The controversial contest to be the Labour Parliamentary candidate representing Liverpool West Derby will reach a dramatic conclusion today.
Incumbent Member of Parliament Ian Byrne is facing a fight to retain his position as the Labour candidate for the safe party seat. Mr Byrne, who was elected as West Derby MP in 2019 was 'triggered' earlier in the summer, meaning he was not automatically re-selected as Labour's candidate for the next General Election.
Instead the process was opened up for rival candidates to challenge Mr Byrne for the Labour nomination. An initial long-list of names was put together which was subsequently whittled down to a shortlist of three.
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As the sitting Labour MP for the area, Mr Byrne is the automatic name on that list. He is joined by Hyndburn councillor Kimberley Whitehead and Croxteth Councillor Anthony Lavelle.
It is widely assumed that Mr Byrne's biggest challenge for the nomination when the vote is held later today will come from Cllr Lavelle. While Mr Byrne - recently named MP of the year - has widespread support and influential backers like Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner, Cllr Lavelle has been organising within the West Derby Constituency Labour Party and sources suggest it could be a tight vote.
Relations between the Byrne and Lavelle camps have not been good and the situation reached a crescendo last weekend amid accusations of bullying and intimidation during campaign events.
Mr Byrne tweeted that he faced "shameful" intimidation at an event last Saturday and said he had blocked those "involved in this appalling behaviour". Responding, Liverpool Council cabinet member Harry Doyle - a leading backer of Cllr Lavelle - said he had been blocked on twitter by the MP and urged him to withdraw his "baffling" claims, adding: "There was no intimidation from any of Anthony's team."
Earlier in the selection process, Mr Byrne made allegations of "multiple rule breaches" and said he was considering legal action. He claimed members had been unfairly excluded from nomination meetings in large numbers.
Later today the West Derby Constituency Labour Party members will meet for the all important vote. Whoever wins the vote will be the Labour candidate for the constituency at the next General Election and more than likely be the Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby from that election onwards.
A result is expected by mid-afternoon.
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