Esther Rantzen will stand (and win) if Margaret Moran is reselected

From @LabourList

According to a report in the Independent, the TV presenter Esther Rantzen will stand against Margarat Moran in Luton South if the Labour MP stands for re-election.

Margarat Moran was the MP who claimed £22,500 for treatment of dry rot at her home in Southampton, 100 miles from her constituency. She has since been referred to the NEC, who will decide whether she should be deselected.

Rantzen said:

“I think certainly the people in Luton South deserve to know, knowing how she claims her allowances, what the Labour Party intends to do. So I can’t tell you at this moment whether or not she will be deselected, but if she stands, I will stand. If she does not stand or is deselected then we will have to see how she is replaced.”

Meanwhile, former pop singer David Van Day announced he may stand against Tory Nadine Dorries in Mid Bedfordshire. The Tory MP has reputedely claimed for a New Year’s Eve hotel room and a second home allowance – while only having one home.

Mr Van Day’s intention to stand was prompted by the “ridiculous” comments Ms Dorries made last week, when she accused the Telegraph of plotting a “witch hunt” of “McCarthyite magnitude” against MPs.