A MANCHESTER woman has set her sights on becoming the first ever DJ-ing Member of the European Parliament.

By day Doctor Rabia Huq is a lecturer at the University of Manchester, teaching statistics.

In the evenings she has been known to spin world music and dance tunes at various central Manchester nightspots including the Contact Theatre and Oxford Road's Zumbar under the DJ name "Dr Huq" which also happens to be her professional title.

Rabia, newly selected as a North West region candidate for Labour in Europe is unconventional as a politician in a number of respects. Her Muslim Bangladeshi background would again be an MEP first.

If Rabia were to be elected to Strasbourg it could then be a historic 'first' but then she comes from a family where this kind of thing has happened before. Her younger sister Konnie was the first British Muslim presenter of Blue Peter.

"I guess the fact that I speak fluent French is more useful in Strasbourg and Brussels than my fluent Bengali but then again Bangla is more useful than French among our constituents"

"I think all our institutions should reflect the wider population and this is especially true for the North West."

At thirty Rabia is young in political terms yet has considerable European experience under her belt. She studied at Strasbourg University as well as at Cambridge and did her doctorate on European cultural policy in London.

From 1996-1997 Rabia worked in the European Parliament for Labour MEP Carole Tongue.

She presently undertakes advisory work for the Council of Europe in Strasbourg alongside lecturing in Management and Leisure at the University of Manchester.

"I want to show people that Europe doesn't just start at Calais but that our region has benefited enormously from the EU, look at GMEX, the Lowry centre, regeneration in Liverpool, Cumbria Science Park and Cheshire Business Park", she said.

"The turnout at the European elections in 1999 was pretty appalling", she states.

"We need to convince people that from food safety labelling to working time directives and equal pay, Europe has made a difference to all of our lives so we can engage voters in, let's face it, something that hasn't always been the most sexy of political issues."

Her candidature has been endorsed by MPs across the region including veteran Gerald Kaufman in Manchester Gorton and MP for Preston (and former MEP) Mark Hendrick.