Jewish groups have written to Labour over the controversy that has seen Jamie Driscoll excluded from the party’s North East mayor selection race.
A war of words has been raging since the sitting North of Tyne mayor was left off Labour’s longlist of candidates for the job heading a new, bigger combined authority that will come into being next year. The left-wing mayor’s exclusion has been blamed on an appearance he made earlier this year on stage at Newcastle’s Live Theatre with filmmaker Ken Loach.
But Sir Keir Starmer has faced accusations of factionalism from critics, with Mr Driscoll branding the decision “anti-democratic” and the likes of the Unite union and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham siding with him in the bitter feud. Criticism of the mayor’s event with the I, Daniel Blake director came about because of Mr Loach’s expulsion from Labour in 2021, which he has said was because he supported a 'Labour Against the Witchhunt' campaign to prevent some individuals from being kicked out of the party.
