One of Bristol’s MPs has become one of the first in the country to be reselected to stand again as a candidate in the next General Election.
Thangam Debbonaire, the Labour MP for the Bristol West constituency, was chosen by party members who voted to select her and not to have a full and open reselection process.
The MP occupies one of the safest Labour seats in the country - she won it in 2019 with a majority of more than 28,000, despite it being the Green Party’s top target seat.
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Ms Debbonaire said it was an "honour" to be the local MP in Bristol West.
Last month all of Bristol's MPs confirmed they intended to stand for reselection.
Labour Party rules require ballots of all the individual branches within a constituency, which correspond to council wards. The first decision is whether or not to put the question of who the next parliamentary candidate to a full and open reselection process, or just to opt to reselect the sitting MP without any more votes.
A spokesperson for the Bristol West Labour Party said that every ward that had enough people to be quorate enough to vote, and Ms Debbonaire was reselected without the need for a full reselection process.
“Thangam won across all branches and affiliated organisations which returned a quorate vote - eight out of ten branches and 22 out of 25 affiliates,” he said. “The remaining branches were not quorate and the remaining affiliates did not return a ballot in time.”
Over recent years, there has been controversy within Bristol West Labour - which had been heavily in support of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, and which saw many members expelled or suspended, and the Labour Party lost all but three of its councillors in Bristol West in 2021.
In the votes across the constituency branches, a total of 257 individual members voted.
A total of 234 members voted to reselect Thangam without proceeding to a full selection, 22 voted for a full selection, and two abstained, the party said.
Among the 25 affiliated organisations all 22 received before the deadline were cast in favour of automatically reselecting Ms Debbonaire.
Thangam Debbonaire, who is currently the Shadow Leader of the House, shadowing North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees Mogg in that role, said she was pleased to have the support of all Labour Party branches in her constituency.
“My priority at all times is representing the people of Bristol West and it is an honour to serve them,” she said.
“I am grateful for all Labour members who voted overwhelmingly to keep me as Labour candidate in the next election. I am pleased to have the support of all Labour Party branches and affiliate organisations in my constituency of Bristol West.
“I look forward to representing Labour in the next General Election, whenever it comes. The Labour Party is ready to replace the corrupt and self-serving Tories with a progressive and dynamic government,” she added.
The chair of Bristol West Labour said: “Thangam is a hard-working and effective MP. We are pleased she is confirmed as Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Bristol West”.
As it stands, the next General Election is set to take place on Thursday, May 2, 2024, as under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, elections are automatically scheduled for the first Thursday in May in the fifth year after the most recent one, which was on December 12, 2019.
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