EAST Lancashire lawyer Sajjid Karim is bidding to become the Liberal Democrat first elected non- white politician in the European election next year.

The Blackburn-born son of a Tory councillor, who now runs a solicitors' partnership in Nelson, believes he has a good chance of joining MEP Chris Davies at Strasbourg.

Last time, the Lib-Dems were just a few thousand votes short of getting a second representative at the Euro Parliament.

And now 33-year-old Mr Karim, known as Saj, is hopeful of joining his political mentor in the assembly.

Mr Davies is deeply embarrassed that the only Lib Dem parliamentarian at Westminster or Strasbourg is life peer Lord Dholakia, last year's party president.

Mr Karim is number two on the Liberal Democrat list for next spring's election.

Married to Zahida with two young children, he was born in Blackburn and brought up in Brierfield.

He did his A-levels at Nelson and Colne College before reading law at London University .

He worked for a Burnley law firm before setting up his own partnership in Nelson.

His father Fazal, age 65, who came from Pakistan, was a Tory councillor but has now come to accept his son's politics. Mr Karim, wants to make the regeneration of East Lancashire his priority.

He said: "I grew up in Brierfield when the cotton industry collapsed. I saw the effect that that had.

"I want to do all I can in the European Parliament to help regenerate East Lancashire as a whole. Its very important that we re-develop manufacturing industry and other industries.

"Having come from East Lancashire and now living in Simonstone, which is in the Ribble Valley, I would feel a particular responsibility to represent the area. Obviously I would be proud to represent East Lancashire's Asian community but I would be there to represent the whole region .

"When I was a councillor in Pendle the majority of the problems that were brought to me affected everybody from whatever background they came.