A former council leader and parliamentary candidate has called for an investigation after the controversial events in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven this week.
Nancy Platts was asked to put herself forward as a candidate after Lloyd Russell-Moyle – who twice won the seat – was suspended by the Labour Party on Tuesday (28 May).
But while she was being interviewed, the journalist Michael Crick tweeted that the party had picked Chris Ward, a former aide to the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Platts, the former leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, contested Brighton Pavilion in 2010 and Brighton Kemptown in 2015.
She said: “I’d like to pay tribute to Lloyd Russell-Moyle who has been our MP since 2017 and who I am proud to call my friend.
“Following his suspension, I was asked by some local members to stand in Brighton Kemptown.
“They felt that as someone who had previously been selected by members, had been a local councillor here for five years, had good local name recognition and had halved the Tory majority in 2015, that I was best placed to win the seat.
“I spoke to Lloyd and put myself forward to be Brighton Kemptown’s candidate with his support.
“Everything moved very quickly yesterday and I was pleased to be offered an online interview at 2.40pm.
“It was disappointing afterwards to find out that during my interview, Michael Crick had tweeted out that Chris Ward would be the successful candidate.
🔴 BRIGHTON KEMPTOWN & PEACEHAVEN: it now looks like former Starmer adviser Chris Ward will get this seat. https://t.co/6rhgI51jBD
— @Tomorrow’sMPs (@tomorrowsmps) May 30, 2024
“I have forwarded the tweet to the general secretary of the Labour Party and I trust that there will now be an investigation to ensure the fairness of the process.
“It’s important to remember that these decisions affect a wider group of people.
“Had I been selected I would have kept on all of Lloyd’s team who now face losing their jobs and their livelihoods.
“I’d like to thank all the local members and the local, regional and national trade unions that took the time to have conversations yesterday and who offered me their support.”
On Wednesday, Mr Russell-Moyle said: “I’ve been working day and night since the election was called for success mot only in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven but across Sussex.
“Yesterday, out of the blue, I received an ‘administrative suspension letter’.
“Someone (who remains anonymous to me) has made what I believe to be a vexatious and politically motivated complaint about my behaviour eight years ago.
“This is a false allegation that I dispute totally and I believe it was designed to disrupt this election.
A personal statement. pic.twitter.com/UaL2Y6WeMW
— Lloyd Russell-Moyle 🌹🏳️🌈 (@lloyd_rm) May 29, 2024
“There isn’t enough time to defend myself as these processes within the party take too long so the party has told me that I will not be eligible to be a candidate at the next election.
“I’m gutted. I’ve spent the last decade of my life building one of the best campaigning CLPs (constituency Labour parties) in the country.
“I’ve been so inspired by everyone pulling together in the last week and excited for the campaign to come.
“We have an amazing local party and I am sorry for all of you most of all.
“I aim to co-operate with the investigations process to clear my name but will now take this opportunity to contribute to public life in different ways under what I hope is a Labour government.
“I wish Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and the Labour team the best of luck and I hope to be celebrating Labour wins across Sussex and beyond on election night.”
Mr Russell-Moyle, a former member of Brighton and Hove City Council, won the seat from the Conservatives at the 2017 general election with a majority of almost 10,000.
At the 2019 election he held the seat with a majority of just over 8,000.
I think we would all of called for an investigation if Platts had been selected! Hopeless as leader of the council, lost overall control of the council and then was way too happy to support the Greens including encouraging Labour Councilors to have closer ties/ meetings with the Greens. Once she resigned and a load of other Corbynistas had gone the local party became electable again. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the end of LRM, Platts would never be the answer if Labour want to show they have changed.
Real dumb way to look at the situation but whatever
Yes real dumb, but the May 2022 election would support the theory that a) The Greens were hopeless and not popular, b) Labour became electable once they ousted the Corbyn wing of the local party.
What on earth would have been the point of replacing one Cobynista relic with another one?
If this is the contempt shown to democracy by new labour in opposition then be very afraid when they get into government
The voters of Kemptown are being used.
This is going to bite Labour in the bum, maybe not this time, but next.
I think Nancy is right to call for an investigation over this – something stinks and loyal Labour Party members locally have been treated appallingly by their Tory-look-alike-Labour-colleagues.
I think Nancy may have made some mistakes in the past – eg she was at the helm during some of the stuff that’s come to light in recent articles about Cityclean back in 2019 – that still doesn’t make it OK though for people within her own party to screw her over like this. They were always going to choose one of Keir’s henchmen, so why did they pretend otherwise – it’s just horrible. There’s something really not nice happening within their party, I really think Labour has lost its way.
