Broxtowe Labour’s selection and executive committees have both walked out in a huff after local leftie councillor, Greg Marshall, failed to make the shortlist for the seat at the general election. Having stood for Labour at the 2017 and 2019 elections (and lost), Marshall himself is insisting he was “blocked” by the leadership… because they “knew” he would win:
“I have been blocked because the party knew I would win. The unfairness of this decision is something that will take a long time to overcome, especially given that I have stood twice before, served as a councillor and deputy Labour leader for over a decade, and I am currently leading a national strike for Britain’s largest union and important Labour affiliate, Unison.”
According to the latest forecast from Polling Report, he’s not wrong
In solidarity with their fallen comrade, the entire CLP selection committee have resigned, claiming they’d been “sidelined throughout the entire process” and overruled by LOTO. The executive committee soon followed, releasing the following statement:
“As a result of the undemocratic decision by the NEC to exclude the only local candidate from the Broxtowe longlist, instead leaving us with three out-of-area contenders, we are resigning as the CLP Executive Committee […] It seems clear to us that the NEC have purposely blocked hugely popular local councillor, Greg Marshall, leaving a choice of candidates who have shown no dedication of time or effort to the CLP. The Party has acted in bad faith and this is not something we can support.“
This is hardly the first time the left have fumed at a Starmerite “stitch-up“. It’s not even the first time an entire CLP committee has resigned over it, either. To be fair to them, Guido’s old enough to remember when Starmer claimed “Local Party members should select their candidates for every election” during his leadership campaign…
