The Labour Party is preparing to spring a surprise candidate on Brighton Kemptown today (Sunday 30 April).
A selection panel meeting is expected to pick charity chief executive Michelle Thew, who became chief executive of Cruelty Free International, formerly the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, in 2006.
Ms Thew, 52, a Hove member, stood in the safe Conservative seat of Bexhill and Battle at the 2015 general election where she came third behind UKIP.
The selection committee – made up of members of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and regional board – have gone for an all-women shortlist, believed to include Latest TV presenter Sophie Cook.
The news was a surprise to local activists with three members of Brighton and Hove City Council – Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Dan Yates and Tom Bewick – among the frontrunners.
Dan Yates and Lloyd Russell-Moyle represent wards in the constituency. One party member said that they knew the patch as councillors and had name recognition as well as having previously contested parliamentary seats.
There were fears that the choice suggested that the party was giving up on the seat, with disappointed activists driven to campaign in Hove instead, to try to retain the seat held by Peter Kyle.
And your source is?
Christ the Panel hasn’t even met yet, so have you guys been using a crystal ball or the tarot cards to predict something which is done to a panel that hasn’t even met yet!
Also what disappointed activists heading to Hove? If anything the activists in Kemptown are fighting their hardest knowing that we can actually take this seat and those of us in Kemptown have seen a nice healthy stream of Pavilion members wanting to help out.
As for activists being shocked, well after reading this I would assume they would be as that is what the article is meant to do isn’t it? Sow the seeds of doubt without ever naming a source. Pure fiction article, really expected better from you guys, unless you are wanting to compete with The Argus for the best fiction cup, to which, fair dues, you won it with this article.
As far as I am aware the Select Committee are yet to meet, so how have they come to this decision before meeting?
Also, there were more woman than the one name you have printed who put themselves forward as candidate so there would be no need to thrust anyone upon Kemptown. Not all people who put themselves forward made themselves known to the press.
Finally, there are no disappointed activists. I don’t know who your source is (or even if you actually have a source) but as someone who is on the ground working very hard to get a Labour win in Kemptown I do know that last bit to be a work of pure fiction on your part.
Of course it’s fiction Sarah. The Argos has no competition, so far as I can see, no standards of journalism, probably run by interns and kids, and the subbing is appalling.
Still, what do I know, 20 years editing local papers and subbing in Fleet St.
Fake news? Glad I got out when I did.
I think You and Sarah might need to go back and take some English Grammar Lessons.
I think you might need to get a life..( and why have you capitalised English grammar lessons….?
Really?- the biggest opportunity to stop a dictatorial right wing government taking us over the cliff with them, and spurious news articles, and your mind is occupied with grammar?
If this is true, I’m disappointed. I’d prefer someone local whom constituents know.
Who gets the seat is not relevant as long as it is not another conservative that’s the point. I was raised in a old Conservative constituency and attended a grammar school which was formerly attended by Whittle the man behind the jet engine. If anyone should be using the dictionary it would be Tory candidates you would think with most being from private education backgrounds they would know what there party stood for. Social enterprise and out of the box thinking last time I checked Labour seem to be closer to that definition, corporate conservative do not represent who there party is supposed to. Perhaps there Oxford Education was wasted.
Put Daniel Harris up!
A real peoples person with OUR interests at heart:not his.