Latest news on retirement, suspension and target seats

Labour’s selection of parliamentary candidates quickly picked up speed after Rishi Sunak announced that the general election would be held on 4 July. However, in the first full week of campaigning, around 20 seats had to be filled with retiring, doomed, suspended MPs and deselected candidates.

We are updating a running list of vacancies so far and those not yet filled below. Labour’s National Executive Committee Members’ Panels have been making appointments at a rapid pace so close to the election, rather than allowing local parties and members a say.

Five pro-leadership members of the NEC itself have now been selected for those seats – chairman James Asser, Gurinder Singh Josan, Luke Akehurst, Unison’s Mark Ferguson and Usdaw’s Michael Wheeler – as well as Keir Starmer’s former Brighton adviser Chris Ward after Lloyd Russell-Moyle was voted out at the last minute, Rachel Reeves’ former adviser Heather Iqbal and the director of the Starmer-aligned think tank Labour Together, Josh Simons.

READ MORE: Shaheen’s lawyers challenge Labour’s deselection as she speaks of ‘bullying culture’ and ‘problem with dark-skinned people’

Other newcomers include Brent councillor Shama Tatler, who replaces long-standing, now-defeated Green Party candidate for Chingford and Woodford, Faiza Shaheen, and TUC campaigns and communications director Antonia Bance for Tipton and Wednesbury.

The allocation of seats by NEC members to other NEC members was condemned by a union boss as “jobs for the boys” and by left-wing campaign group Momentum, while critics described the de-selections as a “purge” of the left. Shaheen plans to challenge her de-selection in court and condemns a “factional agenda”.

Thirteen of the seats listed below were awarded to men and nine to women.

However, a Labour spokesman said: “We have selected a fantastic group of candidates for the general election on Thursday 4 July. They will campaign across the country to bring Labour’s message for change to voters.”

A party source said the Prime Minister’s call for a surprise election in the summer meant the selection would have to be made under emergency procedures.

After the latest wave of selections, only two seats remain to be filled in Wales. There is also uncertainty about Diane Abbott’s future.

A local source said Worklist and nation Cymru Torsten Bell, CEO of the Resolution Foundation think tank and former adviser to Alistair Darling, will reportedly replace Geraint Davies at Swansea West, but there has been no official announcement.

Another Labour source also said they had been told Bell would get a seat. Worklist I asked Bell for comment via work email but received an automated response saying he was not currently working.

The last-minute selection came after a number of Labour MPs announced they would stand down following the announcement of the general election last week. Some seats required a new Labour candidate as the sitting MP had been suspended, a new constituency needed a candidate and a few more seats not held by Labour either never had a candidate or saw their resignations or (in the case of Faiza Shaheen) deselection.

Here is our ongoing list of selected candidates, which will be updated with new announcements as they become available to us:

Remaining retirement places

• Birmingham Selly Oak (West Midlands). Steve McCabe → Alistair Carns
• West Cardiff (Wales). Kevin Brennan →
• Ealing Southall Station (London). Virendra Sharma → Deidre Costigan
• Gateshead Central and Whickhamformerly Gateshead (North East). Ian Mearns → Mark Ferguson
• Halifax (Yorkshire and The Humber). Holly Lynch → Kate Dearden.
• Leyton and Wanstead (London). John Cryer → Calvin Bailey
• Makerfield (Northwest). Yvonne Fovargue → Josh Simons.
• North Durham (Northeast). Kevan Jones → Luke Akehurst.
• Queens Park and Maida Valeformerly Westminster North (London). Karen Buck → Georgia Gould.
• Smethwickformerly Warley (West Midlands). John Spellar → Gurinder Singh Josan
• Sunderland Central (Northeast). Julie Elliott → Lewis Atkinson
• West Ham and Becktonformerly West Ham (London). Lyn Brown → James Asser
• Worsley and Ecclesformerly Worsley and Eccles South (North West). Barbara Keeley → Michael Wheeler

Suspensions

• Brighton Kemptown (Southeast). Lloyd Russell-Moyle → Chris Ward
• Swansea West (Wales). Geraint Davies →
• Hackney North and Stoke Newington (London) →

New seats

Target seats

Read more about our coverage of the 2024 parliamentary elections here.

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