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Events | 2010.06.14

Labour MP accuses party of rigging London mayoral candidate selection process

Jim Fitzpatrick complains to the Labour party about the process for selecting a candidate to stand in the capital\'s mayoral election in 2012

A Labour MP has accused the party of "rigging" the mayoral candidate selection process in favour of Ken Livingstone, the former mayor who was defeated by Boris Johnson in 2008.

Jim Fitzpatrick, the MP for Poplar and Limehouse, has complained to the Labour party about the decision to bring forward the race to find a candidate to stand for the London mayoral election in 2012, which he says is giving Livingstone "an unfair advantage".

Ray Collins, the Labour party general secretary, is writing to Fitzpatrick today to rebut the east London MP\'s accusation that the party is treading a "dangerous path" after pushing through selection rules that have not been ratified by the wider party.

Fitzpatrick called for a number of changes to ensure the selection process was fair and seen to be fair. This includes ensuring candidates have equal access to information, and a review of the electoral system.

London Labour party members had expected the hunt for a candidate to begin at the end of this year. But in a surprise move last month, the party announced the selection would run almost parallel to the Labour leadership election and would be completed before the annual conference in late September.

Some party insiders fear it gives potential contenders little time to consider their options, including MPs who lost their seats at the general election.

The deadline for nominations for the London selection is next week and the candidate will be announced on 24 September – a day before the new Labour leader is announced.

Just two candidates have so far put their names forward: Livingstone, who was mayor for eight years, and Oona King, the former MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, whom Fitzpatrick supports.

He told the Guardian: "If there is not an open contest there is not a level playing field ... it is in my view rigged on the basis that it is not going to be a fair contest. Ken is already the favourite to take the nomination because he has been preparing for this since the last [mayoral] election in 2008 ... now the party has given him the advantage of time and information and it does not seem fair."

Livingstone has coveted the role since losing office and routinely attends city hall events to watch his successor being grilled by the London assembly. He has held two London conferences in the past 18 months under the banner of the Progressive London coalition, which has been widely seen as preparation for his reselection as Labour candidate.

Fitzpatrick\'s letter to Collins, published on Labourlist , said the party had failed the "openness and fairness" test in the process for selecting the candidate.

The former government minister complained that no explanation had been given for the decision to start the selection process just a month after Labour lost the general election.

He claimed the fact that the former mayor\'s chief of staff, Simon Fletcher, who is leading Livingstone\'s campaign, worked until recently in Labour\'s London regional office "raised legitimate questions as to whether unfair advantage or insider information has been given to one campaign over any other as a result of these arrangements".

Fitzpatrick, who describes King as the "face for London for the 21st century", said her campaign team "are being deliberately kept in the dark about the process".

"We still haven\'t been given a full explanation of the selection process in writing," he said. "We still don\'t know who is eligible to vote in the affiliates section, despite Ken Livingstone having this information."

Fitzpatrick, who admitted relations with Livingstone were tense after the former Labour mayor shared a platform with Fitzpatrick\'s political opponent at the general election, Respect candidate George Galloway, said the accelerated timetable has denied an opportunity to party members who had wanted to lobby colleagues for support and funding at the party conference deciding whether to stand.

He added that it was "extraordinary" that the selection process had been "rushed through" by the party\'s national executive committee rather than according to rules ratified by the wider party at the conference.

A London Labour party spokesperson said: "The mayoral selection is being run according to the rules and the same process as the last mayoral selection contest. Our focus is on involving as many Labour party members as possible, ensuring their voice is heard and the successful candidate has as much time as possible to expose Boris Johnson\'s dreadful record as mayor and set out Labour\'s vision for a better London."

For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/[...]london-mayor-selection-process