The favourite to become the first North East mayor says she has "no say" over the barring of her main rival from Labour’s selection contest.
Kim McGuinness has spoken for the first time on the controversy that has engulfed Labour over recent days, since Jamie Driscoll was excluded from a longlist of candidates competing for a place in next year’s mayoral election. The Labour selection race had long been expected to be a straight fight between Ms McGuinness, the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and a staunch ally of Sir Keir Starmer, and the sitting North of Tyne mayor.
Whoever claims Labour’s nomination will be the clear favourite to become the mayor of a new, larger combined authority covering all of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham. But the process has now become the subject of a major political feud. Party sources have said it was “impossible” to allow the left-wing Mr Driscoll to seek the North East mayoral nomination after he shared a stage with film director Ken Loach, who had previously been expelled from Labour amid efforts to root out antisemitism.
