A contender has dropped out of the race to be Labour's parliamentary candidate for Liverpool West Derby.
Kimberley Whitehead announced she has withdrawn from the process. It means that incumbent Member of Parliament Ian Byrne will go head-to-head with Croxteth Councillor Anthony Lavelle, with a result expected this afternoon (November 20).
A councillor for Hyndburn in Lancashire, Cllr Whitehead was one of the candidates in the race after Mr Byrne was 'triggered' earlier this year. This meant he was not automatically re-selected to be Labour's candidate for the seat at the next general election.
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However, Cllr Whitehead today announced in a tweet that she had withdrawn from the race. She wished Cllr Lavelle "good luck" and also claimed to have received abuse during the campaign.
The race has seen relations strained between Mr Byrne and Cllr Lavelle's supporters. Last weekend saw accusations of bullying and intimidation during campaign events. Mr Byrne tweeted that he faced "shameful" intimidation at an event last Saturday and said he had blocked those "involved in this appalling behaviour".
Responding, Liverpool City Council cabinet member Harry Doyle - a leading backer of Cllr Lavelle - said he had been blocked on twitter by the MP and urged him to withdraw his "baffling" claims, adding: "There was no intimidation from any of Anthony's team." Earlier in the selection process, Mr Byrne made allegations of "multiple rule breaches" and said he was considering legal action. He claimed members had been unfairly excluded from nomination meetings in large numbers.
Later today, the constituency's Labour members will meet for the vote. The winner will be Labour's candidate at the next election and, as West Derby is a safe seat, is likely to become MP.
Mr Byrne has received support from senior Labour figures including Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham and was recently named MP of the year. Cllr Lavelle has organised within the constituency party, leading sources to suggest it could be a close race.
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