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Labour leaders were accused of last-minute “shameful malfeasance” as Keir Starmer’s supporters looked set to slide into safe seats.
A string of constituencies in the party’s heartland have no candidates because MPs have resigned or the party failed to select one before Chancellor Rishi Sunak declared a general election on July 4.
The party has now invoked emergency measures that give a three-person subcommittee of the ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) the power to nominate candidates, rather than the normal voting process by local councillors.
The list of candidates, to be emailed on Tuesday, is likely to include several key officials who have played key roles in Starmer’s project since 2019, the people said.
Several members of the all-powerful NEC were expected to apply, with one insider predicting it would be a “big win for supporters”.
It comes as figures on the left of the party are outraged by news that an investigation into allegations of racism against Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, was closed in December and is not ongoing as had been claimed.
Reports on Tuesday suggested the veteran left-wing lawmaker, who was the first black woman elected to parliament in 1987, could be barred from running.
The long-time socialist MP and ally of Jeremy Corbyn was required to complete an anti-Semitic awareness course but failed to regain his Labour leadership role before the election was called.
Following the announcement of the general election, a number of highly-voted Labour MPs have announced that they will not contest their seats in the election, including long-standing party leaders such as Jon Cryer, Lynne Brown, Julie Elliott, Kevan Brennan, Kevan Jones and Barbara Kiely, sparking a last-minute push to replace them.
Newham deputy mayor James Asser, who chaired the NEC under Starmer, may be moving to win London seats such as West Ham following long-serving councillor Brown’s abrupt decision to resign on Tuesday.
Gurinder Singh Jyosan, a businessman who has worked for the NEC since 2020, is seen as likely to run in the Smethwick constituency after stalwart John Speller decided to step down.
“The outgoing MP was a true driving force behind Labour First in the fight to keep it in the electoral mainstream,” Josan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), referring to Speller, who in 1980 founded Labour First, the faction most associated with the party’s traditional right.
Luke Akehurst, a prominent factional warrior on the party’s right wing, is also thought to be considering running for a seat in the capital.
Sources say Georgia Gould, leader of Camden Council and Starmer’s own Kentish Town councillor, may stand in the Queen’s Park and Maida Vale constituency, while Newham councillor Terry Paull, a staunch Blair supporter, is expected to stand.
Mark Ferguson, an NEC member who has solidified key support for Starmer within the Unison union, is one of several leading trade unionists who could be targeted for sacking.
Following the recent retirement of long-serving left-wing MP Ian Mearns, Ferguson may return to his home north-east as the candidate for Gateshead Central and Wickham.
Kate Dearden, head of research at the Community Labour Union, which has been a strong supporter, has ties to Halifax, where the party’s deputy floor leader, Holly Lynch, is retiring.
Gerald Coyne, a trade unionist who twice ran against one of Corbyn’s most staunch defenders, “Red” Len McCluskey, for the Unite general secretary position during Mr Corbyn’s time, is said to be targeting Mr Tipton.
Michael Wheeler, from shopworkers union USDAW, is reportedly considering running for the seat, as is Josh Simmons, head of Star Merit think tank Labour Together.
The name of Nesil Caliscan, Labour leader on Enfield council and said to be highly regarded by the leadership, has also been circulating.
Mr Caliscan is the Labour group leader of the Local Government Association, whose long-standing general secretary was Mr Starmer’s campaign manager Morgan McSweeney.
Helen Goodman, the former Bishop Auckland MP who lost her seat to the Conservatives in Boris Johnson’s 2019 election, is also thought to be one of the applicants.
Several safe seats have become vacant in recent days as MPs with long parliamentary experience make way for newcomers, including North Durham, Sunderland Central, Worsley and Eccles in Greater Manchester, and Leyton and Wanstead in London.
Insiders say Starmer’s aides are working hard to ensure that MPs who support the party’s new approach have safe seats and that the reforms do not fall victim to friendly fire.
But those on the left are infuriated, saying their allies are being excluded from the process.
Mish Rahman, a member of the NEC’s left wing, posted on X: “I can’t wait to see if the NEC members selected as candidates will endorse them themselves at the NEC candidate endorsement meeting.”
Simon Fletcher, a former senior adviser to Mr Corbyn and later Mr Starmer, called the emergency election measures “disgraceful”, adding: “Centralisation by national parties has reached a whole new level with a wave of last-minute resignations and a frenzy of local parties being bought off by national committees – clearly in some cases national committee members for their own good. Members’ rights and the voices of local communities are being trampled on.”
“Where I live [Gateshead] The MP had given ample notice of his retirement, but in any case the party is simply trying to force a candidate over the heads of its members.”
A spokesman for Momentum, which backed Mr Corbyn’s project, said: “From blocking Jeremy Corbyn from standing against the wishes of local parties to the wider exclusion of popular local candidates, we have seen Keir Starmer’s Westminster faction show contempt for ordinary Labour members. Once again, this is the exact opposite of what Keir Starmer promised to do.”
“Labour’s next MPs are set to be dominated by well-connected people in Westminster and the long-term damage to public trust in politics will be severe.”
I The Labour Party has been contacted for comment.