Saturday, June 01, 2024
Parachuting in a Starmer Stooge?
To be fair there is nothing about Torsten Bell that implies that he is anybody's stooge, but that is not going to pacify a number of Labour members who have had him imposed on them above the claims of the favoured son, the local council leader.
The BBC reports that Labour has been accused of "riding roughshod" over its local members after it confirmed on Friday that Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, will be its candidate for Swansea West:
Former Labour MP Beth Winter - who lost out on a new Welsh seat to another party frontbencher - said the move was "an insult to party members, an insult to Wales, and an affront to democracy".
But Welsh Labour said the decision was made by a panel "formed by representatives from the Welsh executive committee and local members".
The party’s former MP for Swansea West, Geraint Davies, was barred from standing again in the constituency pending an investigation into his behaviour.
Mr Bell was previously a special advisor to Alistair Darling while he was Labour's chancellor.
Mr Bell said he was "excited to be Welsh Labour’s candidate for Swansea West and to be campaigning for a change Labour Party with Keir Starmer".
But Ms Winter - who has demanded an independent review of a selection process that saw Gerald Jones beat her to be the candidate in the new constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon - hit out at the move, external.
"In his leadership campaign, Starmer promised to end imposing candidates," she said.
"He broke that promise."
Local Swansea West members have also told BBC Wales they are "angry" and "disappointed" by the decision.
One local member said he was now "seriously questioning" his membership of the party - adding "I'm furious".
"The party is riding roughshod over the core membership. It’s tone deaf.
"We have very good potential candidates who live and work here in Swansea, who have driven Swansea through some extremely difficult times in the last 14 years. To parachute someone in makes me extremely angry."
Another local party member said they were "disappointed that the candidate has not been chosen by the [constituency Labour Party] panel in Swansea West and has no known connection to Swansea".
"He’s a candidate who’s come from outside, and it would be better if we had someone who knows Swansea, and knows what Swansea needs," they added.
BBC Wales also spoke to a member who warned it could have an impact on campaigning by local members, in a constituency that is considered a safe Labour seat.
"An outsider being parachuted in will make people very angry. In an area like this, local connections are very important. We are the local members of the party and we’re getting no voice in the selection of our MP," they said.
With another saying it appeared that "UK Labour isn’t bothered about what we (local members) think."
Kudos to Welsh Liberal Democrats candidate, Mike O'Carroll however, who tweeted:
The BBC reports that Labour has been accused of "riding roughshod" over its local members after it confirmed on Friday that Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, will be its candidate for Swansea West:
Former Labour MP Beth Winter - who lost out on a new Welsh seat to another party frontbencher - said the move was "an insult to party members, an insult to Wales, and an affront to democracy".
But Welsh Labour said the decision was made by a panel "formed by representatives from the Welsh executive committee and local members".
The party’s former MP for Swansea West, Geraint Davies, was barred from standing again in the constituency pending an investigation into his behaviour.
Mr Bell was previously a special advisor to Alistair Darling while he was Labour's chancellor.
Mr Bell said he was "excited to be Welsh Labour’s candidate for Swansea West and to be campaigning for a change Labour Party with Keir Starmer".
But Ms Winter - who has demanded an independent review of a selection process that saw Gerald Jones beat her to be the candidate in the new constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon - hit out at the move, external.
"In his leadership campaign, Starmer promised to end imposing candidates," she said.
"He broke that promise."
Local Swansea West members have also told BBC Wales they are "angry" and "disappointed" by the decision.
One local member said he was now "seriously questioning" his membership of the party - adding "I'm furious".
"The party is riding roughshod over the core membership. It’s tone deaf.
"We have very good potential candidates who live and work here in Swansea, who have driven Swansea through some extremely difficult times in the last 14 years. To parachute someone in makes me extremely angry."
Another local party member said they were "disappointed that the candidate has not been chosen by the [constituency Labour Party] panel in Swansea West and has no known connection to Swansea".
"He’s a candidate who’s come from outside, and it would be better if we had someone who knows Swansea, and knows what Swansea needs," they added.
BBC Wales also spoke to a member who warned it could have an impact on campaigning by local members, in a constituency that is considered a safe Labour seat.
"An outsider being parachuted in will make people very angry. In an area like this, local connections are very important. We are the local members of the party and we’re getting no voice in the selection of our MP," they said.
With another saying it appeared that "UK Labour isn’t bothered about what we (local members) think."
Kudos to Welsh Liberal Democrats candidate, Mike O'Carroll however, who tweeted:
@TorstenBell congrats on your selection as Labour’s #SwanseaWest candidate 🎉
I know you’re not from Swansea so I’d be willing to show you around our amazing city. Reply or DM and we’ll set up. I’ll even buy you a Joe's🍦
Am looking forward to a fair fight. Good luck.
