Waddon byelection

Labour’s Janet Daby has won the Lewisham East byelection after only 33.4% of eligible voters cast their ballots. The party suffered a swing to the Liberal Democrats, who leapfrogged the Conservatives to come second. The byelection was triggered by former Labour MP Heidi Alexander’s decision to quit Westminster to take up a job with the London mayor, Sadiq Khan. Alexander had a majority of 21,213 in the south-east London constituency at the 2017 general election. The Conservatives finished second in 2017 with the Liberal Democrats a distant third. For the byelection, the Lib Dem leader Vince Cable campaigned in the seat for the party’s candidate, Lucy Salek, with the party confident of an improved performance in a constituency that voted heavily for remain in the EU referendum. In the end, the Lib Dems succeeded in reducing Labour’s majority from nearly 45% to 25.6% and pushed the Conservatives into third place. The official turnout announced by officials fell … [Read more...] about Lewisham East byelection: Janet Daby wins but Labour’s majority cut by Lib Dems

The deputy mayor of Lewisham council has been chosen by Labour to fight a byelection in the area in June. Janet Daby, viewed as a moderate in the party, beat two other candidates after a hustings on Saturday to be selected as the candidate for the ultra-safe Labour seat of Lewisham East. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Daby was a “great campaigner” and he looked forward to working with her. The selection followed Heidi Alexander’s decision to stand down from parliament after being confirmed as London’s deputy mayor for transport. Daby, who has been a councillor in the area since 2010, is also director of the Whitefoot and Downham Community Food + Project, which tackles food poverty, and previously worked in social care. She said: “This is my home and I know the issues that matter to people because they are the same issues that matter to me. “We want a good hospital, we want decent affordable housing, we want a good education and fair … [Read more...] about Lewisham East byelection: Janet Daby to stand for Labour

Unite and Momentum are expected to back rival candidates for the battle to become Lewisham East’s next Labour MP, the Guardian has learned. Momentum’s national coordinating group is likely to back Lewisham councillor Sakina Sheikh, a former student campaigner who has close links with the grassroots group. Unite has already formally backed Islington councillor Claudia Webbe, a member of Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) and a former adviser to Ken Livingstone. A Momentum source suggested the group wanted to back a candidate with local credentials. “The local Momentum heavily backs Sakina and it feels like she will get the national backing, as they are keen to make sure it’s a local candidate with the endorsement of local members,” the source said. However, Lewisham Momentum itself is split, with a recent AGM ending in a dispute. A Facebook post on the group’s account on Tuesday shared details of a campaign phone bank for Webbe. Unite … [Read more...] about Unite and Momentum back rival candidates in Lewisham byelection

A former Ken Livingstone adviser, an anti-Transatlantic trade treaty activist, Lewisham’s deputy mayor and a former mayoral candidate have been shortlisted by Labour to fight to succeed Heidi Alexander in Lewisham East. Labour’s national executive committee has shortlisted Claudia Webbe, Brenda Dacres, Janet Daby and Sakina Sheikh as its four candidates who will be put to a members’ vote at a hustings this weekend. Webbe is the most senior figure in the party of the four candidates, a current member of the NEC and a former adviser to Livingstone at City Hall. The Islington councillor is a vocal supporter of the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and was previously the chair of Operation Trident, which tackled the effects of gun crime on black communities. Sheikh, a former member of Students Against TTIP, is a newly elected Labour councillor in Lewisham, the borough where she grew up. Momentum’s national coordinating group will interview both Webbe and Sheikh later on … [Read more...] about Labour shortlists candidates for Lewisham East byelection

Labour party members in the south London constituency of Lewisham East are protesting furiously that the byelection caused by the resignation of their MP, Heidi Alexander, is likely to be held in just five weeks’ time. They are accusing the party’s national executive of rushing through the process to prevent the local party having a voice. Local party members received an email overnight from the Lewisham East CLP chair, Ian McKenzie, warning them that the selection procedure was already under way and likely to be completed in less than a week. He called for members to protest that they were being excluded from it. “We have just hours to have our voice heard on who our future MP is. Don’t let the NEC officers group take away our party democracy. Act now!” the letter says. The national executive committee (NEC) always selects byelection candidates, but Lewisham East is a plum seat, with a rock solid 21,000 majority. Several people have already let it be … [Read more...] about Labour accused of ‘bulldozing’ Lewisham members in byelection