11. Salma Yaqoob, Birmingham City Council

Vice-chairman of the Respect Party and a city councillor for Birmingham's Sparkbrook ward since 2006, Salma Yaqoob is increasingly making a name for herself in the media as a commentator nationally on Muslim and race issues.

Born in 1971 in Bradford to Pakistani parents, Coun Yaqoob was moved to go into politics after the terror attacks of 9/11 when she was spat at in Birmingham city centre while shopping with her three-year-old child.

She became a leading national figure in the anti-war movement, encouraging Muslim and non-Muslim unity around common principles of peace, social justice and equality.

She stood as the Respect candidate for the Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency at the 2005 General Election and, against all expectations, finished in second place with 27.5 per cent of the vote. A year later she easily won the Sparkbrook ward at the city council elections, opening the way for the election of two more Respect candidates.

She has repeatedly clashed with the council cabinet, accusing the city's Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition of not doing enough to tackle unemployment and deprivation in inner city areas.

Earlier this year Coun Yaqoob urged the Government to abolish postal voting at local and national elections, claiming that the system discriminated against Muslim women who were being forced to vote against their wishes by pressure from male family members.

She also reported experiencing pressure from within the Asian community not to stand as a councillor.
"There were people saying it wasn't the job of a woman to be doing this," she said.