Labour’s candidate to be the West Midlands’ next police and crime commissioner pledged there would be no “privatisation of the police” on his watch.

Ex-MP David Jamieson launched his bid for the post, vacated by the death of the party’s Bob Jones, alongside shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper in Erdington yesterday.

Ms Cooper gave a major law and order speech focusing on domestic abuse.

And she backed Mr Jamieson, a former Birmingham teacher who worked alongside her as a Government whip and junior transport minister until he quit Parliament in 2005.

She said: “The West Midlands does not need a Tory cheerleader, or a UKIP candidate sewing the seeds of division.

“David will build on Bob’s work, stopping major private contracts, backing neighbourhood policing, recruiting more officers and working in partnership with local communities.”

Mr Jamieson: “My first vow is to carry on Bob’s good work.

“The task ahead is to maintain the legacy, but to also tackle new challenges.

“If I do the job even half as well as Bob I think I will have done a good job.

“I want to continue the recruitment of officers and to protect neighbourhood policing teams.

“And there will be no privatisation of the police on my watch. I have a very clear and a very strong view about privatisation.

Acting PCC, Yvonne Mosquito will run alongside Mr Jamieson and the election will be held on August 21.

The other candidates standing are Les Jones for the Conservative Party, Ayoub Khan for the Liberal Democrats and Keith Rowe for UKIP.