The North Shropshire by-election is on Thursday, and Labour are trying desperately to gain ground on what has quickly become a two-horse race race between the Tories and the LibDems. Apparently Labour’s strategy to do that is to try and beat the LibDems at their own game: they’ve whipped out the bar charts…
Labour’s candidate Ben Wood is putting out leaflets saying “Vote for the truthful candidate – not the ones who pretend to be second when they’re third, and pose as members defecting to them from other parties to deceive the voters!” Clearly targeting the LibDems…
Co-conspirators will recall how well this strategy worked for the LibDems in 2019, when they repeatedly deployed dodgy charts throughout both local and the general election campaigns. Jo Swinson was even called out for it on Sky News. Probably not the best technique for Labour to emulate then…
While Westminster parties may be being cancelled left, right and centre Keith Vaz will be hoping Boris’s plan B activation doesn’t interfere with his plans. He’s set to welcome guests in Leicester next Wednesday for a “Diversity Dinner” “in the presence of a very special guest”. Guido presumes Keith isn’t referring to himself, though wouldn’t put it past him.
Life isn’t all a party for Vaz, however. Leicester Labour sources tell Guido that Starmer has told him he can’t be the candidate in next year’s almost inevitable by-election. When Vaz allegedly then proposed his daughter this was also rejected, however there’s word a deal may be cut with Southside to allow her to stand in a safe Labour retirement seat at the next election. Guido hopes Keith enjoys his snowy December party…
The day’s finally here: that one day in December that brings joy and delight to all – the 2021 parliamentary by-election for Old Bexley and Sidcup. Voters head to the polls today following the political parties throwing in the kitchen sink in an attempt to repeat the upset of Chesham & Amersham. Well, when Guido says ‘the parties’, one has been less conspicuous…
What has Labour been doing? For starters, Sir Keir has never tweeted the word Bexley, let alone visited the constituency during the by-election. On the day of Sir David Amess’s Westminster funeral, the party ceased campaigning for the entire day, while the Tories just downed their clipboards and leaflets for 80 minutes.
Another absence is arguably less excusable: Sadiq Khan’s. Despite Bexley being a London constituency, Sadiq apparently being Labour’s most popular asset down south, and it being a mere 30 minute train ride from City Hall, the mayor’s made no appearance during the campaign. Does Southside, in fact, know Sadiq’s popularity struggles outside the centre of the city? Or does the mayor not have much love for London’s outer ring?
Bexley is currently facing a triple whammy of the Outer London Tax, the ULEZ expansion and his failed tri-borough policing strategy. Still, he’s been less absent than his boss. Sadiq did at least find time to do some campaigning, via the phone:
With just two days left till the Old Bexley & Sidcup by-election, good to hit the phones for @danfrancis02 tonight.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) November 30, 2021
Daniel would be an excellent champion for the community. If you live in Old Bexley and Sidcup - this Thursday - #VoteLabour 🌹 pic.twitter.com/d5UFDztTJe
If Labour improves on their 23.5% vote share from 2019, it won’t be anything to do with their effort on the ground…
Co-conspirators will be astonished to learn Sir Keir still hasn’t learnt the lessons from Labour’s 2019 election defeat. At the end of last month, the party selected Daniel Francis to fight the seat that, as well as giving James Brokenshire a 18,952 majority, voted 62.4% to leave in 2016. It therefore suggests something about the party’s mindset that means they’re happy standing a candidate who believes those who voted for Brexit fell for “Goebbels” style propaganda. Twitter posts uncovered by Guido also show Francis sharing a tweet from Alastair Campbell claiming “the freedom Britain needs is freedom from a Nasty Brexit Lie Machine”
In less inflammatory – yet predictable views – Francis voiced agreement with both Donald Tusk’s view that Brexit “is a lose-lose situation”, and Starmer’s own 2019 post that “the only way to break the Brexit impasse is to go back to the public”. Still, Guido’s unsurprised given Labour recently announced the successful applicants to their future candidates programme, almost all of whom were radical, remainer centrists…
George Galloway has filed an election petition with the Royal Courts of Justice this morning to have the Batley & Spen by-election set aside. The move comes following Guido’s exposé that at least four MPs’ offices were used during phone banking sessions during the campaign, none of which were declared in Labour’s election spending returns. Due to Kim Leadbeater’s wafer-thin majority, Galloway calls on the court to allow the case to be heard, and hopes “a free and fair election will soon follow in Batley and Spen.”
The Court petition reads:
“the Labour Party knowingly failed to declare the use of four MPs offices as notional expenditure during phone banking sessions undertaken on the Parliamentary estate, which in effect meant that taxpayers contributed to the cost of the Labour Party’s election campaign.”
Yesterday afternoon Guido looked over the by-election spending returns to double-check the accommodation and administration venues the party declared. Sure enough, the four identified MPs’ offices – Kate Green’s, Matt Western’s, Catherine West’s, and an unknown staffer’s – are nowhere to be seen.
It seems Angela Rayner’s Cox office complaint has opened up a rather large can of worms…
Rory Stewart told Reaction last night that he’s considering a none-awaited political come back, potentially in the forthcoming by-election to replace Owen Paterson up in Shropshire. The former MP was touted as a unifying anti-corruption candidate a la Martin Bell if the other parties put their partisan differences aside to defeat the Tories, however both Labour and the LibDems have confirmed they will be standing. Would be a prime opportunity for some personal PR boosting though…
