A
Labour Party rift between John McDonnell and party chiefs has deepened amid claims a controversial selection battle was “fixed”.
Kate Osborne, a Unite official said to be favoured by digital campaigns chief Karie Murphy, is set to be imposed as candidate for the safe seat of Jarrow.
But HuffPost
UK understands
Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor McDonnell wanted ex-political advisor Simon Fletcher on the shortlist but it is thought they were overruled by Murphy and general secretary Jennie Formby.
Officials will decide from a shortlist of three, but one source told HuffPost UK it is a panel “loaded” with Unite officials likely to support Osborne.
Osborne came under
fire on Friday after it emerged that in 2017 she posted an image of
Theresa May at gunpoint.
Murphy and Formby are said to be risking a split amid claims they “simply ignored” McDonnell and are pushing to “ram through” Osborne’s selection.
The battle is said to have reignited a dispute on Labour’s left, which burst open during
Brexit policy rows, over how the party is managed.
Labour sources have told HuffPost UK McDonnell, who is believed to have been behind top-level moves to move Murphy, is said to be “absolutely furious”. Karie and Jennie have have simply ignored the politicians. The unexpected collateral of this is that McDonnell is absolutely furious and it has reinforced his massive dissatisfaction with the party’s operation.Labour sourceFletcher, Corbyn’s chief of staff before Murphy, now lives in Gateshead with his partner Marie Nixon, a former member of Sunderland’s Kenickie band.
He ran Corbyn and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard’s and Corbyn’s successful leadership campaigns and held the role of director of campaigns and planning. He has also worked for former leader Ed Miliband and was Ken Livinstone’s chief of staff during his time as
London Mayor.
Ferguson, a member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee, meanwhile, is from Gateshead and is a long-standing Unison activist.
It is also understood members of Jarrow Constituency Labour Party (CLP) are annoyed that Tracey Dixon, deputy leader of the local South Tyneside Council and Margaret Melling, also a local councillor, applied and were rejected.
Katie Adams, a trainee teacher and Jarrow CLP’s equalities officer, and Maura McEown, a Durham councillor who missed out on the candidacy for the City of Durham seat made the shortlist alongside Osborne.
It is said the shortlist has been drawn up so as to favour Osborne, with the two other candidates viewed less local.
The panel is understood to include Unite’s Jayne Taylor, Unite’s Mike Routledge and Aslef’s Mick Whelan, which is thought to give Osborne a clear advantage. The seat was previously held by Stephen Hepburn, but he was barred from being Jarrow’s candidate after HuffPost UK revealed he was subject to a sexual harassment complaint.
Osborne was forced to apologise on Friday after the post she shared about May was made public.
Almost 40 ex-MPs fighting for re-election wrote to Formby and party chiefs to ask she be rejected as a candidate, while shadow education secretary Angela Rayner called the posts “totally unacceptable”.
The letter reads: “The impact of such images are clear - they incite intimidation and violence against female politicians.”
One North East Labour source said Fletcher is a popular choice with other candidates in the region, adding: “It’s particularly dismaying when a good left candidate of high calibre isn’t put on the shortlist for no good reason, and to see such strong regional candidates denied even an interview.”
A Labour source close to the leadership said: “There is an almighty stink going on at the top of the party over Jarrow.
“Karie and Jennie have have simply ignored the politicians. The unexpected collateral of this is that McDonnell is absolutely furious and it has reinforced his massive dissatisfaction with the party’s operation.
“As further collateral it has done additional damage to the relationship with Unison who wanted Mark Ferguson to get a shot at it.”
HuffPost UK has contacted the Labour Party for comment. Related... Labour Revolt Over Corbyn Ally Who 'Shared Image' Of Theresa May 'At Gunpoint' Lib Dems 'Looking At Court Action' After Jo Swinson Excluded From
BBC Debate