Party members in Manchester Central are complaining that they risk being disenfranchised in the selection process to choose Labour’s candidate for the forthcoming parliamentary by-election because party bosses are refusing to allow postal voting.
The unusual move is said to be due to the selection’s tight timescale, caused by the resignation of former minister and parliamentary Labour Party chair, Tony Lloyd, who hopes to become Greater Manchester’s first elected police and crime commissioner this November.
However eyebrows are being raised by some members who question why the process is being hurried along, especially if it makes it difficult for elderly and housebound members to participate.
They have written to the party’s North West regional office warning that some people risk being disenfranchised as a result of the postal vote ban.
They also worry that the seat contains economically diverse communities and that there may be a differential turnout between the more prosperous city centre wards and places like Newton Heath and Moss Side – some of the poorest communities in England.
Four candidates were shortlisted last week to succeed Lloyd, including Ed Miliband’s deputy chief of staff, Lucy Powell, Patrick Vernon who runs a health charity in London and Manchester councillors Rosa Battle and Mike Amesbury.
The frontrunners are thought to be Powell, who stood in neighbouring Manchester Withington at the last general election, narrowly failing to prise the seat from the Lib Dem’s John Leach and Amesbury, Manchester’s well-regarded cabinet member responsible for culture who is already backed by Unison, the GMB and CWU unions.
The selection meeting is scheduled for 16 April, which means the issue of whether members will be entitled to vote by post needs to be resolved in the next few days in order to make the necessary arrangements.
The venue for the selection meeting will be the Methodist Hall on Oldham Street in the city’s trendy Northern Quarter – a world away from the gritty housing estates which make up a good deal of the constituency.
The process has already attracted controversy over rumours that party bosses were willing to impose an all-women shortlist, dashing the hopes of Amesbury, the local favourite. In the event, he was shortlisted.
The by-election will be held on 15 November, the same day as elections for the police commissioners. Tony Lloyd had a 10,430 majority at the last general election.
Tags: Lucy Powell, Manchester Central, Mike Amesbury, postal votes, Rosa Battle
And so there should be a ban postal voting. If people can’t be bothered to turn out and cast their vote in person for the candidate of their choice then I don’t now what the world is coming to. Of course there must always be a few exceptions eg for those with genuine incapacity, but in general, postal voting can lead to corruption and laziness on the part of electorates and a certain amount of disengagement rather than engagement as it was nitially designed to do.
The Americans manage to get quite a turnout in their Party Primaries and Caucuses, so I can’t see why we can’t as well.
They also worry that the seat contains economically diverse communities and that there may be a differential turnout between the more prosperous city centre wards and places like Newton Heath and Moss Side – some of the poorest communities in England.
If people do not vote,,, it’s their problem…
Interesting spin on the issue of postal voting. Not much campaigning before in Manchester on this issue. I suspect more a number crunching by some of the candidates. The significant complaint was from the partner of one of the candidates. Things always get heated in safe seats like this and all is not necessarily what it appears. Also 3 of the candidates are local so why mention that Mike Amesbury is the “local” favourite. There was an attempt to position one of the candidates Lucy Powell as a London parachute candidate but she is Manchester born and raised and lives there. It will get murkier over the next few days I am sure.