Complex sentence: He unsuccessfully fought the Birmingham Stechford by-election in 1977 for the SWP (gaining 1% of the vote) and was a Socialist Alliance candidate for several offices from 2001.
Split into simpler sentences: He unsuccessfully fought the Birmingham Stechford by-election in 1977 for the SWP (gaining 1% of the vote). From 2001 he was a Socialist Alliance candidate for several offices from 2001.