Labour has been accused of a “stitch-up” over the selection of a candidate for a Liverpool Council by-election.
Ray Physick, chairman of the Fazakerley branch of the Labour Party, claims the national party has “rode roughshod” over its own rules after Helen Stephens was selected as the party’s candidate for next month’s city council by-election. The poll was called after former councillor Lindsay Melia stepped down from the position following the hotly contested March budget meeting of the local authority.
Ex-councillor Melia was one of a number of then-Labour members who broke party lines to vote against the budget set by the ruling group. This led to the formation of a breakaway independent group on Liverpool Council, led by former Lord Mayor and ex-Labour councillor, Anna Rothery, now known as Liverpool Community Independents.
