On Monday last week, Jamie Driscoll pressed the nuclear button. Barred from standing to be Labour’s candidate in the inaugural north-east mayoral elections – despite being the party’s sitting mayor of the smaller North of Tyne region and a member since 1985 – he announced he was quitting the party. He tweeted the news, promising to run as an independent next May if he raised £25,000 by the end of August.
A week later, his fighting fund stands at more than £114,000. More than 5,300 people have donated, mostly fivers and tenners, decrying the “undemocratic decision” to bar Driscoll from the selection contest. “You didn’t leave the Labour party, Jamie. The Labour party left you. And me!” was a typical comment.
