A FORMER Labour shadow minister who was sacked from the party's front bench earlier this year has been de-selected in his constituency.
Following weeks of campaigning in the safe Labour seat of Ilford South, Sam Tarry failed to see off a challenge from the leader of Redbridge council, Jas Athwal.
It marks the first deselection of a Labour MP for more than a decade. Tarry was beaten by 499 votes to 361.
Athwal will now go forward as the party’s candidate at the next general election instead of Tarry, who was sacked from Labour’s front bench after giving broadcast interviews from an RMT picket line.
The vote came after his local constituency branches opted to trigger full reselection proceedings.
While candidate selection can be a fraught issue internally within the party, it is relatively rare for a sitting MP to be deselected by their local party.
Tarry described himself as “very humbled and excited” ahead of Monday’s hustings.
He told the LabourList website after his defeat: “I’m incredibly disappointed in this result, mostly for all my committed volunteers and the wonderful people of Ilford South.
“I intend to issue a further statement tomorrow on the process and outcome.”
Athwal, a well-known figure locally, was running to stand in Ilford South in 2019 before he was suspended due to a serious allegation.
He was later fully cleared.
The party’s shadow health secretary and MP for Ilford North Wes Streeting was among the first to congratulate Athwal.
He praised his “resounding victory” which he said reflects his lifelong commitment to this borough and “his outstanding leadership for Redbridge Labour”.
“Jas will be a superb representative for Ilford South. His is an Ilford story – the boy who came from the Punjab and built and education, successful businesses and a wonderful family here”, Streeting said.
He added: “He’s led Redbridge Labour to three unprecedented victories because he’s a local resident who fights as hard for our community as he would for his own family.
“I look forward to working with Jas as Ilford South’s next Labour MP.”
