Steve Nally and Unjum Mirza are to be officially announced as the “socialist challenge” in Lambeth for the upcoming election.

On Tuesday March 24 the two trade union activists will launch themselves as prospective parliamentary candidates (PPC) for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) outside Lambeth Town Hall.

Nally, PPC for Dulwich and West Norwood, works in special needs education and is a member of union GMB and the Socialist Party.

Nally said: “I’ve lived in Lambeth all my life and in that time have seen it go from a community with good resources to a place where the local Labour council is managing the rapid decline of what we have left.

“Labour no longer fights for working-class folk, and has accepted the ‘Con-Dem’ Government’s policy of endless austerity and cuts.”

Mirza, PPC for Streatham, works on the London Underground and is a member of train drivers’ union Aslef.

The launch will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 24 March outside Lambeth Town Hall.

They will be joined at the event by former Lambeth rebel Labour councillor Kingsley Abrams, who fell out with the party over its support for cuts and is now standing as a PPC for the TUSC in Bermondsey and Old Southwark.