself a nuisance until people take notice of me.
“I think it’s time to put people in Parliament that will take the current power structure on.”
He arrived in Sheffield in September 1978 to study music and politics at the University of Sheffield.
He said: “The people of Sheffield are so welcoming and open to outsiders.
“It was a great time. I could probably still find my way blindfolded from the Notty House to the Hallamshire House.”
Paul’s time in Sheffield helped shape his political views that he holds today.
He said: “I remember being in the dole queue and seeing a load of miners with families who had just lost their jobs during the start of Thatcherism. That is what motivates me.”
You can see his campaign here.
To read more about the other candidates in the race for the Sheffield Central seat, click here.
