Ruth Cadbury Faces Trigger Ballot Test
Local party members to decide if reselection should be automatic
Members of the Labour Party in the Brentford and Isleworth constituency have been contacted by the secretary of their local branch informing them of planned selection ‘trigger’ meetings.
These will determine whether sitting MP Ruth Cadbury will be appointed as the candidate for the next election or if a full reselection process will be held.
Under new rules implemented by the party, it now requires only two of the four branches of the party to vote in favour to trigger a full reselection contest. According to a member of the local party, supporters of Jeremy Corbyn’s wing of the party will be aiming to force a contest to allow them to select a new candidate from the party's left.
The meeting for the Chiswick branch takes place on Wednesday 2 October at the George and Devonshire pub.
Ruth Cadbury has issue a statement to party members ahead of the contest saying, “In 2013 as Labour members you placed your trust in me to be your Candidate. Six years on I believe that I and Labour have gained the trust of local people.
“Now we face another General Election very possibly in less than two months and we face a very different political landscape. The Liberals and Greens have named their candidates and the Tories will very soon. We should be spending the next weeks and months campaigning to hold this seat and we cannot afford to spend time looking inwards or to show any sign that we are not united.
“So I am asking you to come to that meeting to confirm me as your candidate, ready to work with me to ensure this constituency remains Labour; for the sake of all those so desperately need a Labour Government.”
The new trigger ballot process has already been used to enable challenges to sitting MPs. Earlier this month local party branches decided to hold a new contest in the Hull North seat for which Diana Johnson is currently the MP.
September 23, 2019