Wes Streeting’s boyfriend Joe Dancey has been appointed Labour’s new Executive Director of Policy and Communications. Stitch-up accusations abounded as Dancey was selected for the Stockton West constituency despite living in London with Wes. It didn’t matter in the end – he lost to Tory Matt Vickers in the only Labour defeat on Teesside…

Dancey will now be based in London to “provide strategic leadership across the organisation to ensure that Policy and Communications functions are at the cutting edge.” Before the election Labour had two separate roles for communications and policy, headed up by Matthew Doyle and Stuart Ingham. With those two headed into government the Party combined the roles into one £104,985 position, which Dancey has now filled. Politics is a family business…

Joe Dancey, Wes Streeting’s boyfriend and current Labour candidate for Stockton West, popped out for a spot of friendly neighbourhood doorstepping recently. Walking up to join a Labour activist chatting at one front door, as soon as Dancey heard the word “immigrant” he took off and left them to it. Nobody… calls me…chicken….

This is on the same weekend that the party paid Labour activists’ accommodation and travel costs to get them to visit Stockton. They probably took the same train as Dancey on the way up from his reported home in London…