A Wirral Labour councillor claimed he was discriminated against by his own party in his role as a carer.
Cllr Chris Davies, who was elected in Rock Ferry last year, said he had been dropped by the party in the upcoming all-out elections for a breach of his terms as an elected member.
He explained this was because he didn’t attend enough campaign sessions in key seats Labour is hoping to win in the vote on May 4.
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However Cllr Davies said he had not been able to attend every campaign session because of his commitments as a full-time carer for his partner, Cllr Yvonne Nolan, and is currently disputing the decision through his trade union.
Despite being selected by his party branch in October 2022, Cllr Davies said he’s not been allowed to stand again and has not been given the right to appeal the decision.
He said: “I got to every single campaign session I could but I’m a full time carer and I have repeatedly asked for support not just for people with care responsibilities, but people with disabilities, people with full time jobs and I have had no response.
“Every time I’ve asked a question about accessible campaigning I’ve had no answers. I’ve been completely stonewalled.”
Cllr Davies said he had to get cover for public meetings in Rock Ferry because members were required to go to Pensby to campaign. He said: “On a personal level, it feels like a kick in the teeth because I’ve done a lot of work in Rock Ferry in terms of engagement with the community and community groups.
"It’s a kick in the teeth because I’ve spent 42 years out of my 47 years on this planet living in Rock Ferry. I get what it’s like.
"I know the issues around poverty but I feel I’ve been discriminated against. It feels my concerns about the residents are secondary to the party’s wishes.”
The ECHO understands that Cllr Nolan, who uses a wheelchair, has been selected as a candidate as she had attended enough sessions.
However, both Cllr Davies and Cllr Nolan said they had attended the same number of sessions in person but when Cllr Nolan was unable to campaign due to health reasons, a volunteer signed in instead and that the party was well aware of this arrangement.
Cllr Nolan, who was the local authority’s first female leader in 1990, said: “I am really disappointed that the party has done this and that they have unfairly discriminated against Chris.”
She said people in Rock Ferry were not going to understand the decision given it related to work outside of the area.
She added: “I would urge the party before it’s too late, before it is too late and before they parachute a stranger into Rock Ferry who wasn’t chosen by the people in Rock Ferry. I do not believe they are demonstrating a real understanding of people with disabilities and carers and they need to do some co-production with election plans both locally and nationally.”
Cllr Davies confirmed he would not consider running as an independent candidate and would help Cllrs Clare O’Hagan and Nolan get elected in the ward.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The party does not comment on internal party matters and any complaints from party members are investigated in line with our rules and procedures.”
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