Leicester South select Anita Prabhakar as their parliamentary candidate

Anita Phabhaker is a qualified solicitor specialising in constitutional and corporate law.

Anita says,

I migrated to the UK with my family from India to settle down permanently in 2004. It was not an easy decision for me to start life from scratch again especially when I was very well settled back in India. After coming here I passed my exams to enable me to practice as a solicitor in the UK. At the same time I studied for a Masters degree in Law from Nottingham Trent University.

I am not a career politician, but I have a huge experience in all aspects of life having worked in different scenario. First as a Criminal Lawyer in India and then since moving to the East Midlands I have worked at Boots, as a trainee at Nottinghamshire police headquarters, in various positions including consumer relations with Vodafone and at an immigration consultancy.

I now want to use this vast experience to help society and underprivileged people. I do understand how difficult it is in today's world to get a job when there are not enough jobs around and at the same time run a family. This is not made easier by the cuts in public spending which have been targeted at people who are already disadvantaged.

I am especially, passionate about women's issues, and do wonder sometimes why are women underrepresented. Why are there not enough women in our parliament to raise their voices for women's issues like domestic violence and inequality?

I have had work experience with an Immigration firm where I have seen immigrants going through all kind of hardships. A proper system is not in place to resolve the issues as early as possible. I have seen people going through stress as they have potential but not enough resources. I have seen my close family and friends, with serious health issues like cancer and diabetes waiting for the treatment from NHS. These are the things which made me jump into politics.

My grown up children, a boy and a girl, have copied their father and are engineering graduates of Loughborough and Leicester Universities. Their excellent education has enabled them to enjoy international careers. So I personally believe that a good education is the backbone of every society and it's a basic right of everybody. I support the Liberal Democrats who have been working hard since entering the Coalition Government to address educational inequality and give every child the very best start in life.

I am multilingual: speaking Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and a little bit of Urdu in addition to English. . I enjoy interacting with all parts of society and understand their issues and look forward to raising them on both the local and national stage. As a Liberal Democrat I will work, to lessen the disadvantages of poverty and inequality in our society by negotiating the best deal for Leicester South

Alan Fox, Chair of Leicester City Liberal Democrats, said, "We are pleased to have Anita as our candidate in Leicester South. She will make a great MP."