What a welcome! Labour activists tell Tory defector Christian Wakeford they want a by-election – and THEY will decide if he can stand
- Bury South MP Christian Wakeford defected to Labour over the Partygate furore
- Former opponent and now fellow party member Lucy Burke wants by-election
- Ms Burke lost to Mr Wakeford by just 402 votes in the 2019 general election
Local Labour activists last night demanded that Tory turncoat Christian Wakeford face a by-election following his defection from Boris Johnson’s party.
After his decision to join Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour, the Bury South MP has tried to insist he will carry on representing the constituency without going back to the voters.
But members of his new party yesterday suggested the move was undemocratic as they expressed their unease at having to welcome him into the Labour fold.
Lucy Burke, who was the Labour candidate in 2019 when Mr Wakeford won by just 402 votes, called for a by-election and for local members to decide if he should be the party’s candidate.
‘I believe in respecting the electorate and the democratic processes of the Labour movement,’ she said.
‘This means upholding the democratic right of local members to select and reselect their parliamentary candidates, ensuring accountability and transparency and putting equality and fairness into practice.
‘For this reason, I think that the members of Bury South CLP (Constituency Labour Party) should be given the opportunity to select their parliamentary candidate and the people of Bury South the opportunity to vote for their MP and the party for which they are standing.’
After his decision to join Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford (pictured) has tried to insist he will carry on representing the constituency without going back to the voters
Lucy Burke, who was the Labour candidate in 2019 when Mr Wakeford won by just 402 votes, called for a by-election and for local members to decide if he should be the party’s candidate (Pictured: Mr Wakeford with Sir Keir)
Mr Wakeford yesterday appeared nervous and admitted he needed more sleep as he introduced shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves who was giving a speech in Bury (Pictured; Mr Wakeford with his wife following his 2019 victory as a Tory candidate)
Joshua Harcup, the Youth Officer for the Bury South CLP, also called for a by-election.
‘Some members have been very upset already, some have questioned ‘why now?’ and if it’s because Labour is doing well in the polls,’ he told PoliticsHome.
Mr Wakeford yesterday appeared nervous and admitted he needed more sleep as he introduced shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves who was giving a speech in Bury.
He mistakenly referred to Sir Keir Starmer as ‘Keir Llama’, before he corrected himself.
Afterwards, Mr Wakeford said the decision to defect was ‘not something I came to lightly and insisted he had received an ‘incredibly warm welcome’ from the Labour Party.
Responding to comments that he had been elected due to Boris Johnson, he said, ‘I’ve been receiving hundreds of emails from people asking me to go against Boris Johnson.’
Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday jokingly rebuffed Labour calls for him to become the next Tory defector, telling MPs in the House of Commons: ‘I think my welcome would be even warmer than that given to the member for Bury South, who I think has not received the warmest welcomes from the young socialists, who aren’t so keen, and the Corbynistas…’