Perhaps it would be a good idea if these allegations were published before people protested that they are a stitch up.
My comment isn’t to do with the validity of the allegations against Lloyd Russell-Moyle, but the timing of them coming up def raises lots of questions.
Irrespective of whatever the allegation is about Lloyd, it is not OK for national Labour to string Nancy along in the way that they did. If she’s correct that it was essentially a done deal before she’d even finished her interview – that’s not OK. It would have been more honest for nat Labour to just admit they were imposing a candidate rather than the bizarre charade that Nancy’s statement suggests was the case.
I think this is certainly overlooked. If the allegations are serious they let LRM stand and then they turned to be true Labour would be absolutely slatted. Suspicious timing or not, to do nothing would leave Labour open to severe criticism
But how they have treated Nancy is still dreadful – the whole faux interview thing is just rubbish.
Time will tell over the validity of allegations about Lloyd, but with other questions being asked about Labour’s selection processes nationally people will ask questions. Locally, coming off the Leicester 2 debacle it also reinforces the narrative that something not clear and transparent is happening with Labour’s selection processes. I’m not saying Lab should do nothing when allegations come up. As in Diane Abbott example though, they could deal with them better when they do.
I’ve also heard that over in Shoreham, a young male Labour councillor from Lambeth was parachuted in over a well respected local female councillor who is quite well thought of across political divides in the area. The Lambeth councillor has been slated in his ward for going AWOL and not turning up to surgeries. There are far too many examples of questionable candidate decisions for it to just be a coincidence.
One of the things about good politics is trying to find common ground and ways to work with people – even in political parties there will be difference of opinion on approaches and issues – Labour do seem to be just shutting those people out – hence my Labour has lost its way comment.
LRM’s actions in the house question if he is suitable as an MP, his actions in Brighton and some of his comments are also questionable. I find him quite gross and disgusting.
We need an MP who will serve the people not self centered policies of a personal nature.
Funny how scared Labour still are of Jeremy Corbyn even though he’s running as an Independent in this election.
Maybe take your rucksack and go and help him fly the Independent flag Nancy.
Labour are fast making themselves unelectable with their 1930s style democracy. Time to start a new revolution.
Platts has no place as a parliamentary candidate if Labour are to be a party electable to government. LRM will be no great loss to the cause either. It is difficult to imagine any other place in the UK where he would even come close to being elected.
To be fair, it is also difficult to imagine any other place in the UK that’s remotely like Brighton!
Bristol
Hmm…I think there’s some similarities, just from my time working there. They feel very distinct from each other though?
Jackboot Starmer is already showing his colours as a prospective totalitarian dictatorship leader. Example here is clear. The Kemptown candidate is a leader’s imposition not a Party choice. Makes me think of Putin.
It is ofconcern that the labour party appear to elect their own hand picked candidates in East Brighton and Shoreham at the 11th hour before the election in what looks like a pick and mix style .Both their chosen candidates live out of Brighton and Shoreham and are Not known to the local people, which is a worrying fact with the election looming .
Lloyd Russel Moyles enthusiastic campaign in Kemptown was brutally extinguished, with no factual evidence only a vague allegation that happened 8 years ago.
He was in office with no mention of any allegation since he was elected but cut off when it suited the Labour Party to elect a previous aid of their own. I wonder if this ensures their handpicked candidates sing from their song sheet. This feels highly unethical and not the way forward. It is worrying to think this style could be repeated nationally. We the people do not have the fairness and freedom.of choice here in Brighton and Shoreham and people should be respected to have a say in which local councillors represent us.
This looks like a My way or the Highway style and is not a good reflection on the labour party which is disappointing and has shaken my faith…
It’s healthy to have a mix of MPs from the left central and right to give a healthy balance to any party to get a good bance of views. Do local people have no say in who represents them locally.?
Perhaps labour are losing momentum?
Clever wordplay, Chris.
I’m a Kemptown voter.I was going to vote Labour. I’ll now vote Lib Dem. The treatment of my local MP by his Party is a disgrace.
So surely if the NEC selecting a candidate rather than the local party is a ‘bad thing’ then it would still be a ‘bad thing’ if they selected Ms Platts rather than Mr Ward? I’m not convinced the best person for the job was the person who’d stood twice before and failed to get elected, I suspect the NEC felt the same too.